Kandy is Sri Lanka’s most visited tourist destination other
than Colombo. It’s the last Sinhala kingdom but still
remains unique from rest of the country to date, socially,
culturally, and spiritually though the British occupied it
after signing the Kandyan Convention on 10 th March in
1815. It is held in high esteem as the cultural capital of
Sri Lanka and is considered, as the storehouse of all that
was most pure and genuine. Currently it is conserved as
a ‘World Heritage’.
Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya [ Royal Botanical
Gardens] were established in 1816 in the Royal
Park of King Kirti Sri Rajasinghe [1747-1780] on
40 hectares and are in a loop of the Mahaweli
Ganga. It’s on an elevation of 475 metres contains
healthy specimens of all known plants in Sri Lanka
and of much of the tropical flora from around the
world. Leisurely walk through the perpetual cute
pink and yellow “Queen of Flowering Tree” the
avenue of Royal Palm and a large amount of the
coconut’s magical glades; riverside reeds, thickets
of giant Bamboo towering 40 metres; trees heavy
with flying fox hanging like fruits; healing herbs
spice garden; ponds; orchids; cactus; a froth of
ferns; the Conservatory.
Kandy Esala Perahera is held annually in July/August in honour the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha to obtain blessings for the country and is conducted for 10 days. The main Perahera is on the Nikini full moon day. It is headed by the Dalada Perahera and followed by the Peraheras of the four Maha Devalas – Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama, and Pattini. Hundreds of drummers and nearly 100 caparisoned elephants are in the procession annually. The Kandy Esala Perahera is classified as the most spectacular pageant in whole of Asia.
