Kandy City

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

One of the most potent cultural features of Kandy lies in its traditional Kandyan dance which has been revived after nearing extinction following the decline in popularity during British rule. Now extremely popular across the country, the traditional dance of Kandy is said to have originated from an exorcist ritual required to cure the King Vijaya. His illness is believed to have been cursed on him by the black magic his first wife, Kuweni, practiced. The illness itself was the recurrence of a nightmare the king had where a leopard directed its tongue at him. The Kandyan dance was initially only performed by Indian spirituals, who also performed it for the King to cure his illness. Following the miraculous effect of the dance, it was adopted by the rest of Kandy. The dancers were conRead More

Hill Capital or Cultural Capital or even Tea Capital – Kandy has earned quite a few nick names, so to say! So what role does Kandy tea, play in the historic development of tea industry in Sri Lanka? The city had quite a significant part to play in catalyzing the entire process of production as well as commercialization of tea plantations across the island nation. Back then in the end of the 19th century, when Sri Lanka was referred to as Ceylon, Kandy made quite an impact in the international tea market – having attained the position of the administrative capital for tea growers in the country - it has carried forward the tradition ever since. Coming back from a trip to Kandy without a pack of Kandy tea in the shopping bags is something that can’t be even imagined! What made Kandy imRead More