Kandy
The island's last royal capital, curled around a lake and a relic of the Buddha: Kandy is the country's spiritual pivot — and the departure platform for Asia's most beautiful train.
Suggested stay — 1 to 2 nights
Kandy resisted the Portuguese and the Dutch before yielding to the British in 1815: the lake city keeps a fallen capital's pride and the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa), home to the most venerated relic in Sinhalese Buddhism. The pujas at 5.30 am, 9.30 am and 6.30 pm are the moment to aim for: drums, incense, lines of white-clad faithful — devotion in its living state, where the pilgrim counts for more than the tourist.
Around the sometimes gridlocked centre, the air clears fast: the Peradeniya botanical gardens, among Asia's finest, unfurl their avenues of royal palms and a sprawling rain tree twenty minutes away by tuk-tuk; the hills hide ancient temples and viewpoints over the basin. Then comes the real reason to be here: the station, from which the 8.47 train climbs into the plantations — book reserved 2nd or 3rd class several weeks ahead, or try for unreserved seats by turning up at the counter an hour early.
Don't miss
- The Temple of the Tooth during a puja (6.30 pm, the most accessible)
- The Peradeniya botanical gardens, 60 hectares and 4,000 species
- The lake loop on foot at daybreak, before the traffic
- The Arthur's Seat viewpoint over the city and its basin
Our tips on the ground
- Shoulders and knees covered at the Temple of the Tooth, shoes at the cloakroom: bring socks, the stone floor heats up from 9 am.
- Reserved train tickets to Ella vanish online 30 days ahead: failing that, the morning's unreserved 2nd class is worth a try if you arrive early — standing for the first two hours, seated afterwards.
- If you're travelling by tuk-tuk, leave it in Kandy and take the train there and back, or have it driven over: Kandy to Ella is the one stretch where rail crushes road.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Sri Lanka on your own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Kandy
Should you ride the whole line to Ella by train?
The most spectacular stretch is Hatton-Ella (4 h): terraced tea, viaducts, tunnels and mist. Kandy-Hatton is pretty without being staggering. Many therefore cut it: road to Hatton or Nanu Oya (Nuwara Eliya), then train for the finale — the best compromise when reserved seats on the full run are gone.
Is the Perahera festival worth shifting your dates for?
The Esala Perahera (ten nights around the July-August full moon) is one of Asia's great festivals: caparisoned elephants, dancers and fire-breathers circling the relic. If your dates coincide, yes — but book accommodation months ahead and expect doubled prices. Outside the Perahera, Kandy is easily covered in one full day.