Kandy, and the Temple of the Tooth

Kandy sits in a bowl of green hills in the centre of Sri Lanka, around an artificial lake, at the point where the dry plains of the north give way to the mountains of the hill country. From the late fifteenth century until 1815, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Kandy, the last independent Sinhalese kingdom on the island. While the Portuguese and then the Dutch took control of the coasts, the kings of Kandy held out in the mountains, protected by forest, hills and a fierce reluctance to be conquered. It was the British who finally took the kingdom in 1815, with the help of Kandyan nobles who had turned against their king. With it, they took control of the whole island.

The city that remains is a busy provincial town. Its heart is the lake, built by the last king at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and beside it, the white walls and golden roof of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

The tooth

According to tradition, when the Buddha died and was cremated in India, a tooth was taken from the funeral pyre. Centuries later, in the fourth century AD, the story goes that it was smuggled to Sri Lanka hidden in the hair of a princess, to keep it safe from enemies. From then on, the tooth relic became a symbol of the right to rule. Whoever held it held the kingship, and it moved with the capital from city to city until it came to rest in Kandy.

The temple, the Sri Dalada Maligawa, is a complex of shrines and halls within the old royal palace grounds. The relic itself is kept in a series of nested golden caskets in an inner chamber and is not shown to the public. Three times a day, ceremonies are held in its honour, with drumming, horns and offerings of flowers. In the evening, when the drums sound across the lake and lines of pilgrims dressed in white bring lotus and frangipani blossoms to the shrine, it is one of the most moving sights in Sri Lanka. The temple was damaged by a bomb during the civil war in 1998, and has been restored. Together with the city around it, it is a World Heritage Site.

The Esala Perahera

Once a year, usually in July or August, Kandy holds the Esala Perahera, one of the great festivals of Asia. For around ten nights, processions wind through the streets after dark: drummers, dancers, fire-twirlers, whip-crackers and torchbearers, and dozens of elephants in embroidered and illuminated cloths. The climax comes when a great elephant carries a replica of the casket containing the tooth. The city is packed, and rooms are booked far ahead.

A walk around the lake is the best introduction to the city. The path runs all the way round, under shady trees, past the temple, the old royal buildings and the colonial-era houses on the hills above. A white parapet runs along the water's edge, with a pattern said to resemble clouds. In the early morning, it fills with walkers, pilgrims heading to the temple and schoolchildren in white uniforms. At dusk, the lake is quiet, and the lights of the temple reflect on the water.

Around Kandy

On the edge of the city, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya were laid out under the British on the site of an earlier royal garden. They are among the finest in Asia, with avenues of royal palms, a vast giant fig tree and a house of orchids. Kandyan dance, with its acrobatic leaps and elaborate costumes, is performed for visitors in the evenings. Kandy is also the gateway to the hill country and the tea estates beyond.

Travelsphere's Highlights of Sri Lanka with Beruwala Beach Extension, fourteen nights, includes Kandy with Colombo, Minneriya, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya, Yala, Beruwala and Galle.

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Visitors to the temple should dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, and remove their shoes. Arrive for the evening ceremony a little early to find a place, and let the drums do the rest.