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About Kandy
Cradled in a bowl of forested hills at 500 metres, Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and held out against European powers until 1815. The city still feels like a royal seat: a man-made lake at its centre, monastic quarters and colonial arcades stacked up the slopes around it.
Its heart is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which houses a tooth of the Buddha and remains one of the most venerated Buddhist sites in the world. Time your visit for one of the daily pujas, when drummers and horn players lead the ritual and the inner chamber is opened to pilgrims.
Things to see & do
- Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa)
- Evening puja ceremony with traditional drummers
- Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya
- Kandy Lake walk and the Udawattakele forest reserve
- Kandyan dance and fire-walking performance
- Esala Perahera festival — the island's grandest procession
Kandy in pictures
Good to know
DistrictKandy
Best time to visitDecember to April is driest and clearest. Visit in July or August if you want to see the Esala Perahera, but book accommodation months in advance.
Getting thereAbout 3.5 hours by road from Colombo, or take the scenic morning train from Colombo Fort (roughly 3 hours). Kandy is the natural gateway to the hill country and to the Cultural Triangle.