Kandy the last royal capital of Sri Lanka is a major tourist destination.
( 115kM from Colombo at 465 meters above sea level).
Famous for the Temple of the Tooth and many other temples the city could be called the cultural capital of the island.
Kandy Perahera, the pageant of the temple of tooth where Buddha's tooth is kept is held either in July or August each year to parade the golden caskets is a must see itenary if one is visiting Sri Lanka during these months.
Kandy is served by bus from almost all parts of the county with many intercity busses. Travel time from Colombo is about 2.5hrs and about 2 hours form Nuwara Eliya and an hour and a half from Sigiriya.
Distances From Kandy in km
Colombo 116
Anuradhapura 138
Nuwara Eliya 77
Trincomalee 182
There is an intercity train service from the Colombo fort railway station and the travel time is approximately about 2 hours.There are several car rental companies operating from Kandy should your prefer to hire a car from Kandy.
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The Temple of Tooth
The main attraction of the city and also the most sacred Buddhist establishment in Sri Lanka is where one of Buddha's tooth is being kept. Built in the 16th century but improvements and additions have been done to this structure until the fall of the Kandy kingdom. A golden canopy was added recently. Daily rituals are being carried out at various offering times to the shrine. A dress code applies for entering the temple. The magnificence has been enhanced by the octagonal pavilion.
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The Royal Botanical Gardens
Once a pleasure gardens of a Kandyan Queen this 40ha land is a beautiful park with numerous tropical foliage and the best in the island. The Commander of the allied forces in Southeast Asia Earl Mountbatten had the headquarters in the garden during the Second World War.
The Temple of Tooth