Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings, and it still carries itself like one: a mirror-still lake at its heart, misted hills on every side, and the golden roof of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic glowing above the water each evening. This Kandy travel guide gathers what we tell our own guests — when to come, which attractions repay the ticket, what they cost, and how to arrive by the prettiest road or rail.
Best Time to Visit
Kandy sits at 500 metres in the central hills, so it is a few degrees cooler than the coast and pleasant year-round. The best time to visit Kandy is December to April, when skies are clearest and the lakeside walk is at its finest. Rain is heaviest in October and November, usually as short, dramatic afternoon storms that clear by the evening puja.
The city's great moment is the Esala Perahera, ten nights of torch-lit processions in late July or August: drummers, whip-crackers, Kandyan dancers and a hundred caparisoned elephants carrying the relic casket through the streets. It is one of Asia's grandest festivals — and hotels sell out months ahead, so tell us early if you'd like to be there.
Whatever the month, plan your day around the 6:30pm puja. Arrive at the temple by 5:45pm, let the drums build in the courtyard, and watch the relic chamber doors open — it is the most moving half-hour in Sri Lanka.
Top Attractions & Ticket Prices
Kandy is compact and most of its sights are within a short walk or a ten-minute drive of the lake. Here are the ones worth your time, with current entry fees for planning. Temple of the Tooth tickets are sold at the entrance on the lakeside; we include them in your itinerary so you can go straight in.
- Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic≈ LKR 2,000 foreign adults · under-12s free · includes the museum
- Kandyan cultural dance show≈ LKR 3,000 · Kandy Lake Club 5:00pm · YMBA & Red Cross halls 5:30pm
- Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya≈ LKR 3,000 foreign adults · open 7:30am–5:00pm
- Ceylon Tea Museum, Hantane≈ LKR 1,000 · closed Mondays
- Bahirawakanda Buddha & viewpoint≈ LKR 500 · best at sunset
Temple etiquette: shoulders and knees covered, shoes and hats removed at the entrance (there is a paid shoe-keeper), no photographs of the relic chamber, and never pose with your back to a Buddha image. Allow 1–1½ hours including the Raja Tusker museum and the adjoining Audience Hall.
Peradeniya Gardens
60 hectares of orchids, giant bamboo and the famous avenue of royal palms. Go early, before the heat.
Kandyan dance
Fire-walking, drumming and the acrobatic ves dance in an hour-long show — a lovely prelude to the puja.
Knuckles & tea
Half-day drives to the Knuckles Range or a working tea estate above the city for lunch on the verandah.
How to Travel to Kandy
Kandy lies about 115 kilometres inland from Colombo and 90 minutes from Bandaranaike International Airport by the new expressway link. It is the natural hinge of any Sri Lanka itinerary — the Cultural Triangle to the north, Ella and the tea country to the south-east, the coast three hours west.
Private car & driver
Colombo 3–3½ hrs · airport 2½–3 hrs · Sigiriya 2½ hrs. Stop at the Pinnawala elephant orphanage or a spice garden en route.
By train
Colombo Fort → Kandy 2½–3 hrs; the Intercity leaves ~7am and ~3:35pm. Kandy is also where the famous Ella line begins.
Onward to Ella
The 6–7 hour Kandy–Ella train is the world's most beautiful rail journey. Book observation-car seats 30 days ahead.
Give Kandy two nights. Arrive in the afternoon, see the dance show and the evening puja, then spend the next morning at Peradeniya and lunch in the hills before an early night — the Ella train leaves at 8:47am.
Zee Ceylon books your temple and show tickets, positions a guide for the puja, and reserves the train seats onward to Ella the morning they are released. Ask us and we'll set Kandy at the heart of your journey.