Dambulla Cave Temple
Dambulla, Sri Lanka
Dambulla is easy to visit on your own. Foreign visitors buy a ticket at the office near the Golden Temple at the foot…
192 tickets & tours
Country
Best temples in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a heartland of Theravada Buddhism, and its temples gather around a white dagoba holding relics, a sacred Bo tree and an image house; Hindu kovils serve the Tamil communities. Six of the catalogue’s eight entries are Buddhist. The Cultural Triangle holds the painted Dambulla caves and the rock-cut Buddhas of Gal Vihara at Polonnaruwa. Kandy has the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the most venerated shrine on the island; Colombo has Gangaramaya by Beira Lake and Kelaniya on the city’s northern edge. The hill country adds the Seetha Amman Temple near Nuwara Eliya, the village temple at Ella and the giant rock carvings of Buduruwagala.
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Ella Temple
Ella, Sri Lanka
There is no ticket for this temple alone, and none is needed: like most village temples in the hill country around…
10 tickets & tours
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Sri Lankans enter the Temple of the Tooth freely to worship, while foreign visitors buy an entry ticket, either at the…
3 tickets & tours
Gangaramaya Temple
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Gangaramaya is an easy temple to visit on your own. There is no online ticket: foreign visitors buy an entry ticket at…
2 tickets & tours
Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara
Colombo, Sri Lanka
There is nothing to book for Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara. Sri Lankan worshippers enter freely, and foreign visitors pay…
2 tickets & tours
Buduruwagala
Ella, Sri Lanka
Buduruwagala has no online ticket. Foreign visitors pay a modest fee at a small hut by the entrance to the site, and…
1 ticket or tour
Gal Vihara
Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka
Gal Vihara has no ticket of its own: it is part of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa, and entry is covered by the single…
No online ticket
Seetha Amman Temple
Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka
No ticket for Seetha Amman Temple is sold online, and none is needed: entry is free, and devotees and visitors simply…
No online ticket
Time Kandy around its three daily ceremonies, at dawn, mid-morning and early evening, when the drums sound and the relic chamber opens. Gal Vihara and Dambulla are best early, before the heat. Wear white or light clothes covering shoulders and knees, take off shoes and hats, and never pose with your back to a Buddha image. On full-moon poya days the temples fill with worshippers in white.
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Temples in Sri Lanka: questions
How many temples are there in Sri Lanka?
This catalogue lists 8 temples, shrines and mosques in Sri Lanka, 6 of them with tickets or tours to book online. The most booked are Dambulla Cave Temple, Ella Temple, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
Which is the oldest temple in Sri Lanka?
Dambulla Cave Temple, founded in 100 BC, is the oldest in the catalogue for Sri Lanka.
Which temples in Sri Lanka are free to enter?
2 of the 8 temples in Sri Lanka charge no entry fee, among them Ella Temple, Seetha Amman Temple. The entry fee is shown on each page.
Which temples in Sri Lanka are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
3 temples in Sri Lanka in this catalogue are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, including Dambulla Cave Temple, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Gal Vihara.