Why this ride
From Dambulla it runs 379 km to Dambulla; allow about 7 h 22 of riding. On the way it passes Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, Ancient City of Sigiriya, back through Ancient City of Sigiriya and back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple and Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 379 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 22
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
The rock at Dambulla rises some hundred and fifty metres above the plain in the dry heart of Sri Lanka, a great bald dome of granite, and in its upper flank five caves hold one of the most extraordinary Buddhist shrines in Asia. Tradition says King Valagamba sheltered here in the first century BC when he was driven out of Anuradhapura, and that after regaining his throne he turned the caves into a temple in gratitude. Monks had been using them long before that, and kings went on adding to them for centuries.
Read the complete Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple is where the day begins. Next is Ancient City of Polonnaruwa.
2. Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Polonnaruwa was the capital of Sri Lanka from the late tenth to the early thirteenth century, after the older capital at Anuradhapura was sacked, and its ruins are spread across a wide area of parkland beside a vast artificial lake. That lake, the Parakrama Samudra, was built by King Parakramabahu I in the twelfth century, and it is a testament to the ambition of the man who famously declared that not a single drop of rain should flow to the sea without serving people first. It still irrigates the paddy fields around the town today.
Read the complete Ancient City of Polonnaruwa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa comes up about 73 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ancient City of Sigiriya.
3. Ancient City of Sigiriya
Sigiriya is a rock that looks like a fortress built by giants: a column of red granite rising some two hundred metres above the jungle of central Sri Lanka. In the late fifth century, King Kashyapa, who had seized the throne after killing his father, built a palace on its summit, with gardens, pools and fortifications around its base. The entrance was through the paws of a giant lion carved in the rock, of which only the paws remain. After Kashyapa's death, the palace was abandoned and became a Buddhist monastery. The Ancient City of Sigiriya was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1982.
Read the complete Ancient City of Sigiriya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 131 km into the recorded legs you reach Ancient City of Sigiriya.
4. Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancient City of Polonnaruwa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, about halfway. Next is back through Ancient City of Sigiriya.
5. back through Ancient City of Sigiriya
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancient City of Sigiriya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ancient City of Sigiriya sits at 171 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa.
6. back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancient City of Polonnaruwa write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa comes up about 307 km into the recorded legs. Next is Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple.
7. Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple closes the day.
Leg by leg
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple to Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple → Ancient City of Polonnaruwa is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa to Ancient City of Sigiriya
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa → Ancient City of Sigiriya is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient City of Sigiriya to Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
Ancient City of Sigiriya → Ancient City of Polonnaruwa is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa to back through Ancient City of Sigiriya
Ancient City of Polonnaruwa → back through Ancient City of Sigiriya is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ancient City of Sigiriya to back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa
back through Ancient City of Sigiriya → back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa to Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
back through Ancient City of Polonnaruwa → Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.