'Hotel Sigiriya' sights, Sigiririya, Sri Lanka.

Chairs for sun-bathing by the swimming pool

A strong vine for the kids to swing on.

Tree-house with the hanging vine.

A model 'wattle-daub' mud hut.

Sights from Hotel Sigiriya, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka.

The 'Lion rock' as seen from the area near the swimming pool in the hotel.

Climbers at the top of the rock - Zoom 400mm on my Nikon D90.

Kids in the swimming pool.

Ibbankatuwa ancient burial site, Dambulla, Sri Lanka.

The Kurunegala - Dambulla highway near Ibbankatuwa.

The burial site.

Inside a tomb.

Layout of the tombs.

Ibbankatuwa Burial site

'Ibbankatuwa Burial Site is located near the Dambulla Rock Temple, at the foot of the Talakiriyagama Mountain and it is about three kilometers from Dambulla town. It is the historical cemetery belongs to the Megalithic pre-historic era dated between 750 and 400 BC. The excavations revealed similar features fr'om ten tombs which consist of four stone plates placed in the four sides making a square and a one stone plate to cover it. Personal belongings as “necklaces”, “clay pots” contained human ash, cereal grains, terracotta, carnelian, agate and gilt beads and “gem stones” which are seen in India have been found inside the tombs also. Significant thing of here is that carnelian and agate are not endemic to Sri Lanka but have to import from regions such as the Deccan of South India. Therefore, it implied that about the trade affaires with the India. And the pots which are found from these tombs were used for placing grave goods and indicate post-burial activities such as grave visiting and also the belief in life after death etc. The Ibbankatuwa Burial Site is part of a larger burial complex belonging to the Dambulu Oya region located in the transitional ecological zone and a best travel destination for those who are interest in historical things in Sri Lanka'. (http://www.tour-srilanka.net/mathle-city/ibbankatuwa-burial-site.html)

The road to Ibbankatuwa from Avissawella:-

http://youtu.be/NJOksecftU0

Sigiriya environs and Kandalama, Sri Lanka.

Bullock cart ('Buckcky karaththey') for hire, Sigiriya.

Kandalama water tank with the distant hills.

Kandalama tank bund.

Dambulla cave temple, Sri Lanka.

The entrance to the cave temples at the summit of the rock.

A view of the distant mountains from the top of the rock.

'Dambulla cave temple (Sinhala: දඹුලු ලෙන් විහාරය dam̆būlū len vihāraya, Tamil: தம்புள்ளை பொற்கோவில் tampuḷḷai poṟkōvil) also known as theGolden Temple of Dambulla is a World Heritage Site (1991) in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. This site is situated 148 km east of Colombo and 72 km north of Kandy. It is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statuesand paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Lord Buddha and his life. There total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. The latter include two statues of Hindu gods, the god Vishnu and the god Ganesh. The murals cover an area of 2,100 square metres. Depictions on the walls of the caves include the temptation by the demon Mara, and Buddha's first sermon.

Prehistoric Sri Lankans would have lived in these cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as there are burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this area, at Ibbankatuwa near the Dambulla cave complexes.'(Wikipedia)

Click on web-link below to see some still photographs taken by me on a trip there in October 2013:-

http://youtu.be/qctKZjy05qo