A brief glimpse of Kandy

This sacred Buddhist site, popularly known as the city of Senkadagalapura, was the last capital of the Sinhala kings whose patronage enabled the Dinahala culture to flourish for more than 2,500 years until the occupation of Sri Lanka by the British in 1815. It is also the site of the Temple of the Tooth Relic (the sacred tooth of the Buddha), which is a famous pilgrimage site.

UNESCO World Heritage listing

Kandy is Sri Lanka’s second largest city after Colombo and was listed by UNESCO in 1988. It has a long and proud history. It was the last stronghold of Sinhalese independence, resisting both Portuguese and Dutch rule long after the rest of the island had been conquered.

The city was inscribed by UNESCO based on two specific criteria. Firstly, it is considered an outstanding example of traditional Sinhalese palatial and religious architecture, juxtaposing the Royal Palace with the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Secondly, as the final stronghold of the Sinhala kings, the city successfully resisted European colonial rule for over two centuries, allowing indigenous arts, architecture, music, and religious traditions to thrive against the pressures of colonial influence.

We only spent one afternoon and a night in Kandy, just long enough really to visit its most famous sight, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. But before that we had time for a short walk around some city centre streets. Kandy is a big centre for the sale of gemstones and we saw a lot of stone polishers outside the jewellery shops.

Kandy streets

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

This is by far the most visited and most significant sight in Kandy, and the one that absorbed most of our time in the city.

We were pleased to see that the local tour office had arranged for a guide. I’d had a conversation with them a few days previously regarding our concerns about Champi’s lack of experience in that area and they’d offered to provide additional guiding at some key sites. That was the perfect compromise, allowing us to retain Champi’s services as a driver while enhancing our experiences of these sights.

Our guide here proved to be almost too thorough, as he explained more than we could properly take in, but I’d rather that than have no idea what I was looking at. And he was very patient while we took photos, which was permitted throughout (the only restriction is to refrain from posing in front of the statues and shrines).

Before we entered Champi bought some flowers as offerings outside the temple. 

Madduma Bandara monument

On the way in we saw several monuments including one to a young boy. A sign explained that he was Madduma Bandara and had been executed at just nine years old, facing his fate with extreme bravery. I later read more about him. His father had wrongly been accused of treachery by the king (supporting the British when in truth he was fighting against them) and the whole family killed as a result. He is consequently one of the country’s national heroes.

The Madduma Bandara monument

Outside the temple

At the entrance to the temple we removed our shoes. Our guide then gave us an introduction to the temple’s history which was built specifically to house the sacred relic. According to Buddhist tradition, when the Buddha was cremated in 543 BC at Kushinagar in North India, various parts of his remains were rescued from the ashes, including several teeth. In the fourth century AD, as Buddhism was declining in India in the face of a Hindu revival, this particular tooth was smuggled into Sri Lanka, hidden in the hair of a princess, Hemmamali. After being held in several parts of the country it found its way to Kandy in the late sixteenth century. While non-believers may (and do) challenge its provenance and authenticity, for Sri Lankan Buddhists it is not only of religious significance but also a symbol of the island’s independence.

Outside the temple

Before we entered our guide pointed out the site of a major Tamil bomb blast in 1998 which badly damaged the adjoining Royal Palace. The latter clearly had a big impact on him personally as well as on the temple, as he mentioned it several times during our tour.

Inside we saw some photos of the annual festival, Esala Perahera, when the tooth relic is paraded around the city on the back of a specially chosen temple elephant, always a male tusker.

The shrine

Then we entered the shrine itself. The golden casket which holds the tooth is for most of the time hidden behind a curtain. It is revealed three times a day, when worshippers and pilgrims throng to the temple. It must be quite an experience but incredibly crowded.

Other areas of the temple

The temple is large with several different rooms. I didn’t catch the significance of everything we saw because of our guide’s strongly accented English, but some things stood out. In front of a white stupa (known as a dagoba in Sri Lanka) we saw coins left as offerings, tied in white cloth. Nearby was a bronze relief depicting Princess Hemmamali with her husband, Prince Dantha, bringing the sacred tooth to Sri Lanka.

The small dagoba, and the bronze relief of Princess Hemmamali and Prince Dantha

Upper floor

On the upper floor was an area where flowers were left as devotions, and Champi gave us one each from his tray to place on the pile. Our guide talked about the significance of flowers for Buddhists. I think I understood him to say that the impermanence of flowers was seen as a reflection of our own life and death. The flowers would quickly wilt and would be removed and thrown away, and indeed we saw men doing just that, almost as quickly as worshippers were leaving them.

Flower offerings

Another room had a collection of Buddha statues from all the major Buddhist countries including Thailand, South Korea and India. I loved the ceiling here with its two lines of golden elephants.

Hall of Buddhas

The final place we visited was a hall containing a stuffed elephant, Raja, the tusker who was the first to serve the temple, which he did for 50 years. I’m not a fan of stuffed animals and as he was behind glass I didn’t even attempt to get a photo of him.

Kandy Lake

We said goodbye to our guide at the exit, where we also retrieved our shoes. Champi then suggested a walk by the lake, as we wouldn’t have time to see it in the morning. This is an artificial lake, constructed on what was once an area of paddy fields.

Kandy Lake

Our walk here was a pleasant way to round off the afternoon, which I’m sharing for Jo’s Monday Walk this week.

I visited Kandy in February 2026