Top 4 Things To Do In Kandy, Sri Lanka

This blog post has been a long time coming. My boyfriend and I spent three incredible weeks in Sri Lanka last year, hopping from crowded cities to tropical jungles, chill-out beaches to tea plantations. This post describes what we found were the best things to do in Kandy, the first stop on our Sri Lankan adventure.

Having flown into Colombo, we jumped in a taxi to the train station, where we grabbed tickets for the first train to Kandy.

1. Explore Udawattakele Forest Sanctuary (Royal Forest Park)

From our lovely hosts accomodation in the centre of Kandy, we walked about 20 mins to the magical Udawattakele Forest Sanctuary, a calm oasis that sits above Kandy. The bustle of the city below is swapped for peaceful bird song, punctuated by screeches from the playful monkey community. A truly magical place to spend a few hours exploring nature. I think the below photos speak for themselves!

My favourite part was hanging out with the monkeys, who almost stare you down as you tip-toe by – which was slightly unnerving. I love how they make you feel like they own the jungle, and rightly so!

Click to view slideshow.

Eating in Kandy

Later that evening, we checked out a popular spot for dinner amongst locals and tourists, called Kandy Muslim Hotel. They’re well-known for kottu – basically giant-sized fried and chopped up rotti, that’s served with either vegetables or meat of your choice. We also got chicken paratha fry, a pretty heavy but intriguing first proper meal in Sri Lanka. Along with mango lassi and fresh juice, this all came to an amazing 700 Rupees (less than £4!)

I must admit over the course of the trip I wasn’t blown away by every meal we had, however it was still a great experience trying a new cuisine and eating in all the local, no frills, hole-in-the-wall type places. The better eats we had were definitely home-cooked from our hosts along the way (more photos coming soon!)

2. Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

Located in the Royal Palace Complex, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a buddhist temple and considered one of the holiest places in Sri Lanka. It’s an important pilgrimage destination housing Sri Lanka’s Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha (you can’t actually see the tooth as it’s carefully cased in a gold casket, away from prying eyes).

It’s a popular stop in any Kandy itinerary, with a series of beautiful smaller temples and shrines to wander around.

Tip: Visit the temple during sundown as candles are lit throughout the grounds – the light bouncing off the golden details of the palace is magical. Make sure you’re covered up (no shorts!) to get inside.

3. Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Another popular spot is the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage a couple of hours drive outside of Kandy. We hired a driver to take us there via a few cultural spots along the way – a wood carving workshop and Giragama tea factory. He tried to drop us off at another elephant orphanage nearby, but we insisted he take us here.

It was wonderful to see these graceful animals up close, however it was bittersweet when we spotted one of the elephant’s legs chained to a rock in front of a mass of tourists, clearly the welfare of the elephants is secondary to the income from tourists. I don’t support this kind of animal treatment and felt really disappointed to see this.

Tip: If you do decide to go, make sure you go during bathing time, where all the elephants march through the village towards the river where they get hosed down.

On our drive back to Kandy, we asked our driver to take us to a lunch spot and his recommendation was fantastic – a roadside hotel and restaurant called Green View Home Stay in Mawanella.

They served up traditional Sri Lankan food of chicken and fish curry with dhaal, vegetables, coconut sambol and rice. A perfect way to finish our days adventure.

4. Kandy Lake

At the heart of the bustling city is Kandy Lake. It makes for a lovely stroll where you’ll find families gathering around with picnics and young couples having romantic evening walks together.

Tip: It’s more picturesque nearer the end by the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Be warned, at night, nesting birds amongst the trees litter part of the pavement around the lake with poop. You literally cannot miss it!