Kandy City

A residual remnant of the past dating as far back as the 14th century, the Royal Palace of the Kandyan Kingdom lies tucked away near the valleys of Kandy as reminiscence of the last Kandyan King, Wickrama Rajasinghe.

Very little of the structure remains today which consisted of the Royal Court (Magul Maduwa) and the Temple of Tooth among other displays of architectural brilliance. Seeped in ancient history that’s seen the palace burned down and rebuilt a number of times, it has also witnessed sacred beliefs. 

The Temple of Tooth is said to have a relic of Lord Buddha’s tooth. Popular belief had it, that whoever...Read More

This is a small Kandyan town located about ten kilometres from the main town of Kandy and over a hundred kilometres from the capital, Colombo.

The name bears its origins to the words Pilima, meaning statues and Thalawa, meaning flat area in Sinhalese. The explanation is still debatable but popular belief does weigh in a bit towards this theory.

The town has gained fame over the years for its traditional brassware and Buddhist temples, which are considered extremely important around the area. The Embekka temple is also greatly significant to Pilimathalawa.

Also called the Embekka Devalaya, this temple is dedicated to worshipping Mahasen and a local deity Devatha Bandara. This shrine has three parts which display extremely superior architecture usin...Read More

It’s a rainbow of colors at the Peradeniya Garden! Located just a few miles away from the heart of Kandy, the Royal Botanical Gardens, as it is also known to the travelers, can be just the right destination to spend a sunny day out with family and friends.

According to official records the initial signs of a botanical garden, being a part of the city’s outer precincts, can be traced back to as early as the 14th century. However, it was only after the British gained control of the region that the garden saw proper maintenance and beautification measures being taken. Earlier it was the site of a temple (built by King Wimala Dharma).

Orchids, medicinal plants and herbs as well as other decorative plants have been an integral part of this garden, adding on to its...Read More

Kandy doesn’t just have a singular mountain standing out from the rest of the peaks, but a few beautiful set of mountain peaks which together form the lovely mountain ranges of Kandy.

The Hanthana Mountain range and Knuckles Mountain range are significant topographical characteristics found in Kandy. While the former has been declared an environmental protection zone, the other consists of a series of folds which give it a knuckle shaped appearance. 

The Hanthana Mountain range is m...Read More

Malwathu Maha Viharaya is among the oldest Buddhist Sangha of the Siam Nikaya monastic order.

Situated across the lake where the Temple of the tooth lies, the Malwathu Maha Viharaya is made of two complexes made for the residence of monks. The first complex, Uposatha Viharaya is also termed the Poyamalu Viharaya, while the second is the Pushparama Viharaya commonly called the Malwathu Viharaya, featuring today of a recently built octagon.

The older Poyamalu Viharaya is said to have been constructed in either the late 15th or early 16th century by King Senasammata Vikramabahu. It had a double storey ordination Hall (Uposathagaraya) together with a Dagaba or Caitya. Historical material suggests Vikramabahu built another 86 monasteries for monks from both the Mal...Read More