10 October 2024

Temples, Tea & Tropical Gardens in Kandy, Sri Lanka


From the Cultural Triangle, I travelled 60 miles south to Kandy, Sri Lanka's second-largest city, located in the central highlands. The capital of the Sinhalese monarchy for several centuries until 1818, Kandy was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It remains a place of special cultural, religious and historical significance. 

Kandy's Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic attracts thousands of worshippers and tourists every day. And there are plenty of other things to do in and around the city, so it's well worth spending at least two, and ideally three, days there. I stayed for two-and-a-half days, taking in most of the central sights on my first full day and visiting some of the places outside the city, like the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Ceylon Tea Museum, on my second day. I also made sure to allow for some downtime at my hotel's amazing pool!


For a more relaxed stay, I'd spread the city-centre activities over two days. You could visit the Temple of the Tooth and Udawattakele Forest on one day and then on the second, check out Kandy Lake and visit the central market, the Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya temple and Arthur's Seat, before attending a cultural dance show in the evening. 


THINGS TO DO IN KANDY


Visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

Sri Dalada Maligawa, known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world, housing (as its name suggests) the relic of the tooth of Gautama Buddha (the left canine, in case you were wondering!). Located next to Kandy Lake, the temple complex is large and beautiful. Its stark white architecture showcases a particularly striking octagonal pavilion. 

Tickets cost 2,000 LKR (about £5.20) and you'll need to take off your shoes (bring socks you don't mind getting dirty to protect your feet; shoe storage is available for a small tip) and ensure your shoulders and legs are covered.

If possible, try to time your visit to one of the daily pooja ceremonies that take place at 5:30 am, 9:30 am and 6:30 pm. I arrived just before 9 am and because it was also a festival day, the temple was exceptionally busy with many people who had come to present lotus flowers and other offerings. The ritual itself takes place behind closed doors (likewise, the tooth itself is not on public display) but the extended procession that precedes it, featuring trumpets and drumming, is quite the sight to behold. The temple also has a small museum but there's not much information in English.



Get a taste for Kandyan cultural dances

Kandy is famous for its many varieties of cultural dances and the best way to get a glimpse of them is to attend one of the daily cultural dance shows. I booked a ticket for a one-hour show at the Kandy Cultural Centre, which cost 2,000 LKR (£5.20). 

I was worried that I wouldn't get much out of the show but some of the seats had cards that explained the 11 stages of the spectacle we were about to watch. The dancers were all very talented and regardless of how much understanding you have of the cultural significance, it's hard not to be impressed by the skill of the acrobats, plate spinners, fire eaters and all of the others. 

If you are keen to learn more about Kandyan culture, the best time to come is during Perahera — a two-week festival that usually takes place in August. Accommodation gets booked up very quickly during this time so you'll need to book well in advance.


Get lost in an urban forest

Udawattekele Sanctuary is a former royal forest reserve located a short walk (and even shorter tuk tuk ride) from Kandy city centre. I headed there when I wanted to escape the traffic, hubbub and heat of the city. Entrance costs about 1,000 LKR (£2.60) and it's a lovely, peaceful place to spend a few hours. Best visited in the morning to maximise sightings of the 80+ bird and animal species, Udawattekele has a number of different trails you can follow. 

Do take a picture of the trail map at the entrance because there aren't many signs — and even fewer English signs. The ticket officer told me there was a second exit close to the lake viewpoint (which would get me back to the lakefront much quicker than via the main entrance) but it wasn't really signposted and was quite tricky to find. I made it in the end!


Find your favourite lake view

Kandy is very different from Swiss cities in many ways, but as you stroll around Kandy Lake, you can't help but notice the certain air de Lausanne. Maybe that's what the Hotel Suisse thought, anyway! It's worth making the steep ten-minute walk up to Arthur's Seat — named for the one in Edinburgh, although the two places don't have much in common beyond offering a fine city view. 

For an even better vista, I took a tuk tuk to the Sri Maha Bodhi Viharaya temple. You can climb up the steps to the shoulders of the giant Buddha statue and see Kandy and the surrounding area spread out below you.


Shop 'til you drop

If you've been waiting to indulge in some retail therapy, Kandy is a good starting point. The municipal central market is a worth a visit for the historic building alone. Inside, you'll find meat, fish, fruit and other produce, as well as a selection of stores selling homewares, souvenirs and other gifts. I hadn't upped my haggling game at this point, but after seeing the prices for similar items elsewhere, I don't think I did too badly!

I also enjoyed visiting a few shops in and around Kandy's small shopping mall. Luv SL is a small chain that offers a good range of high-quality clothing and other souvenirs; Cotton Collection is good for clothes and accessories; and Spa Ceylon has beautifully packaged skin, hair, body and wellness products (great for gifts — the Kandy store also has a lot of mini/travel sizes so stock up here if you can).


Enjoy the greenery at the Royal Botanic Gardens

Located a few miles outside Kandy in Peradeniya, the Royal Botanic Gardens are the largest botanical gardens in Sri Lanka and among the most impressive in Asia. You'll need two to three hours to fully explore the 147-acre tropical gardens, where you can stroll down the stunning palm tree avenue, admire the double coconut trees (producing the world's largest seeds) and the orchid house, delight in the cute animal topiary, and look out for sleeping flying foxes hanging from the trees. Entrance costs 3,000 LKR (about £7.80) and I was able to pay by credit card.



Learn about tea production and history

My tuk tuk driver tried really hard not to take me to the Ceylon Tea Museum. "It's 5,000 LKR to get in," he said (it wasn't; it was 1,000 LKR). "It's really far away," he said (it was a 15-minute journey from my hotel). He wanted to take me to one of his friend's tea factories instead but I was already planning a tea factory visit on the way to Nuwara Eliya so I'm glad I stuck to my guns. Housed in the former factory of the Ceylon Tea Company, which closed in 1986, the museum has a lot of historic machinery — much of it made in Britain in the 19th century — used in tea production. 

My guided tour was very informative — I particularly liked the small working factory model — and I was then allowed to explore the archives upstairs. I enjoyed looking at some of the vintage posters and advertisements and learned a lot about James Taylor, the Scot who brought tea to Sri Lanka, and Thomas Lipton ('Sir Tea'), albeit from a rather colonial perspective. My ticket included a free cup of tea in the café — you could upgrade to more premium varieties.


On the road to and from Kandy

Kandy has many interesting temples, tea plantations and waterfalls in its vicinity. Depending on how you are getting to and from the city, it may make more sense to visit some of these places en route. For example, on my taxi transfer from Dambulla to Kandy, we stopped at Nalanda Gedige (the middle point of Sri Lanka) and Aluviharaya Rock Cave Temple, both near Matale.

We also went to a spice garden, which wasn't my thing: the tour and explanation of all the different herbs and spices was moderately interesting and I also got a 'free' Ayurdvedic head, neck and shoulder massage. But the hard-sell on the very overpriced products was a real challenge, especially as a people-pleasing solo traveller.


I originally planned to take the train from Kandy to Nanu Oya (for Nuwara Eliya) but then realised that if I went by tuk tuk, I could stop off at various tea plantations, waterfalls and other points of interest on the way. I really enjoyed visiting Ramboda Waterfall and Bluefield Tea Factory, where I had a very informative tour and bought some tea. Check out my Nuwara Eliya blog post for more details.


FOOD & DRINK IN KANDY

Balaji Dosai. For a tasty, filling and cheap lunch in central Kandy, head to Balaji Dosai. The vegetarian eatery specialises in dosa, a thin, crispy pancake made from rice and black gram lentils. I ordered an onion dosa, which came with a huge amount of chopped raw onion inside and it was served with a couple of spicy curries and sambols. I'd strategically ordered a mango lassi to help calm the spices! I did regret not ordering the paper dosa — a paper-thin version, which was even huger!

Hideout Lounge. After witnessing yet another incredible candy-coloured Kandy sunset, dinner was my next priority. Luckily, I wasn't too far from Hideout Lounge, a cool all-day eatery close to the southeast end of Kandy Lake. I had a delicious and nicely presented pumpkin curry, with a creative and colourful mocktail. The wait staff were super-friendly and it was a fun, relaxed place to spend the evening. 


Department of Coffee. I didn't visit the Kandy location of this Sri Lankan specialty coffee company, but having enjoyed a delicious single-origin pourover at their Colombo café, I'd recommend checking them out for coffee and/or brunch in Kandy.


WHERE TO STAY IN KANDY

I usually prefer to stay centrally in a city for ease of exploring on foot. But several of the hotels on my list for Kandy were unavailable or too expensive. Then, I came across Amaya Hills, a luxury hotel perched in the hills above the city and its beautiful, verdant setting and pool with an incredible view convinced me to make a booking. 

As it happened, Amaya Hills' location worked out great. The hotel is a 20-minute tuk tuk ride up the hill from the city centre (one-way rides should cost 1,000 to 1,500 LKR (£3–4), or a little cheaper with Uber and PickMe). And after spending a full day in the hustle and bustle of Kandy, it was a delight to escape to the serene surroundings of Amaya Hills, where I could relax on my balcony, take a refreshing dip in the large pool and walk through the hotel's beautiful gardens.


I paid about £75 per night for a premium deluxe room, which included a very good breakfast from the extensive buffet. I was treated to a stunning sunset from my balcony every single night — the best one came just after I emerged from a blissful facial at the hotel spa. The service was excellent too — the staff members all gave me a very warm welcome and were happy to help me book (and negotiate) transport and activities.


Other hotels on my Kandy shortlist included Theva Residency (also up in the hills), Helga's Folly (more of a museum than a hotel!), Grand Serendib Hotel and Thilanka Hotel. It was, unfortunately, out of my budget, but The Kandy House looks like an incredibly special place to stay. One day maybe!


GETTING THERE & AROUND

Kandy is located in Sri Lanka's central highlands, about 75 miles northeast of Colombo; it takes at least three hours by car. From Nuwara Eliya or Ella, the car journey takes about three or four hours, respectively. For good rates on intercity taxi transfers in Sri Lanka and a very responsive team on WhatsApp, check out Less Taxi, which I used on other occasions during my trip. 

It's a lot cheaper to travel to Kandy by train. The journey takes about 2.5+ hours from Colombo, four hours from Nanu Oya (for Nuwara Eliya) and six or seven hours from Ella — delays are common so allow plenty of time for the journey. The train ride between Kandy and Ella — and particularly the section from Nanu Oya to Ella — is one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world and one of Sri Lanka's most iconic experiences. Reserved tickets sell out a long way in advance (you can book here from 30 days before your date of travel — if the reserved tickets are sold out, you can still get a ticket for an unreserved carriage on the day but you may not get a seat...). 

I travelled on the Nanu Oya to Ella section and will be writing up my experiences in a future blog post, but in the meantime, check out the Man in Seat 61's guide to train travel in Sri Lanka for more information.

I arrived in Kandy from Habarana by car. My journey, with a driver arranged by my guesthouse, cost about 15,000 LKR (£38), including time for a visit to Pidurangala Rock at sunrise and to Dambulla Cave Temples. It took about five hours from Dambulla to Kandy but we stopped at numerous points of interest and lunch along the way. I travelled from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya by tuk tuk, paying around 11,000 LKR (£28). The journey took about four hours, including a long stop at Bluefield Tea Factory and a slightly shorter visit to Ramboda Waterfall. I covered this stage in my Nuwara Eliya blog post.

You can explore most of the attractions in Kandy city centre on foot but if you need to go further afield, hundreds of tuk tuk drivers will be clamouring for your business. I found the constant tuk tuk hassle worse in Kandy than anywhere else in Sri Lanka — you can't walk more than ten metres without being asked where you're from and where you'd like to go. I also found that the better rate I negotiated, the more hassle I got on my journey to extend my ride into a tour or visit a spice garden, gem factory or tea garden. 

In general, I had a better experience with drivers I booked through my hotel. Uber and PickMe both work well in Kandy and offer considerably cheaper rates but take big commissions from the drivers. Be mindful of the exchange rate and the average salary in Sri Lanka when you're haggling — a price difference of 500 LKR is only £1.30 or $1.70.


NEED TO KNOW

If you're looking for packing tips, check out my Sri Lanka packing guide or my recommendations of tried-and-tested products for travel.

Electricity. Sri Lanka uses two main plug socket types: type D (with three round pins) and type G (with three rectangular pins, also used in the UK). All but one of the hotels I stayed in on this trip had sockets that supported type G plugs, but I brought a type D adapter with me just in case.

Language. Sri Lanka's two official languages, Sinhala and Tamil, are related but not mutually intelligible. Sinhala words and names are often long and the stress usually falls on the antepenultimate syllable (e.g. Pi-du-RAN-ga-la) English is a recognised language, often used as a bridging language in administration, and spoken widely, especially in the tourism and hospitality industries, but try to learn a few keys words in Sinhala and/or Tamil. 'Thank you' is Sthuthi in Sinhala and nanri in Tamil.

Money. At the time of writing (October 2024), the exchange rate of the Sri Lankan rupee (LKR) was about 390 LKR to the British pound or 294 LKR to the US dollar. I downloaded the XE currency converter app for currency calculations on the go. Cash is very much king in Sri Lanka — I could only pay by credit card in some hotels, higher-end restaurants and shops and a few major tourist sites. ATMs are widespread and it's usually easy to find one that doesn't charge for withdrawals (but check with your bank about international charges). ATMs tend to distribute 5,000 LKR (about £13) notes, for which smaller establishments may not be able to make change. Break bigger notes when you can — I found that 1,000, 500 and 100 LKR notes were the most useful to have available.

Time zone. Sri Lanka Standard Time is 5.5 hours ahead of GMT. There is no daylight savings time, which means the country is 4.5 hours ahead of the UK during British Summer Time.

Weather & when to visit. Sri Lanka has many micro-climates and there's not one single best time to visit the whole country. There are two main monsoon seasons: during the main southwest monsoon, the southwest coast and hill country (including Kandy) experience rain from April/May to September, while the less severe northeast monsoon impacts the east coast from November to March. I chose to visit in September as it's one of the times of year that offers the best chance of good weather all over the island. And it was hot (30–32C) and sunny throughout my stay in Kandy, although slightly cooler in the evenings. If you want to experience Kandy's famous Perahera festival, it's held in the Sinhalese month of Esala, which is usually held around August.

Wifi/mobile data. I got a free 30GB Mobitel eSIM card with my airport transfer, which gave me good 4G coverage throughout my trip; download speeds were often better than the hotel wifi. If I hadn't had this free SIM, I would have used my favourite eSIM provider, Airalo. I've used their eSIMs in various countries across three continents and always appreciate the convenience and reasonable pricing that they offer. Want to try Airalo on your next trip? Sign up using my referral code — REBECC3024 — and we both get $3 credit.



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