Dambulla is an ancient town in the Cultural Triangle best known for the largest and best preserved cave temple complex of Sri Lanka, the Dambulla Cave Temples, the largest rose quartz mountain range in South Asia, and the Iron wood forest, or ‘Na Uyana Aranya.’ There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding areas of the Cave Temple, and the major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings depicting to the Buddha’s life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of Hindu gods Vishnu and Ganesh. The area of Dambulla is thought to have been inhabited from as early as the 7th to 3rd century BC. Statues and paintings in these caves date back to the 1st century BC. The caves of Dambulla once provided refuge to ancient kings, covered by meditating Buddhist monks. Evidence of ancient people living on agriculture has been detected in this area for over 2700 years according to archaeological findings.