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Difference in staying at Dambulla or Habarana

Difference in staying at Dambulla or Habarana

Old Jan 8th, 2017, 05:29 AM
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Difference in staying at Dambulla or Habarana

We get into Colombo at 4am, and thinking of driving straight to Dambulla or Habarana. Spending 2-3 nights there while we do the cultural sites ( parents with limited mobility so will not do those sites requiring active legwork). What would your recommendations be on which place would be a more central location? And should we stay in Kandy at all? I'd rather base an extra night in one location to do the sites more in detail than rush more one location to another thanks to Kathie who pointed out the futility of trying to cram in too much in one go.

Thanks,

D
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Old Jan 8th, 2017, 08:59 AM
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All of the wonderful historic sites require walking and/or climbing. I'd guess that Sigirya climb would be too much for them, but there is gentle walking there to see the gardens and they could skip the climb. I heard a rumor that an elevator was going to be put in at the Dambulla Cave Temples. I thought the cave temples were stunning. Make sure you visit both of these either early in the morning or near sunset. Polowarnnuwa involves walking, but if you have a car and driver, the driver could take from one area to another and your parents could decide which places to get out, which places to stay in the car. Don't miss the wonderful museum there.

I liked being in Dambulla, but either location would work.

I suppose you could skip Kandy or just spend one night there. How important is it to you or your parents to see the Temple of the Tooth?
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Old Jan 9th, 2017, 02:25 PM
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I liked Kandy but think 1 night is enough, I really liked the Temple of the Tooth plus going to the fire dance early evening. I thought parts of the city worth visiting too. If it were me ( and it isn't) I wouldn't skip it.
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Old Jan 10th, 2017, 01:28 AM
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Habarana is the most central location ...from there easy access to POlonnaruwa/ Anuradhapura and Sigiriya.. And much more hotels and restaurants than Dambualla.
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Old Jan 16th, 2017, 12:01 AM
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Habarana is better than Dambulla. Because Habrana is in the middle of Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa , MInneriya NP and Anuradhapura
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 04:38 AM
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Your decision to rove straight from the airport to Dambulla/Habarana is a good one, will save you time/money and maximise quality holiday time.

Dambulla is better if just visiting Dambulla temple and Sigiriya both beng sites which require walking. Dambulla temple is about 10 mins up hill walk and Sigiriya is a serious one hour or more climb up steps. I am not sure if Dambulla allows wheelchair access.

Habarana while a bit more distant from Sigiriya and Dambulla Temple, will put you closer to Polonnaruwa, and the Kaudulla/Minneriya parks.
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Old Jan 17th, 2017, 05:31 AM
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We loved our stay at the Kandalama hotel at Dambulla; it is a wonderful piece of architecture as well as a very good hotel. But we have not stayed at Habarana so I have nothing to compare it with.

My concern about having only 3 nights at your chosen hotel in the Cultural Triange, whichever it might be, is that if you arrive at breakfast time, after a long flight, your parents are unlikely to be keen on a full day's sightseeing so you need to be realistic about what you can accomplish on your first day.

If you intend to do the caves, they could be seen on the first day, and then Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa on the second, but that would be a very full day.

Personally I would go for 3 nights at your first stop; it will give you all time to recover from the journey and the worst that can happen is that you have an afternoon round the pool - not so bad considering you are on holiday.

As for Kandy, we had two nights there - there is not only the Temple of the Tooth to see, but also the Botanical gardens, [very easy to negotiate as they are quite flat and there's a cafe in the middle] - the lake, the markets, and IMO a visit to the iconic Queen's Hotel is a must - there is a wonderful exhibition of photographs of the hotel years ago, and also if your parents [or you] are craving western food, they do an excellent club sandwich.

you also need to factor in the time it takes to get from one site to another - even with the most skilful driver [and ours was brilliant] it can take a great deal longer than you could ever imagine. you don't say how long you've got in SL but my advice would be to take your time to enjoy this most wonderful island.
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