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Visit the beautiful Kandy City in Sri Lanka

Kandy Tourism

Travel to the magnificent city of Sri Lanka!

Tourism in Kandy

Rated 4.32/5 ( based on 3122 reviews )

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Quick Information

Best time to visit
Dec - May
Ideal Duration
5-6 Days
Visa
On Arrival
Starting from
Rs. 1,980
  • Ideal for families
  • Ideal for friends
  • Nature

About Kandy Tourism

Kandy, an important city, is located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. The city of Kandy was the last capital during the era of ancient kings in Sri Lanka. It is the now the administrative and religious capital of the Central Province apart from being its capital. Kandy is situated in the middle of the hills in the Kandy plateau which is surrounded by tea plantations. It is also home to one of the most sacred Buddhist temples in the world, the Tooth Relic. In the year 1988, it was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. Tourism in Kandy is one of the essential things about the economy of Sri lanka. 

Kandy City stands tall because of its rich tradition and valiant history. The city has stood the test of time by becoming bigger and better. Kandy’s strategic location on the plateau is made even more scenic with the tea plantations surrounding the area. The city is hailed by the locals as an important province of Sri Lanka because it contains the legacy and works of the last king of the country, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. There are numerous mesmerizing places to visit in Kandy, like the Botanical Garden, Royal Palace and Temple of the Sacred Tooth. A trip to Kandy will prove to be one of the best experiences in your life because of its spiritual and administrative sides that you can individually explore. The history of how the city was kept away from the colonizers for the longest time will draw you to the stories of the valiant and brave warriors of that time. A tour of the Kandy City will show you the long-lasting elegance and beauty of one of the oldest cities in Sri Lanka and will convince you to set off on an exciting journey to the city of Buddhist shrines and the Kandian history.

History of the Kandy City

Kandy City holds within itself the vibrant and brave history of so many people and places. There are ancient landmarks that exist to this very date and convey different stories regarding so many incidents that took place in the past. The city is known for its resistance to the Portuguese, Dutch and British. Kandy City rebelled and drove away the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Dutch sent their troops, approximately at the same time, and they were initially successful in almost making a foothold in the city. However, their army was attacked by King Kirti causing a heavy loss of weapons and people at the coast. This led to the remaining Dutch soldiers to withdraw into the forests. Living in the forests proved to be difficult because of the lack of food, water, and comfort. On the other hand, this acted as a gain for the Kandian sharpshooters who used their agility and training to hide in the forests and take down the remaining army in small numbers. The small numbers turned into a huge cause of concern for the people at the Dutch headquarters. They immediately sent in a fresh troop of soldiers to attack the city. The soldiers’ surprise attack on the city was the leading cause of their win against the Kandian warriors. On your visit to Sri Lanka, you will discover that it was in the year 1952 when the city of Kandy was named as the capital city of  the only remaining independent kingdom in Sri Lanka after the conquest of the coastal regions by the Portuguese. When you travel to Sri Lanka, you will discover that Kandy city struggled to preserve its independence until 1815.

The people of the city immediately packed their bags and fled to the forests. This cycle of incidents kept on being repeated many times. The Dutch became weary of the constant resistance and came to a peace treaty with the city in 1766. The history of Kandy City becomes even more intense with the passing time and their struggle for independence paved the way for a country with a bright future and innovations.

Famous Tourist Places in Kandy

Kandy City is a land of numerous Buddhist shrines, historical landmarks and colorful festivals. The city also houses various tea plantations and picnic spots that should be visited in your trip to Kandy.

Temple of the Tooth - Every travel guide in Kandy will suggest you to visit the famous Temple of Tooth which is a famous shrine of Lord Buddha. Tourists can visit the temple and see that the justified hype around the famous relic of Buddha. The temple houses the tooth of Lord Buddha which was transferred from Kalinga in India to Kandy in Sri Lanka. Visitors cannot see the tooth as it is kept safely in a casket but can participate in the regular prayers during the whole day. This will let you experience spiritual joy and calmness.

Kandy Lake - Kandy Lake was a creation of King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The lake was made to make the Temple of the Tooth look more appealing to the eyes of its visitors. Tourists can take a walk along the tranquil lake as it is therapeutic. Visitors can even go on an exciting boating expedition on the lake.

Royal Botanical Garden - The Botanical Garden was built and developed by various Kandian kings. It is one of the major tourist attractions in Kandy and that can be proved by the millions of visitors it receives annually. The garden is much sought after because of its huge collection of Palm trees, colorful orchids and fruits. A visit to Kandy will let you relax and enjoy the lush greenery and vibrant atmosphere of the picture perfect Royal Botanical Garden.

Shopping In Kandy 

Kandy offers a host of options for visitors to shop for. From jewelry to antiques, there are so many things that you would want to buy in Kandy. Here is a list of the best places in Kandy for an enhanced shopping experience. 

Main Market - It is a famous stop for local handicrafts. It is located in the main market of the city and visited by tourists and locals alike. Main Market is offers a lively street shopping in kandy while offering handicrafts, textiles and paintings for sale. 

Luv SL By Odel - It is a popular shopping hub known for selling authentic souvenirs. You will find an innumerable range of souvenirs which you can carry home. It is also known for its upscale shopping malls offering high-end fashion wear and offer a boost to tourism in Kandy. 

Kandy City Centre - It is located in the heart of the city and is known as the only shopping mall in Kandy offering all types of items under one roof. Shop for clothes, electrical items and souvenirs and handicrafts from here. 

Nightlife in Kandy - add detail information, different best areas, things to do, add info in bullets form while highlighting areas/market names

Nightlife In Kandy

Nightlife is surely an essential source of entertainment for tourism in Kandy. Enjoy a bout of happiness and fun during the nightlife experience in Kandy. Some of the best places in Kandy that will oomph up your vibe are :

Royal Bar & Hotel- It is one of the coolest places in Kandy for a drink. There are a couple of excellent atmospheric bars that offer a lovely set-up along with a host of alcoholic drinks. Although the prices are usually steep, ‘happy hours’ offer a better deal. 

Blackout - One of the best nightlife experiences in Kandy, Blackout is a modern club frequented by tourists who love to enjoy a variety in music. The club oomphs up with music by DJs who play progressive and deep house, minimal and techno. It sure provides a boost to tourism in Kandy. 

Slightly Chilled Lounge Bar - Offering stunning views, pool tables, PLF, Chinese cuisine and ‘happy hour’, Slightly Chilled Lounge Bar is one of the busiest yet liveliest places for good food and drink in Kandy. Try the local wine here which is available at a cheaper rate. 

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Kandy Lake in Kandy

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Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Kandy

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The Royal Botanical Gardens in Kandy was once upon a time a walking place for the Britishers and was accessible to the royals of the Kandian era. However, now everyone is allowed to take a stroll along with the lush green gardens of the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens in Kandy. The gardens are a big hit amongst visitors becaus...

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Things To Do In Kandy

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Hiking at Horton Plains National Park in Kandy

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Travel to Kandy

Read about the best & quickest routes to save time & money, as suggested by our travelers

By Air

The most comfortable way to travel to Kandy City is by booking a flight. There are flights like Air India, Indigo, Spicejet and Sri Lankan Airways that take you to and fro India and Sri Lanka. You will have to change planes at Columbo. The first flight will take you to Colombo which is a ride of about 2.5 hours. On arrival at Colombo, you can board the Sri Lankan flight to Kandy which takes approximately 1 hour. So, the total time taken to reach Kandy by air is 4 hours. You need to book your tickets in advance for intercity travel too. The timings differ according to the time of purchasing the tickets and the seats available. Since, traveling by air is the only way to travel from India to Sri Lanka, there is a huge demand for numerous ways to travel from Colombo to Kandy City.

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    Kandy Tour Packages

    Read on to find out why our customers love us!

    VS

    Vatsal Singh

    New delhi

    Vatsal's 7 days trip to Kandy

    Our trip to Sri Lanka was awesome. All thanks to "Travel Triangle" and their partner "Steeple Tours". Senior Tour Executive S.M Chandima Dilrukshi from Steeple Tours helped me in finalizing the travel itinerary and also in customizing the tour package. She was very polite and supportive and catered
    to all our needs. Our Driver Mr Sineth Madusanka was the coolest person ever. A big thank you to Travel Triangle & Steeple Tour for making our tour memorable !!!
    R

    Richardtan

    Singapore

    Richardtan's 8 days trip to Kandy

    First off, for those of you who have not visit Sri Lanka, you should make plans to do so. Despite my family and I having vacationed in places like Japan, Switzerland and China where the landscapes can be breathe taking, Sri Lanka's took us by surprise. It's a beautiful country with incredible natura
    l beauty filled with picturesque mountains, rivers and lakes and a people who are friendly and helpful. The tourism industry though, is still in its infancy, and standard of service has some ways to go. Despite paying for top-end hotels, we were shocked to find that many of them do not even have air-conditioning in the rooms. Although we made a conscious decision to select our own hotels, the tour agency was not even aware of the lack of air-conditioning in those facilities and did not advise us on it. So although TravelTriangle was useful in recommending several tour agencies for us to secure proposals from, the agencies themselves do little more than just provide barebone service focused on pricing. You will have to do a lot more homework on your own if you want to ensure an enjoyable visit and avoid surprises.
    SB

    Subhash Bansal

    Delhi

    Subhash's 6 days trip to Kandy

    Very well organized trip. Clean and neat country. Wonderful sea beaches and tea garden. Tea leaves plucking
    S

    Saket

    New delhi

    Saket's 6 days trip to Kandy

    The booking experience with Trip Travel Hub was good, but i recommend people to get activity included properly in the itinerary as driver cum guide follow that only. Our Chauffeur Mr.Sugath was punctual & polite through the trip. I recommend people to search & get activity included in the itinerar
    y. You need to push them for covering your activity else they will cover the default activity. Kandy was boring for us as tooth relic temple , spice garden all were boring according to our taste. As requested trip travel hub were unable to arrange train ticket which was spoiler. But drive towards Nuwara eliya was good & Sita Amma temple visit was also good. Drive towards bentota was very hectic as it took 7hours or whole day. Best part of our trip was at Benota, Beaches were awesome , clean & relaxing. There are many hotel on beaches you can search yourself & dont include dinner with hotel. You can stay near Hikkaduwa beach & then there are many eateries to explore for local fish cuisine. There are many beaches so you can plan 3 night stay at benota also. Turtle Hatchery was worth the cost. Madu river safari was also good. All in all good experience. If you like beaches more you can stay in benota area for your whole 4 or 5 night trip. Mr.Kavindu was good with our booking & answering our query. Only issue we faced was getting itinerary modified as per our requirement.
    US

    Urmi Saha

    Bangalore

    Urmi's 5 days trip to Kandy

    We went for a 5 nights 6 days trip to Sri Lanka and Minoshaa from Romano Lanka took care of literally everything about the trip. The few things which needed to be taken care of in Sri Lanka itself like entry tickets to orphanage or cultural show etc, Prabudda, who was our 24*7 guide, helped in every
    thing. We are extremely satisfied with the service and guidance we got from Prabudda in Sri Lanka, while Minoshaa was constantly available over WhatsApp whenever we needed anything. We have covered 5 places - Sigiriya, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Mirissa and Bentota. Very nice hotels were chosen, Minoshaa understood our choice and requirements perfectly. One must experience the train ride in Sri Lanka, it's truly the most beautiful! We planned the trip only with 2 weeks in hand, still Minoshaa took care of all our requirements and managed the whole trip so nicely! Thanks a lot Romano Lanka and team to take care of everything and make our anniversary trip so memorable. The train ride from Nuwara Eliya to Mirissa. And Nuwara Eliya day tour.
    JT

    Jayesh Toshniwal

    Mumbai

    Jayesh's 6 days trip to Kandy

    We had very good service from Usman. Their agency can customise the trip as per clients requirements and that's the best part of it. We had some special requirements for our anniversary and those were also fulfilled to the satisfactory levels. Really appreciate the connect throughout the trip at the
    local level anytime of the day. Our Anniversary surprise
    SG

    Shubham Goyal

    New delhi

    Shubham's 6 days trip to Kandy

    The agent Discover Ceylon was really great and provided a very comfortable stay in Srilanka
    HK

    Hitesh Kapoor

    Mumbai

    Hitesh's 8 days trip to Kandy

    It was a delightful experience overall, as each of the four hotels provided an additional bed for our child. Among them, the hotel in Kandy stood out as exceptional. Our driver, named Ateek, was excellent, displaying a courteous and amiable demeanor throughout the trip. Upon arrival, we were prompt
    ly provided with a SIM card, greatly facilitating our communication needs. The drivers were consistently punctual and offered valuable assistance throughout our journey.
    AM

    Akshay Mundra

    Mumbai

    Akshay's 4 days trip to Kandy

    Overall good experience. Balance payment should also be allowed online rather than cash.
    S

    Sudhisingh

    Delhi

    Sudhisingh's 10 days trip to Kandy

    Overall good trip and arrangements done by Steeple Tour. Our driver was very helpful and kind.

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    FAQ's of Kandy

    Read on to find out why our customers love us!

    How to travel within the city of Kandy?

    If you want to travel within Kandy City, opt for the services of a ferry. Before accepting a ride on the ferry, please fix a fair price that should be given to the driver afterwards.

    Is Kandy City a safe place for a lively night out?

    Kandy City is a safe place and you can take part in its lively nightlife that tourists are encouraged usually enjoy. There have been no records of criminal violence against tourists for the longest time.

    Are the people of Kandy of Indian origin?

    There were some Indians who migrated to different cities in Sri Lanka, Kandy being one of those cities, and are mostly referred to as ‘Indian Tamils’ and they form the minority of the country. However, the Sinhalese form the major population of the country and are not mostly of Indian origin.

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