The Golden Temple of Dambulla is a world heritage site in Sri Lanka, situated in the central part of the country. It is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m (525 ft) over the surrounding plains. There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area.
Major attractions are spread over 5 caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Buddha and his life. There are total of 153 Buddha statues, 3 statues of Sri Lankan kings and 4 statues of gods and goddesses. The latter 4 include two statues of Hindu gods, god Vishnu and god Ganesh. The murals, cover an area of 2,100 square meters. Depictions on the walls of the caves include Buddha’s temptation by Mara (a demon) and Buddha’s first sermon.