Today we head into the hills to the picturesque town of Kandy. On the way we stop at Dambulla, famous for its cave temple, one of Sri Lanka’s most impressive sights. There are colourful, well preserved paintings and statues of the Buddha inside, some of which date back as far as the 1st century BC.
Kandy is located on a small lake and we spend time in and around the town. Visiting the Temple of the Tooth, which houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic. The Tooth of Buddha which was taken from the funeral pyre in 543 BC and only found its way to Sri Lanka in the 4th century AD. There are literally hundreds of worshippers who visit the temple each day and in July/August the most spectacular ceremony takes place. Some of our trips in July/August should coincide with the Kandy festival, but the exact dates, decided by priests (depending on the auspicious time), are not known until 5 months prior to the event. We drive to a beautiful viewpoint to get a great view of Kandy and its environs that are overlooked by a huge Buddha and visit a gem museum where you can see the products of the traditional methods of gem extraction. In the evening we may have the chance to attend a performance of the athletic Kandian Dancing and fire walking.
Hotel Topaz or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast