Distance:
91km
(59miles)
Nestling in a valley surrounded by verdant hills, Kandy was the last capital stronghold of the Singhalese Kings. Rich in history and traditions, the Temple of the Tooth attracts devotees and pilgrims worldwide and is the focal point during the magnificent Procession or Peraheraduring the month of August.
Kandy’s attractions are its traditional arts and crafts, the lush botanic garden at Peradeniya, the folk dances as well as its busy and colourful streets, shops and eateries. An iconic colonial monument, the Queens Hotel sitting close to the lake of Kandy, still retains its old colonial charm.
On the included tour of Kandy, you’ll start at the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens which are situated in the Central Province of Sri Lanka and where approximately 2 million people visit each year. The gardens are notable for their collection of orchids and it is also home to various species of plants, spices, medicinal plants, and palm trees.
Later you will visit the Temple of the Tooth (Dalada Maligawa), the most important shrine in the Sri Lanka, which houses a tooth of Buddha taken from his funeral pyre in 543 BC. It is renowned for its daily 'Thewawa' ceremony when each evening, the day's worship culminates when the casket containing the tooth relic is put on display to devotees who have travelled from all over the Buddhist world.