Kandayans have always referred to their home as Mahu Navara; The Great City. Now, after centuries of expansion into the surrounding hills, it finally lives up to that description, if just in size more than anything else. Second only to Colombo in terms of population, 2 million people now call this city home, helping it spread into the surrounding mountains where its wealthier residents cling to the forested, mango tree-lined slopes in their lavish villas and sprawling estates. It is now a dense convergence of roads, railways and ramshackle buildings that disseminate like arteries towards its hilly outskirts, only with a centre made up of lavish palaces, colonial architecture and golden-roofed shrines.
It wasn’t always this way, for centuries Kandy was the last stronghold of the Sinhalese Kings as they fought off colonial invaders. As the Europeans took the rest of the island, they had managed to keep them from the doors of Mahu Navara, holing up here in 1592 and managing to hold on to the city until it finally fell 222 years later. Sri Vikrama Rajasini, the last king of Kandy, set about making the city his masterpiece and lasting legacy. He flooded the valley, creating the lake that is now the city’s focal point. He built vast temple complexes and the royal palace. By the time he was done he had drained all of Kandy’s wealth. Without any money, he lost all authority and wasn’t to last much longer. In a matter of years, Kandy would join the rest of the island under British rule.
Ironically, it’s Sri Vikrama Rajasini’s legacy that makes Kandy such an essential stop on anyone’s Sri Lanka Itinerary. Thanks to him, it is an atmospheric and noble place, retaining a small-town atmosphere in its centre, with the king’s elegant Kandyan buildings and lake ensuring that the city doesn’t become overwhelmed by the narrow, traffic-clogged streets that define so many other big cities.
The Best Things to do in Kandy
1. Visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth
2. Museum of World Buddhism
3. Raja Tusker Museum
4. Watch Traditional Kandyan Dancing and Drumming
5. Climb the Bahiravakanda Buddha
6. The Kandy Garrison Cemetery
7. Stay at the Bizarre Helga’s Folly
8. Take a Walk Around Kandy Lake, Kiri Muhuda
9. Peradeniya Botanical Gardens
Visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth
Kandayans are well known for their Pageantry and Piety. It is no coincidence that Sri Lanka’s most important and exuberant religious festival, Esala Perahera, is held here. Each year an extravagant procession of music, dancers, and lavishly adorned elephants trample their way through the city to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. All of this pomp and ceremony is focused on one of the tiniest, yet holiest, relics in Buddhism – A single tooth, thought to be over two and a half thousand years old and the last remnant of Buddha. It remains in the city, protected by layers upon layers of steel casings and fortified within the Temple of the Tooth.
Legend has it that the tooth was retrieved from Buddha’s funeral pyre in 543AD and smuggled to Sri Lanka in the 4th century, hidden in the hair of an Orissan princess. As a symbol of Sinhalese Sovereignty, it was generally always housed wherever the Sinhalese king of the moment held their capital; moving from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya and Yapahuwa before being finally arriving in Kandy in 1592 where it was placed in a specially constructed temple beside the Royal Palace.
It has changed hands multiple times throughout the centuries. Twice the Chinese tried to retrieve it, in 1284 and again 1407, but twice they failed. It is thought that whoever possesses the relic will hold control of the island so you can see why, when the British got their hands on it in the early 1800s, they quickly wrapped it in yet another layer of steel and returned to Kandy.
Nothing remains of the original temple, but the current one, first constructed during the reign of Kirti Sri Rajasinha in the late 16th century, has been further embellished by a moat, gateways and gardens. Although the temple was badly damaged in 1998 by a truck bomb during the nation’s bloody civil war, it has been lovingly restored and is once again the city’s most beautiful and loved building.
Each morning and evening devotees gather for Puja, in which drumming and music precedes a ceremony, mostly hidden from the public, focused on the Tooth. The Tooth Relic chamber remains off-limits but the worshippers are permitted to file past, glancing at the gold case but not seeing what is inside. I approached the chamber. Dozens of pilgrims kneel in a horseshoe around the digge, or housing of the tooth, their legs flat against the floor from their knees to their dorsum, their bellies outstretched against the floor in front of them. When you see the reverence that people hold this object in, you can see why so many kingdoms have tried to claim it as their own throughout history. For a non-Buddhist, there isn’t much to see: In the past pilgrims had been able to peer inside at what has been described in some writings as either ‘a large canine’ or a ‘tooth more crocodile than man.’
Despite not being able to view the tooth, the temple and surrounding buildings are definitely worth the detour to Kandy. Numerous museums are located in the temple’s grounds and outside in the gardens, you can watch as people pray before candles and leave their incense to burning, letting wisps of fragrant smoke fill the courtyard.
Where: Sri Dalada Veediya
When: 5.30 am – 8 pm. The best time to visit is during a Puja (5.30 am, 9.30 am & 6.30 am) but be warned, these are the busiest times and the temple can become crowded.
Entry: Rs. 1000. Guides are available at around RS. 500 for a 30-minute tour. You will find tour guides waiting outside the main entrance but ensure you agree on a price and check the level of the guide’s English before embarking on a tour. In my opinion, I don’t think that a guided tour is necessary.
Museum of World Buddhism
Formerly the city’s high court, this British era building hidden away behind the Temple of the Sacred Tooth contains a number of interesting galleries explaining Buddhist beliefs in Sri Lanka and across Asia. While many of the galleries and rooms can appear haphazard and bewildering, there are some fascinating artefacts to be found, such as the recreation of a Bhutanese shrine, a collection of golden statues from Myanmar and a great selection of Tibetan Buddhist artefacts.
Where: Hemamali Mawatha
When: Daily 8am – 7pm
Raja Tusker Museum
Possibly one of Sri Lanka’s more unusual museums, the Raja Tusker Museum contains the stuffed remains of Raja, Sri Lanka’s most famous elephant. Elephants have always been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s history: For much of it, they were seen as a symbol of power and authority, as well as a convenient asset. In medieval times they were used to build the nation’s great cities and even today, they are unfortunately still used in religious events and festivals.
For 37 years this Maligawa elephant carried the Tooth Relic casket during the annual Esala Perahera, a colourful pageant that dates back to the 4th century. Raja died in 1988 and such was the nation’s devotion to Raja, the government declared a day of national mourning upon his passing.
Where: Within the compound of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
When: Daily 8am – 6pm
Watch Traditional Kandyan Dancing and Drumming
Kandyan dancing is one of Sri Lanka’s most revered and iconic artforms and no visit to its city of origin is complete without watching a performance. It isn’t too difficult to catch a glimpse of these troupes, clad in extravagant traditional costumes, twirling and spiraling in all their finery, as they are known to perform throughout the city at temples as well as performing arts centres.
The dance originated as part of an elaborate all-night festival in honour of the deity Kohomba and flourished during the reigns of Kandyan kings. So much so that it was eventually adopted into religious ceremonies and the prestigious Esala Perahera festival. Kandyan dancing is always accompanied by drumming, in which the drummers – also dressed in traditional costumes – pound a geta bera with their palms in an oft-frantic manner. The best place to see a performance is at the Kandyan Cultural Centre. The energetic show starts at 5pm each day and lasts around an hour. Ensure you purchase tickets in advance because it often sells out during the high season.
Climb the Bahiravakanda Buddha
Perched on the top of Bahirava Kanda, literally meaning Devil’s Hill in Sinhalese, is the 88-foot tall Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha. The construction of this concrete deity was ordered by President Premedasa. Premedasa was a religiously minded leader who built, as well as this, the ornate golden covering over The Temple of The Tooth. He eventually met his end in 1993, blown up by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber, his pious acts doing little to protect him from the separatist group.
It’s a 15-20 minute walk uphill to reach the statues base, so I would recommend hailing a tuk-tuk to reach it. If you do decide to walk, the view is worth the effort. From hee, you can see the whole of Kandy spread out in front of you; the loop of the mighty Mahaveli river and the surrounding peaks as well as Sri Vikrama Rajasini’s milk sea. Entry is free.
The Kandy Garrison Cemetery
Once left to ruin and dereliction but now painstakingly restored, the Kandy Garrison Cemetery was established in 1817 shortly after the British colonisers seized the city and offers a memorial to the country’s former rulers. The majority of the people buried here were soldiers that met fairly grizzly ends due to tropical diseases or hostile Kandyans but it also contains the grave of Sir John D’Oyly, the diplomat that orchestrated the bloodless coup of Kandy in 1815 and eventually succumbed to cholera in 1824. His memorial is the largest in the cemetery, close to the entrance and topped with a broken Greek pillar.
Where: Anagarika Dharmapala Mawatha
When: Daily 8am – 6pm
Stay at the Bizarre Helga's Folly
Madame Helga de Silva Blow Perera, the proprietor of her eponymous hotel, dubs Helga’s Folly as both the most extraordinary hotel in the world and the anti-hotel. This rambling old house was first constructed by her father high above the lake and has welcomed such esteemed guests as Gandhi, Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and, more recently, Stereophonics front man Kelley Jones, who penned the song Madame Helga in its honour.
The large, inter-war villa is a riot of colour, its exterior daubed in red with the interior rooms an equally bright mix of yellows pinks and greens with walls covered in paintings, trinkets, animal heads and chandeliers dripping with candle wax. It is certainly unique.
Take a Walk Around Kandy Lake, Kiri Muhuda
Kiri Muhuda feels like the centre of everything in Kandy and holds the city under its spell. However, it holds the memories of a brutal past. Apparently, Kandayans have a saying that ‘the lake is hungry‘, but I have no idea what this means and no one could tell me for certain.
Kiri Muhuda, or Milk Sea in Sinhalese was Sri Vikrama Rajasini’s masterpiece, built during the height of his delusions of grandeur. Considered a huge folly at the time of its construction, Sri Vikrama Rajasini would not hear a word said against it, murdering anyone who disagreed with his vision by impaling them with stakes on its bed. Following its construction, Kandy was spent. The king had squandered the wealth of the kingdom on his pagodas, parapets and watery white elephants. A revolt rose up and Sri Vikrama Rajasini responded in his characteristically horrific way by impaling the rebels on stakes. When the leader of the revolt could not be found, his children were decapitated and his wife drowned in the Milk Sea. This was the final straw for the people of Kandy. The king’s courtiers abandoned him, colluded with the British and allowed them to enter the city to overthrow him.
Despite its bloody history, the lake makes for a magical centre point to the city and a perfect place to wander in the cool evening air. Blossom trees bloom bright pinks around its perimeter, flocks of birds danced above the water and as night descends, fruit bats unfurl in the surrounding trees, readying themselves for the evening ahead. The great royal pleasure house that the king had built for his queens still remains in its centre but now stands empty, although the lake is still used for the pleasure of a different kind: A cluster of rowing boats and swan-shaped pedalos are moored at the jetty waiting for passengers and hundreds of colourful fish thrash at the surface as passers-by through in handfuls of fish food for them.
Peradeniya Botanical Gardens
Located 6km from Kandy are the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens. Covering 150 acres, these gardens are the nation’s largest, brimming with a huge variety of both native and foreign plant species. The site itself has existed since the 14th century when it was the royal residence of Wickramabahu III but the park wasn’t established until 1821 when British governor Edward Barnes transformed King Kirti Sri Rajashina’s pleasure gardens into a botanical garden.
Although Peradeniya contains an orchid house, Japanese garden, spice garden, and sprawling lawns, the main attraction is the arrow-straight Royal Palm Avenue that bisects the park, running from the entrance all the way to the garden’s northern boundry.
Where: පේරාදෙණිය පාර
When: Open Daily 8am – 5.30pm
Where to Stay in Kandy
Kandy has a good range of both budget and luxury accommodation, with many of the higher-priced hotels located atop the surrounding hills with stunning views over the city. Amaya Hills is one of the best – and also the highest – with Kandyan décor, a beautiful swimming pool and expansive views out over the region’s hills. Just be warned, you will need to take a tuk-tuk or taxi from the city centre to reach it.
If you want to stay in the city centre, the Queen’s Hotel is one of the city’s most famous landmarks and dates back to the 1860s and the time of British rule. The building has a lot of colonial character to match its prestigious history.
Getting To and from Kandy
With its location in the centre of the island, Kandy is reasonably easy to reach from almost anywhere in Sri Lanka. There are 7-8 trains each day from Colombo taking 2.5 – 3.5 hours as well as multiple trains from Ella (6 hours), Haputale (6 hours) and Nuwara Eliya (Nanu Oya station; 4 hours). If you are heading to any of these destinations from Kandy other than Colombo, I highly recommend taking the scenic train ride as it is considered one of the world’s most beautiful.
Bus services also leave for all of the above destinations daily from Kandy’s main bus station, the Goods Shed Bus Station, as well as for Anuradhapura or Polonnaruwa (every 30 minutes), Sigiriya (daily at 7.30 am) and Negombo (hourly) and Trincomalee (4 daily).
I visited Kandy as a guest of Sri Lanka Tourism, however, all views expressed are my own.
