Kandy to Dambulla taxi: private transfer at a fixed price

The road is the A9 the whole way. From the centre of Kandy the driver heads north and crosses the Mahaweli at Katugastota, then runs through Akurana and Alawatugoda to Matale, the largest town on the way, about 25 km from Kandy. North of Matale the A9 passes the spice gardens, the rock monastery of Aluvihare, where tradition says the Buddhist scriptures were first written down, and the turn for Nalanda Gedige, a small stone temple that stands off the main road beside a reservoir. After Naula the land flattens and the forest thins, and the last stretch brings you into Dambulla past the big wholesale vegetable market that supplies much of the island. Without stops, allow about 1 hour 50 minutes. With a spice garden and Aluvihare, plan on three hours or a little more. If your hotel is out at Kandalama or on the road towards Sigiriya, give its exact name when you book so the driver goes straight to the door.

Getting out of Kandy is the slowest part. The one-way system around the lake and the Clock Tower jams in the morning and when the schools let out, and the Katugastota bridge is a bottleneck in both directions. Akurana is a long ribbon of shops where buses stop wherever a passenger waves. Past Matale the A9 is a good two-lane road, but it is the main trunk road to Anuradhapura and Jaffna, so expect lorries and long-distance buses overtaking hard on the straights. North of Nalanda the road passes through patches of forest where wild elephants occasionally cross after dark. In Dambulla itself the junction where the A9 meets the A6 is busy all day, and the cave temple entrance is on the A9 at the southern edge of town, below the large golden Buddha, so it is easy to stop on the way in.

On a drive of under two hours on a mostly straight road, the economy sedan is perfectly adequate for up to three people with three bags, and it is the lowest price on this page. Couples with large cases, or anyone planning a long day of visits, will be more comfortable in the comfort sedan, which seats four with room for four bags. Families and small groups need the Comfort van (6 seats), and parties of seven or eight the 8-seat van. Whatever you book, your luggage stays locked in the car while you climb to the caves or walk round a spice garden, and climbing back into an air-conditioned vehicle after the steps up to the temple is welcome in the midday heat. Child seats are free if you ask when you book.

There is no railway to Dambulla, so the real choices are the bus, a tuk-tuk or a car. Buses on the A9 leave Kandy constantly for Dambulla, Anuradhapura and Jaffna. They are cheap and reasonably quick, but often standing room only, and awkward with large bags. A tuk-tuk for 80 km is possible but slow and open to the dust and diesel of the trunk road. PickMe and Uber work well for short trips inside Kandy, but drivers often decline long journeys out of town. The private taxi is the only option that takes you from one hotel door to the next, waits while you visit, and turns the cave temple and a spice garden into easy stops on the way rather than separate outings.

The Dambulla cave temple is at its best early, before the rock heats up and the tour coaches arrive, so a pickup in Kandy around 07:00 puts you at the caves well before 10:00 even with a short stop in Matale. If you can, avoid leaving Kandy between 07:30 and 09:00 on school days, and the evening rush from about 16:30. The country around Dambulla is hottest from March to May and dry and windy from June to September; the heaviest rain comes from about October to January, mostly as afternoon downpours. In July or August, during the Esala Perahera, streets in central Kandy close in the evening for the processions, so plan to leave in the morning. Trips with a pickup or arrival between 22:00 and 05:00 carry a 15% night surcharge.