Dambulla is a town situated in the north of Matale District, in Sri Lanka's Central Province. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre after Matale in the Matale District. It is situated 148 km (92 mi) north-east of Colombo, 43 km (27 mi) north of Matale and 72 km (45 mi) north of Kandy. Due to its location at a major junction, it is the centre of major vegetable distribution in the country.

The Central Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 5,674 km2 and a population of 2,421,148, making it the 2nd most populated province. The city of Kandy is the capital of the province.