Kandy

Kandy; City of Kings, Sri Lanka’s second city and the island’s undisputed historical and cultural capital.

Protected by its geographic position and less-accessible terrain, the powerful ancient Kingdom of Kandy was able to hold off the advancement of both the Portuguese and Dutch colonisers through the 1500s and 1600s, becoming the last standing bastion of independent Ceylon. In doing so, the city was able to preserve the unique customs, culture, and arts that had been heavily subdued elsewhere in the country – until 1815 when it finally succumbed to British rule.

Cultural preservation lives on in the city’s many significant cultural and historic sites, forming the basis for all the very best places to visit in Kandy. The best-known of these is the Temple of the Tooth relic; Buddhism’s most important religious shrine, and said to be the location of a portion of Buddha’s tooth.