Sights in Kandy
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Asgiriya Maha Vihara
The principal viharas (Buddhist complexes) in Kandy have considerable importance – the high priests of the two best known, Malwatte and Asgiriya, are the most important in Sri Lanka. This temple is the headquarters of two of the main nikayas (orders of monks). The head monks also administer the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Asgiriya Maha Vihara is off Wariyapola Sri Sumanga Mawatha northwest of the town centre. It has a large reclining Buddha image.
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Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Just north of the lake, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic houses Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic - a tooth of the Buddha. The temple sustained damage when a bomb was detonated - by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), according to the government - near the main entrance in early 1998, but the scars have been repaired.
The tooth is said to have been snatched from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre in 543 BC, and was smuggled into Sri Lanka during the 4th century AD, hidden in the hair of a princess. At first it was taken to Anuradhapura, but with the ups and downs of Sri Lankan history it moved from place to place before eventually ending up at Ka…
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National Museum
This museum once housed Kandyan royal concubines and now features royal regalia and reminders of pre-European Sinhalese life. On display is a copy of the 1815 agreement that handed over the Kandyan provinces to British rule. This document announces a major reason for the event …the cruelties and oppressions of the Malabar ruler, in the arbitrary and unjust infliction of bodily tortures and pains of death without trial, and sometimes without accusation or the possibility of a crime, and in the general contempt and contravention of all civil rights, have become flagrant, enormous and intolerable. Sri Wickrama Rajasinha was declared, ‘by the habitual violation of the chief…
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Kandy Lake
A lovely centrepiece for the town, Kandy Lake was created in 1807 by Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the last ruler of the kingdom of Kandy. Several small-scale local chiefs, who protested because their people objected to labouring on the project, were put to death at stakes in the lake bed. The island in the centre was used as Sri Wickrama Rajasinha's personal harem, to which he crossed on a barge.
Later the British used it as an ammunition store and added the fortress-style parapet around the perimeter of the lake. On the south shore in front of the Malwatte Maha Vihara there's a circular enclosure that is the monks' bathhouse.
A cement footpath dotted with benches encircles the…
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Tea Museum
This museum occupies the 1925-vintage Hanthana Tea Factory, 4km south of Kandy on the Hanthana road. Abandoned for over a decade, it was refurbished by the Sri Lanka Tea Board and the Planters’ Association of Sri Lanka. There are exhibits on tea pioneers James Taylor and Thomas Lipton, and lots of vintage tea-processing paraphernalia. Knowledgeable guides can answer the trickiest of questions – trust us, we tried to stump them – and there’s a free cuppa afterwards in the top floor tea room. Commandeer the telescope for great views while you’re up there.
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British Garrison Cemetery
This cemetery is a short walk uphill behind the National Museum. There are 163 graves and around 500 burials. Some of the deaths were due to sunstroke, elephants or jungle fever. The Cargills of supermarket fame lie here. James McGlashan survived the battle of Waterloo but later succumbed to mosquitos. Donations are appreciated.
James McGlashan survived the battle of Waterloo but disregarded instructions given on mosquitoes, which ultimately proved deadlier.
The office, once the chapel of rest, has pamphlets and the old cemetery records.
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Sri Dalada Museum
Behind the main tooth shrine of the Sri Dalada Maligawastands the three-storey Alut Maligawa, a newer and larger shrine hall displaying dozens of bronze sitting Buddhas donated by Thai devotees. The upper two floors of the Alut Maligawa contain the Sri Dalada Museum with a stunning array of gilded gifts to the temple. Letters and diary entries from the British time reveal the colonisers’ surprisingly respectful attitude to the tooth relic. More recent photographs reveal the damage caused by the truck bomb in 1998.
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Kandy Garrison Cemetery
This beautifully kept garden cemetery was founded in 1817 for the internment of British-era colonists and is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. There are many 19th-century graves, most date from WWII. The most famous is that of Sir John D’Oyly, a colonial official who planned the bloodless British capture of Kandy in 1815 and then succumbed to cholera in 1824. This cemetery is 2km southwest of Kandy. Donations are accepted.
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Malwatte Maha Vihara
The principal viharas (Buddhist complexes) in Kandy have considerable importance – the high priests of the two best known, Malwatte and Asgiriya, are the most important in Sri Lanka. This temple is also the headquarters of two of the main nikayas (orders of monks). The head monks also administer the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Malwatte Maha Vihara is across the lake from the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
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Udawattakelle Sanctuary
This forest has huge trees, good bird-watching and loads of cheeky monkeys. Be careful if you’re visiting alone. Muggers are rare but not unknown; solo women should take extra care.
Enter by turning right after the post office on DS Senanayake Vidiya.
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Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue
Looming over Kandy, the huge concrete Bahiravokanda Vihara Buddha Statue can be reached by walking 20 minutes uphill from near the police station on Peradeniya Rd. Save your sweat and money - there are no views from the top and the statue is unremarkable.
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