Round Tours10 Days / 9 Nights8 places
Classic Sri Lanka Private Round Tour
The perfect first-time Sri Lanka journey — heritage, hill country, wildlife and beaches in one beautifully paced private tour.
From USD 580
Religious
Kandy
Central Province
Kandy is the cultural soul of Sri Lanka — a city that resisted European colonisation longer than anywhere else on the island and preserved Sri Lanka's artistic, musical and spiritual traditions almost entirely intact. Set in a natural basin surrounded by green hills and centred on a man-made royal lake, Kandy is compact, walkable and deeply rewarding. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world and the spiritual centre of Theravada Buddhism — housing a relic believed to be the left canine tooth of the Buddha himself. Every July or August, Kandy hosts the Esala Perahera — one of Asia's greatest festivals.
Destination guide
Experience Kandy
Sri Lanka's last royal capital, set around a lake in the central highlands — home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandyan dance and the finest botanical gardens in Asia.
Key attractions
Sri Dalada Maligawa — Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the most sacred Buddhist site in Sri Lanka
Kandy Lake — the historic royal lake built by the last Kandyan king in 1807
Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya — 60 hectares housing 4,000 plant species, Asia's finest
Kandyan Cultural Dance Show — fire-walking, acrobatics and traditional drumming nightly
Sri Lanka Gem Museum and Gem Exchange — rubies, sapphires and moonstones
Bahiravakanda Buddha Statue — white Buddha visible from across the city
Embekke Devale — 14th century temple with intricate woodcarvings
Esala Perahera — Sri Lanka's greatest festival (July/August) with 100 elephants
Things to do
Attend the early morning puja at the Temple of the Tooth (6:30 AM, 9:30 AM or 6:30 PM)
Walk the 3km Kandy Lake circular path in the morning
Attend the evening Kandyan dance show — highly recommended for all visitors
Spend a morning at Peradeniya Botanical Gardens
Visit a gem showroom for a certified sapphire or moonstone
Explore the Kandy market for spices, batik and local food
Day trip to Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (1 hour northwest)
Gallery
Glimpses of Kandy
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