Kandy

About Kandy

Kandy was the last independent kingdom on the island, holding out in its ring of hills until the British took it in 1815 - two and a half centuries after the coast fell. That late surrender is why so much survives here. The Sri Dalada Maligawa holds the Buddha's tooth relic, an object so tied to sovereignty that possessing it was once the basis of the right to rule; drums announce the puja three times a day and pilgrims file past the relic chamber in white. The lake below it is not natural - the last king had it dug in 1807, and the wall along its edge is his. Behind the temple, Udawattakele's forest reserve climbs straight out of the city centre, and a few kilometres west the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya spread over 60 hectares of orchid house, palm avenue and one enormous Javan fig. Each July or August the Esala Perahera takes the relic's casket through the streets over ten nights of tuskers, dancers and fire.

Top Activities

• ✓Temple of the Tooth Relic
• ✓Kandy Lake evening walk
• ✓Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya
• ✓Cultural dance show
• ✓Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
• ✓Gem museum visit

Nearby Attractions

Closest Places in This Guide

Straight-line distances; allow considerably longer by road, especially in the hills.

• Bahirawakanda Buddha StatueCultural · Heritage< 1 km
• Temple of the Sacred Tooth RelicCultural · Heritage< 1 km
• Kandy LakeNature · Romantic · Family< 1 km
• Kandy Garrison CemeteryHeritage< 1 km
• Udawattakele Royal ParkNature · Heritage · Family1 km
• Ceylon Tea MuseumHeritage · Cultural · Family3 km

Travel Tips

Travel Guides That Cover Kandy

• Best Time to Visit Sri Lanka: A Month-by-Month GuideTwo monsoons take turns on opposite coasts, so somewhere is always in season. Where the weather is good in each month, and the festivals and wildlife worth timing a trip around.
• A 10-Day Sri Lanka Honeymoon: Route, Stays and TimingAncient cities, a tea-country bungalow, a safari and a slow finish by the sea - a realistic ten-day honeymoon route, with where to splurge and where to save.