Kandy
Welcome to Kandy
The insider's travel guide to KandyCentral Kandy is one of Sri Lanka’s most significant religious sites, being home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic – a tooth from Buddha himself.
The golden-roofed temple is actually part of the Royal Palace complex, which includes several museums and temples.
The highlight is the 10-day Esala Perahera (Festival of the Tooth), when the tooth is paraded around the city by 65 decorated elephants, normally held in late July into early August. The festival has its roots back to the arrival in Sri Lanka of Kandy’s sacred tooth back in the 4th century AD.
Kandy is an excellent base for exploring the Cultural Triangle as it has good road and rail connections, plus a multitude of cafes, bars and restaurants. A major attraction is Kandy’s contrasting architecture, with crowded markets rubbing shoulders with grand colonial buildings and gold-shrouded Buddhist temples.
Kandy’s fierce sense of pride was part of the reason it became the last Buddhist bolthole, resisting Portuguese and Dutch forces in turn for three centuries before finally succumbing to the British in 1815. It’s no mere stark historical site either – consider timing your visit to coincide with one of the lively cultural events that bring life to the streets throughout the year.
The Kandy area played a key role in the ferment of political and religious pressure that built in the run-up to the terrorist attacks of 2019. Steer clear of political and religious conversations here, even if you think you know the other person’s viewpoint, as unintentional offence can easily be caused.
The Kandy atlas
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Kandy – the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings – is my stand-out highlight in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle, lying on its southern fringes amidst a rich cloak of emerald green forest. The country’s second-largest city serves as Sri Lanka’s unofficial cultural capital. It’s a charming oasis set in the country’s Hill Country, which reclines around the sculpted Kiri Muhuda lake, and has a spirit and passion quite unlike Colombo. Kandy's main attraction is the golden topped Temple of the Sacred Tooth, home to Buddha’s Tooth, which was brought to Sri Lanka back in the 16th century. It’s very much an active temple so make sure to check ahead in case it is closed for a ceremony or event. The landmark temple lies at the heart of Kandy and is also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa. Architecturally it’s an eye-catching collage of slick marble, stark ivory and solid hardwoods, with plenty of gold woven in too. Buddha's Tooth (Sri Lanka’s most famous Buddhist relic) now stands as the fulcrum of the two-storey high shrine topped by a golden canopy. Today it is a place of pilgrimage for Buddhists from all over the world with daily worship and ceremonies, backed up by lavish special events. Note you’ll be disappointed if you were hoping to actually see the tooth itself as it is hidden safely from public view in a gold casket. The site is well worth visiting, though, for its drama and Buddhist architecture. There are also a sprinkling of further temples dotted around the complex, as well as museums. It’s worth taking on the services of a guide to help you navigate the site efficiently, with guides available on the day. One mistake visitors often make is spending too little time here before heading off to the surrounding sites in the rest of the Cultural Triangle. It’s an enjoyable city for just strolling around, I highly recommend you spend longer here. If you have the time, don’t miss the vast Alut Maligawa shrine hall (built in 1956 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of Buddha’s death), with its array of Thai-style sitting Buddhas, and the Sri Dalada Museum. The latter houses many of the gifts given by various world leaders to the temple and also features information on the damage caused by the 1998 bombing. It also, of course, tells you everything and anything you could want to know about what is surely the world’s most celebrated tooth.Other must-visit sights in Kandy include the Royal Palace. It houses the National Museum of Kandy, which features over 5,000 exhibits, many tying into Buddhism in the country. It was the last Royal Palace to be built on the island. Then there is the green lung of the Royal Palace Park and the even more impressive Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, which lies a little out of Kandy, but is worth the journey to.It's also worth heading out of Kandy to see a brace of key Buddhist sites – Lankatilaka Temple and the Gadaladeniya Temple. Further Buddhist attractions include the Malwatta Monastery, one of the most heralded in the country. A word of caution on touts and street hassles too. This is arguably the worst place in Sri Lanka for this menace, but it’s not usually threatening. A few local words usually see off touts but employing a guide is even more effective.
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Begin your trip in cultural Colombo, exploring the city’s markets and multi-ethnic history, before travelling to Sri Lanka’s cultural triangle to see the temples of Polonnaruwa and the iconic Sigiriya Rock Fortress. Next, travel onto Kandy and visit the Sacred Tooth Relic Temple before heading into the tea country at Haputale and going elephant watching at Udawalawe National Park. End your trip on the beaches of the deep south in Tangalle, before travelling back to Colombo for your departure.
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Explore Sri Lanka at a leisurely pace, starting in capital Colombo before travelling to the country’s cultural triangle, where you can visit ancient cities, temples and rock formations at Polonnaruwa and Sigiriya. From here, head into Sri Lanka’s rolling hills to the rural town of Kandy, where you can visit tea plantations, hike in the countryside and take cooking classes. End your trip on the beaches of the south coast, where you can take a trip to the fort town of Galle, complete with colonial buildings and grand mansions. Head back to Colombo for your departure.
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Fly into Sri Lanka’s capital of Colombo before heading for the historic Cultural Triangle cities of Polonnaruwa and Kandy, where you can see Buddhist temples, ancient capitals and even a relic of Buddha. From here, head into tea country at Haputale, exploring Sri Lanka’s countryside, Diyaluma Waterfalls and a quieter pace of life. Travel back to cosmopolitan Colombo to experience Sri Lanka’s nightlife before embarking on an epic beach adventure on the white sand beaches of the luxurious Maldives.
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See another side to Kandy
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Complete Sri Lanka
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Slow travel Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka Cultural Triangle and Maldives beaches
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