Spices, more temples and a brief respite from daily packing

Day 6 we set off to visit the spice garden in Matale. On the way there we stopped to look at some huge ornate wooden floats that are used in Hindu festivals. They are pulled by people, a lot of people judging by the huge wooden wheels.

The spice garden in Matale was quite interesting and we invested in some herbal tooth powder, some massage oil and balm that smells like tiger balm. Must get Frank to give me a back rub :-) Then of course we stopped to look at yet another Buddha on the way to Dambulla, complete with fornicating monkeys (not on Buddha thankfully but on a large rock off to the right – not in the photo).

Then on to my second favourite site after Sigiriya, the very impressive Golden Rock Cave temple, created by King Vllha Gamini Abhaya in the 1st Century BC and a listed World Heritage Site. Five caves with over 2000 sq metres of painted walls and ceilings, the largest fresco paintings in the world plus over 150 statues of the Buddha, the largest being a recumbent Buddha approximately 47 feet long. Also impressive is the drip ledge chiselled into the rock to stop water getting into the caves and onto the paintings.

From here we went to our hotel The Heritance Kandalama where we were to stay for three consecutive nights (yippee) to enjoy the local wildlife, and the infinity pool with the view of the Sigiriya Rock Citadel in the distance across the lake.