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View all Sigiriya toursAll-Inclusive Sigiriya Rock and Dambulla Cave Temple Day Tour from Kandy
The two great cultural triangle sites from Kandy in an air-conditioned vehicle with a guide: King Kashyapa's fifth-century rock citadel at Sigiriya and Sri Lanka's largest cave temple complex at Dambulla.
Highlights
- Sigiriya rock fortress — water gardens, mirror wall frescoes and the summit citadel
- The Dambulla caves, painted continuously for two thousand years
- An air-conditioned vehicle for the two-hour run each way
- A guide at both sites rather than a driver waiting outside
- Time to do both properly instead of at a run
All-Inclusive Sigiriya Rock and Dambulla Cave Temple Day Tour from Kandy: Key Facts
| Price | From $110.5 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 10 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
Sigiriya is the reason most people come north from Kandy, and it deserves the reputation. In the fifth century King Kashyapa, having taken the throne by walling his father up alive, moved the capital to the top of a 200-metre granite plug and built a palace there. The approach runs through symmetrical water gardens — among the oldest surviving landscaped gardens in the world, and still functioning — then up through the frescoes of the mirror wall, past the lion's paws that once framed an enormous gateway, to the summit terraces.
Dambulla is older and quieter. Five caves under a granite overhang, in use since the first century BC and painted and repainted for two thousand years, holding around 150 Buddha images. The largest cave is 52 metres wide with a ceiling that follows the rock, painted in an unbroken sheet.
This version is the comfortable one: air-conditioned transport for the two hours each way, a guide who explains what you are looking at rather than a driver who waits at the gate, and enough time at both sites to do them properly rather than at a run.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup in Kandy
The drive north.
Sigiriya rock
Water gardens, frescoes and the climb to the summit.
Break
Time to rest and eat before the second site.
Dambulla cave temples
The five painted caves.
Return drive
South to Kandy.
Kandy
Drop-off at your hotel.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "06:00", "title": "Hotel pickup", "description": "Two to two and a half hours by road."}, {"time": "08:00", "title": "Sigiriya", "description": "Allow three hours including the gardens. 1,200 steps, all with handrails."}, {"time": "11:30", "title": "Lunch stop", "description": "Not included; your guide will suggest somewhere near the rock."}, {"time": "13:00", "title": "Dambulla", "description": "A steep path up to the caves, then about an hour inside. Shoes off at the entrance."}, {"time": "17:00", "title": "Kandy", "description": "Drop-off at your hotel."}]
Includes
- Air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup and drop-off in Kandy, guiding at both sites, all driving, fuel and parking.
Excludes
- Entrance fees at Sigiriya and Dambulla, meals and drinks, gratuities, personal expenses.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Kandy; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts