Culture and History in Kandy

The last royal kingdom of Sri Lanka and the gateway to the island’s hill country, Kandy is steeped in culture and history and has particularly strong foundations in Buddhism, the island’s major religion. It is home to the iconic Temple of the Tooth, one of the most famous Buddhist temples in the world, which houses a sacred relic said to be one of Lord Buddha’s teeth that has been enshrined in Sri Lanka since 4th century.

Delve deeper into Kandy’s Buddhist roots and visit Gampola, located just outside of Kandy, which is home to three Buddhist temples which date back to the 14th century. Embekke, Lankatilaka and Galadeniya are all well-preserved examples of Sri Lankan architecture from this period, and house spectacular Kandyan art pieces including murals, paintings and statues as well as stone inscriptions which tell of the ancient history of Sri Lanka.

Kandy is also the gateway into the hill country, and in the 19th century a railway connecting the city with various towns in the hills was engineered by the British in order to make the transportation of tea more efficient. Now heralded as one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world, take the train into Sri Lanka’s central hills and marvel the spectacular views of rolling tea fields, deep gorges, waterfalls and pine forest.

Also brought into being during the British colonial era, the Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya offer a welcome break from the busy city centre. Home to over 4,000 plant species and almost 10,000 trees – some of which were shipped over from Kew Gardens in the British colonial era – these formal gardens are famed for the collection of beautiful orchids and the giant fruit bats which hang in their hundreds from the tree tops. Stroll around this peaceful paradise and enjoy one of the finest gardens in Asia.

A fantastic way to explore Kandyan culture is to spend an evening watching a cultural show, an energetic dance and gymnastics performance set to complex traditional Kandyan drum beats which culminates in a thrilling fire-breathing and fire-walking act.