This is Sri Lankas greatest Cave Temple complex; the walls are alive with frescoes of religious and secular scenes and beautiful geometric designs in warm oranges and golds. People have sheltered under the overhang of the smooth, water-marked granite outcrop at Dambulla, in the centre of the island, for millennia. In this intimate setting sit hundreds of statues of Buddha and bodhisattvas, many carved directly from the cave rock, the largest of which is a 15-metre carving of Buddha recumbent. Hindu kings and deities are also represented. Cave Two has around 1,500 images of Buddha on its walls, some showing him struggling with temptations, demons or cobras.