Travel to Kandy

a pleasant and interesting place to explore

The city of Kandy is located in the mountainous centre of Sri Lanka, around 100km to the east of the coastal capital of Colombo.

Although Kandy is the second largest city in the country, with a population of only around 125,000 people, it’s relatively compact and accessible. The cooler mountain climate also makes it a more comfortable place to explore than down on the tropical coastline.

Throughout the European colonial period, Kandy always retained an element of independence, successfully repelling three centuries of attacks by Portuguese, Dutch and British invaders, through the use of effective guerrilla tactics in the surrounding tropical forests.

A large reason for this independent spirit is down to the presence of the famous Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of Buddha’s Tooth), which is one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage amongst the Buddhist faith.

Kandy finally fell to the British in 1815, after the various Sinhalese monarchs agreed to Sri Lanka becoming a protectorate within the Empire.

The city saw a good deal of development under the British, who appreciated the cooler climate and sought to create an agricultural boom amongst these fertile valleys. A railway was constructed up from Colombo, which was later extended into the tea plantations of the Nuwara Eliya area further south.

Modern day Kandy is a pleasant place to explore, set around a scenic lake and with major places of interest including the Temple of Buddha’s Tooth and the impressive Peradeniya Botanical Gardens.

There is a thriving restaurant and street-food scene, all manner of interesting stores and vendors and a pleasant amount of wildlife, including monkeys in the trees and various birds around the lake.

The best time of year to visit the Kandy area is generally considered to be during the Jan-Mar southwest dry season and, to a lesser extent, the Jun-Sep northeast dry season.

Temperatures are more or less constant year round, with daytime temperatures around 24C/75F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures up at a potentially uncomfortable 18C/64F.

The main issue is rainfall, which is highest Oct-Dec and with another smaller peak Apr-May. These periods are therefore usually best avoided, although lower visitor numbers provide some compensation.

Kandy can become very busy during the Buddhist festival of Esala Perahara, which runs for around ten days during Jul-Aug.

Getting there

The Kandy area is usually reached by road. For our guests, this means combining it with various other locations on the island in a private guided overland safari, travelling in the company of an expert driver-guide. Popular connections include …

Colombo : 2-3 hours
Knuckles : 1-2 hours
Nuwara Eliya : 1-2 hours
Sigiriya : 1 hour
Wasgamuwa : 2-3 hours

The Kandy area also has a train service, connecting up from Colombo, then south to Nuwara Eliya and north to Sigiriya, Anuradhapura Jaffna and Trincomalee. If you specifically want to include a rail journey in your trip, then it should be possible for you to take the train, whilst your driver-guide drives on to meet you at the far end.

The short train trip between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya is particularly popular, travelling through some very scenic mountain and tea plantation scenery.

Where to stay

All of the best accommodation in the Kandy area is set a short distance out of the city centre, mostly along the pretty river to the west, others in scenic residential areas to the northeast and the south.

Properties tend to fall into two distinct categories …

There are a handful of larger resort hotels, which generally offer reliably high levels of comfort and service, but which are a little too large to be genuinely intimate.

Smaller boutique options are in short supply (which is unusual in Sri Lanka), but there are a handful of options worth considering, especially if you prefer a more intimate atmosphere and are happy to forego some of the facilities that can be found at the larger properties.

There are some particularly nice options in the Knuckles area, a little further to the east, which can also be used as bases from which you can visit Kandy on day trips.

usually visited as a day trip from rural lodges