Kandy sits at the heart of Sri Lanka’s cultural landscape. The city was the last royal capital of the country and seat of government of the last Sinhalese kingdom, until it was taken over by the British in 1815. It’s one of the biggest and most significant cities of Sri Lanka. This was the second stop on our tour and we stayed two nights (see my guide to our first stop, Sigiriya). While only 90 km (56 miles) from Sigiriya, the drive takes about 3 hours due to the roads and traffic along the way.
Where we stayed - Sun Dove Suite
We stayed at Sun Dove Suite and I can’t recommend it enough. We had the mountain view room with balcony and the view from here was incredible looking out to Kandy Lake. The most comfortable bed we had the entire trip as well. The owners were so incredibly friendly and helpful. It was also a bonus they provided laundry service (charged by the kilo). Absolutely loved the inclusive Sri Lankan breakfast – was so hearty it kept us fueled until dinner each day.
Kandy Lake (Kiri Muhada)
Kandy Lake is also known as Kiri Muhada, which literally translates as Sea of Milk. This is an artificial lake built in 1807 by King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, the last king of the Kingdom of Kandy. It was constructed next to the Temple of the Tooth Relic as part of a royal project to beautify the city and provide a serene setting for the temple. In the centre of the lake there is a small island that was once used as a royal bathing pavilion.
The lake provides a beautiful focal point for the city and makes for some great photo ops. I’d recommend walking the footpath around it to take in the city. The earlier the better though, its gets very busy and hot during the day!
Temple of the Sacred Tooth
One of the most revered Buddhist temples in the world is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, said to contain a tooth of the Buddha.
The tooth is believed to have been taken from his funeral pyre and smuggled into Sri Lanka from India in the 4th century AD. Over the centuries, as Sri Lanka’s capitals shifted from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, and eventually to Kandy, the relic was moved accordingly — always kept under the protection of the ruling monarch. This is why you might come across other Temples of the Tooth along your travels.
This temple is found in the Royal Temple Complex, situated next to Kandy Lake. There are a few entrances around the complex. We found this a bit confusing as there is no sign definitively indicating an entrance to the temple. However, where you see the women/men security entrances, this is the entrance to the grounds.
The temple ticket price is 2000 LKR ($6) and can be paid using card. It includes entrance to other museums inside the complex. Men and women must dress modestly with knees and shoulders covered and shoes must be removed. There is a place to leave your shoes next to the ticket office.
Inside the temple you’ll see a prominent multi-tiered shrine. The relic itself is enclosed in a series of nested, golden caskets shaped like stupas within the shrine and is unfortunately not visible. They do take the tooth out for special occasions, but sadly not very often.
There are stairs to walk up to the second level to view the top tier, where many locals pray and leave offerings of flowers for the Buddha.
I would recommend exploring the grounds and other musems if you have the time. We walked through the The Dalada Museum (history of the tooth relic and temple) and the Tusker Museum – honoring “Raja,” the elephant who carried the tooth casket in the Esala Perahera procession for decades.
Bahirawakanda Vihara Buddha Statue
Bahirawakanda Vihara Buddha Statue otherwise known as The Big Buddha of Kandy is perched on Bahirawa Kanda hill. From the city center it’s a 30 minutes walk, but it is a steep hike up. We opted to get dropped off by our driver, but you can take a tuk tuk too.
As with all of these places, appropriate dress was required, and shoes had to be removed. Tickets were 300LKR (cash only).
Only built in 1990, the statue is about 26.83 meters (88 feet) tall and is one of the tallest seated Buddha statues in Sri Lanka. There are stairs that take you up to the shoulder of the Buddha where there are some lovely panoramic views of the city.
Kandyan Dance
Kandyan Dance stands as Sri Lanka’s masterpiece of sacred art, deeply rooted in ritual and spirituality, and is widely recognized as the country’s classical dance form. There are a few places to watch one of these shows, and they take place nightly.
We bought tickets at Kandyan Art Association & Cultural Centre and paid LKR 2000 per person. Other options are Kandy Lake Club (which is the most expensive) and Red Cross Hall.
You will read mixed reviews online about the various shows, but my honest takeaway is it doesn’t matter too much which one you choose, as they follow a similar format. Just go with what suits you.
Our show started at 5pm and was only an hour long. We really enjoyed it. We saw several traditional dances and even got a fire performance at the end with dancers swallowing fire and walking across fire coals.
Ambuluwawa Tower
On our second morning, we left at 9am to Ambuluwawa Tower. This is a 48m (157 feet) tall spiral observation tower located near Gampola, which is about 25 km (an hour drive) from Kandy.
Arriving early was strategic, as we wanted to climb the tower when it was quiet and before the majority of tourists arrived.
Cars can only drive up to the bottom of the hill, where you must transfer to a tuk tuk to get to the top (500LKR per person). It’s a steep, snakey drive up the mountain that takes around 15 mins.
Here is where your bravery starts. The climb up starts off with some interior stairs (easy enough!). Then the staircase transitions to an outer spiral that wraps around the outside of the tower. This is where it gets “fun”, as the outer spiral is quite narrow, sometimes less than 2 feet. The railing on the outer staircase is also low, more or less waist-high, and that was for me, someone at 5ft 6inch. I had to hug the wall as I walked up and there were spots towards the top where I felt I was being squeezed between the wall and the railing. It was nothing short of terrifying.
Despite being very early, we weren’t the only people making the climb up. Thankfully there are small alcoves at various points where you can pop in, take a breath and let people pass by. I couldn’t imagine this climb at very busy times as there is simply not enough room on the stairs to pass each other. During busy times I heard of many people not making the top due to congestion.
Climbing up is scary enough so I highly suggest getting there early so you can take your time. The views at the top of the surrounding mountain ranges and valley are truly incredible. It’s the icing on the cake after an adrenaline fueled walk up!
Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya
Heading back to Kandy from Gambola, we stopped at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, which is 5km from Kandy. The 147 acre site is home to more than 4,000 plant species, including palms, orchids, spices, medicinal plants, ferns, and flowering trees.
Its origins date back to the 14th century during King Wickramabahu III’s reign when it served as a royal pleasure garden. In 1821, British colonial authorities transformed it into a botanical garden initially cultivating coffee and cinnamon, and by 1843 it had become a formal garden, bolstered by plant collections from Kew Gardens (UK), Colombo, and Kalutara.
We spent 2 hours walking around and exploring the beautiful gardens. There is a restaurant and a cafe on site, and entrance prices are 3540 LKR for tourists.
The gardens are also home to some cool wildlife, like the Toque Macaque, Palm Squirrels (look like chipmunks), monitor lizards and the Indian Flying Foxes (fruit bats). Be sure to look up in the trees while you are in the gardens. They are full of these fruit bats, some of them with wing spans of 1.5 m (5 feet). I was amazed at just how many of them there were.
If the weather is good (usually in the morning) then I’d really recommend a trip here.
Grand Sky Lounge Restaurant - Dinner with a view!
For some great views of Kandy city, we did spent one evening at the Grand Sky Lounge Restaurant. It’s located on the roof of the Grand Serendib Hotel. The menu is varied with options to suit all tastes. The food and wine were good but be warned, they will charge VAT as well as city tax on top of the bill, which works out around 30%-35% extra. Expensive but nice.
Wrap up
I felt that two days was the perfect amount of time to explore Kandy and even take in some cultural sites a bit further afield. As it’s one of the bigger cities in the country, it was quite busy, with lots of traffic, and a hustle and bustle vibe. It’s a fascinating contrast to the rest of the sites we visited in Sri Lanka, so I would recommend a short stay here.
It was also our starting point the next morning for the famous train ride through the middle of the country to Ella.
