For the cultural soul of Sri Lanka. Kandy was the island's last royal capital and holds the Temple of the Sacred Tooth, one of Buddhism's most revered shrines, set around a lake in cool hill country. It hosts the spectacular Esala Perahera procession each summer, and serves as the gateway to the tea country and the scenic hill-country train. For culture and highlands together, nothing on the island matches it.

What is there to do in Kandy?

Visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth and walk the lake, catch a Kandyan dance and drumming show, and explore the markets of the old town. Just outside, the Peradeniya botanic gardens, the Udawatta Kele forest reserve and hill viewpoints fill a day or two. Kandy is also the launch point for the famous train into the tea country and Ella.

When is the best time to visit Kandy?

December to April is the driest and clearest stretch, though Kandy's elevation keeps it temperate most of the year. The Esala Perahera, the city's ten-night procession of dancers and decorated elephants, falls in July or August and is a remarkable thing to witness, but brings crowds and higher prices, so plan around it either way.

How do you get to Kandy?

About three to four hours by car from Colombo and its airport, or a scenic three-hour train from the capital. From Kandy, the onward rail line to Nuwara Eliya and Ella climbs through tea country and is among the world's great train journeys. In town, the lakeside centre is walkable and tuk-tuks cover the hills.

What is the Esala Perahera?

Kandy's grandest festival: a ten-night procession, usually in July or August, in which the Temple of the Sacred Tooth parades through the streets with drummers, dancers, whip-crackers and dozens of elephants in elaborate, illuminated costume. It is one of Asia's most spectacular religious pageants. If you visit during it, book accommodation well ahead, as the city fills.

Boutique Hotels in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Where to Stay in Kandy

Kandy splits between the busy lakeside centre, close to the temple and the markets, and the quieter residential hills that ring the town, where the views open up and the noise falls away. The club's choice sits in the latter. Kings Pavilion is a nine-room boutique hotel in the hills of Aniwatta, about 1.5km from the centre, set in three acres of garden with an infinity pool framing the Hunnasgiriya and Knuckles ranges. Once a bungalow that hosted touring cricket teams, it is now a calm, family-run retreat with Kandyan art in the rooms and a betel-leaf welcome, close enough to walk into town yet far enough to escape it. It suits travellers who want the culture by day and a quiet hillside base to return to, rather than a room over the lakeside bustle. For the festival or for sheer atmosphere, a few lakeside hotels put the temple and markets on the doorstep, trading the hillside calm for the heart of the action.

When to Go

Kandy sits high enough to stay temperate year-round, though the driest, clearest months run between December and April. The Esala Perahera, the city's great procession, falls in July or August and is worth planning around, drawing big crowds and higher prices. The inter-monsoonal months can bring afternoon rain, but the hill-country greenery is at its best then, and the city rarely gets uncomfortably hot.

Getting There and Around

Kandy is about three to four hours by car from Colombo and its airport, or a scenic three-hour train ride from the capital; the onward rail journey to Nuwara Eliya and Ella is one of the most beautiful in the world. The compact centre around the lake and temple is walkable, while tuk-tuks handle the hills and the short trips out to the botanic gardens and viewpoints.