Kandy ( Uda Rata ) Tour

Kandy ( Uda Rata ) Tour

Kandy’s proud heritage and splendid lakeside setting has long made it a favourite haunt for Sri Lanka travellers. This bustling hill-country capital is the natural gateway to a lush central region of tea plantations, gurgling streams and stirring history.

Kandy lies on a plain surrounded by towering hills, with evocative names such as Bible Rock, Camel Hill and Balloon Rock. Kandy is never busier than during the annual Perahera, a fortnight’s festival in late July and August, when the town is enlivened by parading elephants, acrobats, drummers and dancers. This is one of the finest festivals in Asia and hotel space is limited months in advance.

The pink-painted Temple of the Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most sacred religious relic the tooth of the Buddha, hidden beneath six caskets of diminishing size and it attracts a steady stream of visitors throughout the year. The national museum lies alongside.

The lake itself , built in 1807, forms an attractive centrepiece to the town; the island in the middle was used by the last Kandyan king as his personal harem.

Peradiniya botanical gardens, 6km outside the town, and bounded on three sides by the Mahaweli River, are the largest in Sri Lanka and before colonial times were used as Royal pleasure gardens. Udawattakelle Sanctuary, a forest reserve on the northern outskirts, and the Royal Palace Park are other areas where you can take a relaxing stroll, away from the bustle of
the town.

Golfers should not miss the opportunity to sample Victoria Golf Club, which for its sweeping vistas alone deserves its fast-won reputation as one of the finest courses in Asia.

About an hour from Kandy, on the Colombo road at Kegalle, lies the ever-popular Pinnewela elephant orphanage. This government-run centre was set up to save abandoned young elephants and train them to become working animals. The daily feeding and washing rituals offer a popular tourist attraction.

The Kandyan kingdom withstood European invasion for more than two centuries and still proudly regards itself as the bastion of Buddhist philosophy.

Kandy is easily explored by foot, with the climate a little cooler and less humid than in the capital, Colombo.