A Spiritual Afternoon Among Monkeys, Men and Lotus Flowers- Damulla Caves, Sri Lanka

One of the day trips we made from Kandy was a visit to Sigiriya and Dambulla. I had heard that Sigriya was an awesome sight and Dambulla was a bit over rated. But to be really honest I much preferred my visit to the Dambulla Caves. 

I'm not exactly a spiritual person and, as I grow older, I find myself leaning more and more towards atheism, but the visit to Dambulla struck a chord in me for some reason. The caves had a quality about them... a sort of stillness and sense of peace that I found comforting. I can understand why it is a place of pilgrimage for so many. 

Dating back to the 1st century BC, and now a World Heritage Site, the complex consists of five caves carved from the base of a 150m high rock. We visited in the afternoon and luckily there wasn't too much of a crowd. I used the chance to click as many pictures as I could... here are a few of my favourites. 

[All Images- Shalini Pereira. Please do not use without prior written permission]