Kandy

KANDY IS SRI LANKA’S SECOND LARGEST CITY AFTER COLOMBO, BRIMMING WITH A FASCINATING HISTORY, RICH CULTURE, SPECTACULAR BEAUTY, AND OLD-WORLD CHARM. Lush forests, sprawling mountain ranges, the meandering Kandy Lake, known as the Sea of Milk, and an array of distinguished colonial building and magnificent Kandyan inspired architecture completes this Medieval City. This beautiful, laidback capital is only 72 miles (115 kilometres) inland yet boasts exceptional cultural and historical attractions, set amidst forested hills.

Known as a pilgrimage destination for the Temple of the Tooth Relic (a sacred tooth of the Buddha), a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kandy is a sacred city, due to the importance and spiritual significance of this temple. It is also known for the vibrantly festive Kandy Esala Perahera, also known as the Festival of the Tooth, an important 10-day religious celebration each August. Lying at an altitude of 1 640 feet (500 metres) above sea level and surrounded by the Knuckles and Hunnasgiriya Mountain Ranges, the temperatures around Kandy are slightly cooler and conditions more pleasant than in the lowlands. An important and established Buddhist site, Kandy was formerly known as the city of Senkadagalapura. It served as the last capital of the Sinhalese kingdom before falling to the British in 1815.