Sri Lanka
Destinations
From ancient cities and sacred temples to tea-covered mountains, national parks and tropical beaches, Sri Lanka offers a remarkable variety of experiences within one island. Explore the places our guests ask for most and where every great itinerary begins.
Things to Do in Kandy
Kandy is a significant cultural destination in Sri Lanka's central hills, with a lakeside city center and historic landmarks. Use this guide to explore its attractions and understand how a visit could fit into your island itinerary.
Ringed by hills and centred on its lake, Kandy is the cultural capital of Sri Lanka. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic draws pilgrims from across the Buddhist world, and every July or August the Esala Perahera fills the streets with drummers, dancers and elephants.
Beyond the temple are the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, tea and spice country on every road out of town, and the hilltop viewpoints that give Kandy its postcard panorama.
Why VisitKandy
- Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
- Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya
- Traditional Kandyan dance
- The gateway to tea country
Best time to visit
January to April is driest; July–August for the Esala Perahera festival.
Suggested length of stay
2 nights
Getting there
About 3–4 hours from Colombo by road; also the start of the famous hill-country railway.
ExploreNearby
Nuwara Eliya
'Little England' – a cool-climate hill station of tea estates, colonial architecture, rose gardens and misty mornings at nearly 1,900 metres.
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Sigiriya
The 5th-century Lion Rock – a sheer 200-metre fortress rising from the plains, crowned by the ruins of a royal citadel and ringed by ancient gardens.
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Dambulla
The Golden Cave Temple – five caves of Buddha statues and vivid ceiling murals beneath a single granite overhang, a place of worship for over two thousand years.
Read more
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