Brief synthesisLocated in central Sri Lanka, the Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple is a living Buddhist site that is focused on a series of five cave shrines. In keeping with a longstanding tradition associated with living Buddhist ritual practices and continuous royal patronage, the cave shrines underwent several renovation and refurbishing programmes before assuming their present interior forms in the 18th century. The site is remarkable in the Buddhist world for its association with the continuous tradition of living Buddhist ritual practices and pilgrimage for more than two millennia. Criterion (vi): Dambulla is an important shrine in the Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka, remarkable for its association with the long-standing and wide-spread tradition of living Buddhist ritual practices and pilgrimage for more than two millennia. The interior spaces are still being used by pilgrims for ritual Buddhist practices, thus maintaining the original use and function as well as the spirit and feeling of their interior spaces.