Kandy City

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 popularity among the traveRead 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 made up of various peaks which make this mountain a high solid favourite of mountain hikers. At 3,800 feet above sea level, the mountain also has the University of Peradeniya neighbouring it. Knuckles Mountain range has a number of folds and peaks to the West which, when viewed from a certain distance, looRead 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 Malwathu and Asgiri Viharayas Read More

Murals, paintings, sculpture and architecture – the Lankathilaka Viharaya is definitely a sight to behold. And if you’re wondering whether you’ll be able to take in all of temple architecture within a day’s itinerary, then let the Lankathilaka take up a few good hours and schedule the remaining destinations for later. There’s a lot that differentiates this temple and gives it an edge over the other tourists attractions in Kandy. To start with, there is a sure variation from the general architectural styles that are taken up at the Buddhist temples. You may notice that the suggestive gives way to the obvious through the murals and sculptures. The giant statue, or rather the remains of it, is a brilliant example to the point. Built by Parakramabahu the Great, who took to throne from 1153Read More

Lying in the centre of Sri Lanka, the Kingdom of Kandy was the last Sri Lankan ruling dynasty to give in to British rule in 1815. The name Kandy was given to the city of Kanda Uda Rata by the British. Its present day Sri Lankan name is Maha Nuwara while the historical name is Senkadagalapura. There are various theories to the origin of this name, ranging from the city being named after a Brahmin man residing there, called Senkadagalapura, to it being named after the queen Senkada or perhaps from the coloured stone Senkada gala. One of the main highlighting reasons behind the Kingdom of Kandy’s historical significance is its long resistance against foreign rule; from the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British. Topographical features of the kingdom such as extremely tough access routes and Read More