Matale Magic in a Day: Uncover Ancient Wonders

The Lion Rock in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, is an air palace that took 18 years to build on the orange-red giant rock. It is known as the eighth wonder of the world and is the apex of Sri Lanka's "cultural golden triangle". At first, the giant rock was built to look like a huge lion, but now the lion's head has been weathered and fallen, leaving only the lion's body. The scope of Lion Rock is relatively large, including moats, huge rocks, and broken walls at the top of the rocks.

Dambulla Grottoes is a famous Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka. It was built in the 1st century BC and is located on the slope of a stone mountain. The entire grotto includes five sanctuaries, which contain 2,100 square meters of sap and other raw materials. The murals and 157 statues are of high religious artistic value. When the Golden Temple comes to the foot of the Dambulla Grottoes, you will see a modern-style building in the shape of a lion's mouth. On the roof is a huge golden Buddha statue, so the locals also call it The Golden Temple. It's a beautiful and tacky building, built with Japanese donations in 2000, with a Buddha statue in a dhammachakkamudra (runner) pose and a giant neon sign on the side. Cave No. 1 (Devaraja Viharaya) contains a 15-meter-long reclining Buddha carved from a single piece of rock. At the feet of the reclining Buddha are Venerable Ananda and other sitting Buddha statues, while a small alcove above the reclining Buddha's head holds a statue of Vishnu. The stone walls and the top of the cave are covered with exquisite frescoes. Cave No. 2 (Maharaja Viharaya) There is a tall arch at the entrance of Cave No. 2, decorated with dragon carving patterns on both sides, 52 meters long from east to west, and 23 meters deep from the gate to the wall. You can see 16 standing and 40 seated statues, 2 Indian gods and 2 kings, and there is a stupa in the middle of the grotto. The cave is named after the two king statues in the room. After entering the door, there is a painted wooden statue on the left hand side, that is King Valagamba, and there is another statue a little further inside, which is King Nisan Kamara. The statue of the cave was also once covered with golden leaves and is located under a makaratorana (arch with dragons). The right hand of the Buddha statue is raised in a fearless mudra (meaning protection). The Indian gods also used this gesture to express "protection". Some of the frescoes in the caves are more than 2,000 years old and are still lifelike. Cave No. 3 (MahaAlutViharaya) The third cave is the "Daxin Temple", and its murals and paintings on the top of the cave are typical Sri Lankan paintings in the 18th century. In addition to 50 stone carvings of Buddha statues, there are also statues of Kirti Sri Rajainha, the king who revitalized Buddhism in the 18th century. The entire cave temple is full of statues of Buddhas, monks and kings in different postures, and one of the reclining Buddhas is very beautiful. The fourth and fifth caves of the fourth cave (Pachima Viharaya) are not as large and historical as the first three caves, and the content of the murals in the caves are Buddhist stories and legends. The fourth cave is the West Temple, which is 16 meters long, 6 meters wide and 8 meters high. It is a relatively small cave. The Buddha statue in the middle of the room is located under an arch with a dragon ornament, and the Buddha statue is made of dhyanamudra. The small stupa in the middle was smashed by thieves who thought it contained the jewels of Queen Somawathie. Hole 5 (DevanaAlutViharaya) Hole 5 is surrounded by brick walls, 6.8 meters long and 12.25 meters wide. It is a relatively new hole. There is a reclining Buddha in the cave, and there are also Hindu gods, such as the Hindu god of war Murugan and Vishnu.

The Temple of the Tooth Relic was built in the 15th century and is famous for enshrining the tooth relic of Sakyamuni, the national treasure of Sri Lanka. The monastery has upper and lower floors, the hall is a hall, surrounded by a moat and guarded by a corner tower, which reflects the typical style of Sinhalese national architecture. There is also a World Buddhism Museum in the temple, which shows the spread and development of Buddhism in the world for tourists.

Pidurangala is a huge rock to the north of Lion Rock. Its height and structure are similar to Lion Rock. It is a very good place to overlook Lion Rock.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is one of the largest elephant orphanages in the world and is currently one of the largest elephant rescue homes in the world. The Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka was built in 1975 by the Wildlife Department to take in those young elephants who are homeless, fall into pits or traps, and escape from the herd, especially those who are seriously injured. 1. Introduction to the park The Elephant Orphanage is located in Pinnawela, about 3 hours away from Colombo. The entire park is divided into two parts by the B199 highway. The east is the main park where the elephants usually live, and the west is where the elephants bathe every day by the MaOya River. In the main park, you can visit the elephant habitat and see how the baby elephants eat. When it is time to bathe, the elephant team will set off from the main park in a mighty way to bathe and play on the river beach in the west. The elephants are well cared for here. 2. Special souvenirs There are very special souvenirs such as elephant dung paper, buffalo leather products and so on. Now, paper products made from elephant dung are Sri Lanka's national gift, and some world-renowned politicians have also used these products. These souvenirs are very popular, and it is meaningful to give to relatives and friends or to keep as a souvenir.