Kandy

Why Kandy works

Kandy served as the seat of Sri Lanka's Sinhalese kings until the early 19th century, and it remains the island's spiritual centre, built around the placid, artificial Kandy Lake commissioned by the kingdom's last ruler. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses what is believed to be a tooth relic of the Buddha, brought to Sri Lanka in the 4th century and now enshrined within a gilded inner chamber that draws a steady stream of devotees for daily puja ceremonies accompanied by drumming. The temple complex, with its moat, octagonal library tower, and carved stone entrance, sits within the walled royal palace grounds that once housed the Kandyan court. Each July or August, the city hosts the Esala Perahera, one of Asia's grandest religious festivals — ten nights of torch-lit processions featuring elaborately costumed elephants, traditional Kandyan dancers, drummers, and fire performers parading through the streets in honour of the tooth relic. The Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, just outside the city, hold one of Asia's finest collections of tropical flora across 147 acres, including an orchid house and a giant avenue of royal palms planted in the 1900s. Kandy also serves as the gateway to the hill country's tea estates and the scenic railway line climbing toward Nuwara Eliya and Ella.

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