What brings sanctity to Kandy is the Dalada Maligawa which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. The golden roofed temple is visited by locals and tourists bearing flowers and incense dally throughout the day and night. Here visitors can observe poojas (offerings) the ancient traditions of drumming and sacred chanting in honour of the Tooth Relic, being performed several times each day.
Kandy is also the venue of the Esela Perahera, easily the most colourful pageant of Asia, held in July/August each year, for ten days in honour of the Tooth Relic. As the pageantry of the Esela Perahera unfolds through ten nights each year, the city takes on the air of a torch-lit dreamland, complete with a hundred or more colourfully caparisoned elephants, drummers and dancers, and chieftains in the rare colourful trappings of the old kingdom. A stunning spectacle of piety and grandeur!
The city is the monastic centre of Buddhism with the two biggest monasteries – the Malwatte and Asgiriya temple located here. Around the city and environs and other Buddhist temple of unique character each different from the other.
The rock temple at Degaldoruwa, has beautiful frescoes of the mid 18th Century.
These temples are unique examples of the Buddhist construction in brick and stone during the kandyan period (14th.c).
The shrine to a Hindu deity at Embekke is the best extant example of the wood carvings of the kandyan period. Another temple well known for its frescoes is the one at Ranawana.
The Kandyan areas are where the crafts of the Sinhalese have been best kept alive. From the art of mat weaving at Dambara, to the silver craftsmen of Nattaranpotha and wood carvers of Embekke, the kandyan craftsman produce most exquisite items which makes up the most sought after souvenirs of Sri Lanka.
The craft Village situated 7 km from Kandy will be an exciting detour as you will see the traditional craftsmen of Kandy and their families living and working in this pretty village.
Located in the suburbs of Kandy boasts of some 160 acres of tropical rainforest, a haven for flowering plants, birds, butterflies and monkey. Very picturesque surrounding by wooded hills.
Nearly Kandy, the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens is easily one of the best of its kind in the world. The many beautiful avenues will lead one to sections which provide a burst of tropical colour. The great lawns highlight huge tropical trees. While you will be surprised at the variety of bamboo that can be found in one place.
The best known attraction of the garden is the Orchid House, which has more than 300 varieties of exquisite orchids from the rare indigenous Foxtail and Vesak orchids, to many natural and hybrid species which have made this one of the best known orchid centres of the world. The Spice Garden gives you a firsthand introduction to the trees, plants and creepers that produce the special spices of Sri Lanka. The Herbarium grows many of the plants used for the traditional Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia.
26 km from Kandy in the Matale district along the drive to the ancient cities via Kandy, rich verdant vegetation and a number of spice gardens to visit. It is an ancient rock temple of great significance in the history of Buddhism. The Buddhist canon and its commentaries, which were till then handed down orally, were committed to writing for the first time at Aluvihara temple in 2c.B.C.
