Places to Visit in Kandy Sri Lanka - The must not miss locations

The calm and peaceful lake in the heart of the bustling Kandy city marks the identity of this wonderful kingdom. The Kandy Lake had been built by King Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe, somewhere around the early 1800's during his reign. A walk along the paved pathways surrounding the lake in the early morning or late evening can be the most relaxing activity in this busy town.

The remnants of the ancient royal palace which had once been the pinnacle of the proud Sinhalese monarchy is still an attraction that is worth seeing. Over the years, this palace has seen many ups and downs of the rulers of the kingdom and has been burnt down and rebuilt several times which is the reason that only very little of the structure remains intact today.

The 'Magul Maduwa' or the Audience Hall was the place of assembly for the king's ministers and other royal dignitaries to carry out daily administrative tasks. This was used by the king as a courthouse to take complaints against his local citizens and adjudge and penalize the ones who were found guilty. A number of important historic events had taken place at the 'Magul Maduwa', the most important being the handing over of Sinhalese kingdom to the British on 18th March 1815.

One of the most sacred places in Kandy is the Temple of Tooth Relic or the 'Sri Dalada Maligawa' as it is better known, which is considered to be the epitome of Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka. It houses the left upper canine tooth of the Lord Buddha and is worshipped with utmost faith and reverence by the followers of Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka. Over centuries, there had been a belief that the person who has possession of this relic is blessed with the power to rule the kingdom. Many festivals and rituals are performed with reference to this sacred tooth relic, out of which the 'Esala Perahera' or the Kandy Perahera is the main event that takes place annually. This colourful event is a long parade of decorated elephants, fire dancers, drummers, and Kandyan dancers.

Sri Lanka is one of the world's leading tea suppliers, with a long history in the tea industry. Kandy city has been home to the first ever successful tea plantation, thanks to the experiments of the British who governed Sri Lanka during the 1860's. Since then, the industry had been blooming and the world was soon after the strong and rich flavoured tea produced on lush Sri Lankan land. The fourth-floor functions as a café serving fresh tea from the surrounding plantations. There is also a telescope on the fourth floor which gives a magnificent view of the Kandy town and surrounding mountain ranges. Even most of the Kandy hotel rooms such as the ones within Mahaweli Reach Hotel are known to serve the best of the tea in the country.