Kandy is Sri Lanka's cultural and spiritual capital — the last independent Sinhalese kingdom before colonial rule, and home to one of the most significant sites in Buddhism. It sits around a small lake, ringed by forested hills, and makes an easy, walkable base for a day or two.
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Kandy's centrepiece is the Sri Dalada Maligawa, which houses what is venerated as a tooth relic of the Buddha. It's an active place of worship as much as a historic site — visiting during a puja (ritual offering session) gives a real sense of the temple as a living part of daily life, not just a monument.
Kandy Lake
A short, flat walk around the lake in the centre of town is a good way to get oriented, especially in the early evening when the temperature drops and the walkway fills with locals.
Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya
A short drive from the centre, these are among Asia's finest botanical gardens — over 140 years old, with a giant bamboo grove, an orchid house, and an avenue of towering palms planted by visiting dignitaries over the decades.
A traditional cultural dance show
Evening performances of traditional Kandyan dance, drumming and (at some venues) fire-walking are held regularly in the city — a good, low-effort way to round off a day of sightseeing.
Day trips from Kandy
Tea country
Kandy sits at the edge of Sri Lanka's tea-growing hill country — a short drive brings you to plantations and factories offering tours and tastings.
Spice gardens
Several working spice gardens near Kandy offer walking tours through cinnamon, pepper, cardamom and cocoa plantings, usually finishing with a chance to buy direct from the grower.
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
About an hour from Kandy, Pinnawala is well known for its river-bathing sessions, when the resident elephant herd is walked down to the Maha Oya river.
Dress code for the Temple of the Tooth
Shoulders and knees should be covered, and shoes are removed before entering — worth planning your outfit (and footwear you can slip off easily) before you arrive.
Getting to Kandy
Kandy is a natural stop between the Cultural Triangle and the hill country, and features on almost all of our Sri Lanka tour packages, from a short cultural escape to the longer island-wide routes.
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