Top 20 attractions of Kandy & surroundings

Kandy Tooth Temple illuminated in the evening
Octagon at the front of the Tooth Temple
Kandy is a must-see for all first-time Sri Lanka holiday makers, at least for those who intend to see a little bit more of the tropical island than just sandy beaches. Undoubtedly, the two major must-sees in Kandy are the Sacred Tooth Relic Temple sizuated at the picturesque Kandy Lake and the Royal Botanical Gardens in the university suburb of Peradeniya.

But there is much more to see in Kandy and its immediate surroundings. Here is a list of 20 attractions we can recommend for your holidays in Kandy. Eager to visit all of them, you will need at least three days on a jam-packed schedule. But it’s much more recommendable either to select only a few of them and to study them in some more detail or to spend an entire week in Kandy and have some interesting additional daytrips, for example to Deanston in the Knuckles Range or to Hanguranketa and Mahiyangana.
Nelligala 13 km from Kandy
Nelligala 13 km from Kandy
Hanthana 8 km from Kandy
Hanthana 8 km from Kandy
Lankatilaka 15 km from Kandy
Lankatilaka 15 km from Kandy
This "Top 20 Kandy attractions" page,
presented by Lanka Excursions Holidays,
lists and ranks places of interest situated
in and around Kandy.
Thereby, it includes attractions which are located in up to 20 km distance.
If you are interested in finding attractions only of Kandy city, please visit our separate Kandy Attractions Page,
which also offers better photos,
images of each and every attraction listed there.

Apart from that,
we offer futher Kandy pages for specific topics,
namely for the Kandy Festival,
including updated 2024 Perahera dates,
and more detailed descriptions of
only those monuments that belong
to the UNESCO World Heritage Site
called Sacred City of Kandy

But let's get started, for heritage travellers here is our list of sightseeing highlights in and around Kandy,
providing short introductions for each attraction.
Queen's Hotel at Kandy Lake
Queen's Hotel at Kandy Lake

1. Tooth Temple

The Dalada Maligawa, known as Tooth Temple in English, houses the most venerated Buddhist relic on the island. Particularly the Handun Kunama, the wooden hall safekeeping Buddha’s Tooth, marked by a golden roof in the very centre of the ensemble of edifices, is of exceptional beauty. It was constructed in the 17th century and is a classical example of Kandyan architecture, whereas most of the surrounding structures are built of stone and date to the end of the 18th century. Even more impressive than the architecture of the Tooth Temple complex is the Puja ceremony celebrated on the first floor in front of the main shrine. When visiting Kandy, don’t miss to attend one of the three daily celebrations in the morning or evening. Though foreigners and non-Buddhists are welcome, it’s still an authentic Buddhist celebration and not at all a tourist spectacle - whereas Kandy dance shows are mainly of the latter category, to be honest with you. They are nonetheless worth visiting and of enterntainment and information value at the same time. But concerning the Tooth Temple Pujas we can promise: Joining the traditional ceremony, which is much frequented by locals, will turn out to be a moving experience you will never forget.

2. Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya

No true lover of nature will miss the Royal Botanical Gardens when visiting Kandy. They are among the world’s largest such institutions situated on a tropical island, only those of Bogor on Java can be compared with the largest gardens of Sri Lanka in size and importance. Sri Lanka’s most famous Botanical Garden is situated in a river loop of the Mahaweli Ganga in Peradeniya, which is a suburb famous for its university. The gardens are well-kept and shadowy due to the trees, which represent an extraordinary variety of species from all over the world. The Botanical Garden’s orchid house is famous, too. Peradeniya attracted biologists already a century ago, for example the German evolutionist Ernst Haeckel.

3. Kandy Lake Views

Even those Kandy visitors who are in a hurry will not miss to make a photo stop on the slopes of the hills on the southern side of the lake.  Enjoying the beautiful views to the Kandy Lake and to the charming city and the golden-roofed Temple of the Tooth is the best way to understand why Kandy is called Sri Lanka's “hill capital” and renowned for its natural beauty. Most busses stop at the car park of a winding street called Rajapihila Mawatha. However, just at this popular tourist car park there is a sports ground with fences in the foreground. That might turn out to be disturbing for those who like to take pictures of Kandy’s most famous panoramic view. For photographers, there are better vantage point nearby, namely from the windows of the nearby restaurant. Another perfect place to take pictures is the Wales Garden. The compound of the Indian High Commission has also the classic Kandy view but can only be attended by those applying for a visa for India. The once very best view was from the “Castle Hill”. However, it has now several neighbour buildings in the foreground that are disturbing the classic view form the garden of Castle Hill, but it's still a recommendable vantage point. The "best viewpoint" situation is fluid and evolving, because more and more buildings are constructed here.

4. Malwatta Monastery

We don’t understand why most Kandy tourists do not visit the Malwatta monastery at the southern side of the Kandy Lake, just opposite the Tooth Temple. The main ceremonial hall as well as the octogonal tower as well as the stylish monastic museum within the monastic compound are definitely worth a visit. Be aware, there are two distinct areas of the Malwatta monastery, the stupa and some more Kandyan style edifices are located within a separate compound which is situated about a hundred metres west of the entrance gate of the main compound.

5. Lankatilaka

Lankatilaka is the largest and most beautiful of the Three Western Temples from the 14th century, located about 12 km (7.5 miles) outside Kandy town. Lankatilaka is a calm and peaceful temple, perched on granite rock but easily to reach by road. The lovely central shrine has tremendous murals in the Kandyan style. It’s actually the best example of an interior in the Kandyan style in the area of Kandy. In an additional cirumambulatory, there are five chapels with statues of Hindu deities. This Hindu part of the edifice can be entered from the western (opposite) side of the temple. Outside the temple compound, there's a good woodworker shop directly down the temple road.

6. Hanthana with Ceylon Tea Museum

Hanthana is both a mountain range and a village at its slopes. Situated just south-west of Kandy downtown, it’s a magnificent setting. Hanthana can be found easily, as it is on the left side when you take the much-frequented road to Peradeniya. Hanthana is the location of Kandy’s newly established Tea Museum, which is a good place to study the island’s tea history. Old machines in this former tea factory are still functional. In the Ceylon Tea Museum, you can learn more about how tea is grown and processed and also enjoy a cup of tea - or more than one to compare the tastes of different kinds of tea. The beautiful factury architecture is an attraction in itself. For buying tea, there are shops within the building, too. Behind the Ceylon tea museum is the Hanthana International Bird Park with bird species not only from Sri Lanka, as the name suggests. Further uphill is the large white dagaba called Sandagiri Seya, and and at the mountain road, just opposite the access road to the stupa, of it is the start of the trail to the Hanthana crest, which is one of the most excellent viewpoints in the central highlands of Sri Lanka.

7. Natha & Vishnu & Pattini Devales

Three of Kandy's classical four Hindu Devales of Kandy, together called Hatara Devales, are found near the Tooth Temple, in front of the latter, thereby closer to the town center. All four belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Site called Sacred City of Kandy. Three of them are adjacent to the Tooth Temple and located in the same garden. When visiting the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, you should not miss to see the group of three Hindu temples, too, which are found in the same garden-like fenced complex as the Tooth Temple.

Natha Devalaya (or Natha Devale) is the Hindu shrine closest to the Tooth Temple. Dating back to the Late Middle Ages, the main edifice of the Natha Devale is the oldest building in the valley of Kandy. It’s a simple version of the Gampola style stone architecture that can otherwise be studied at the contemporary temples of Lankatilaka and Gadaladeniya to the west of Peradeniya. Natha, the deity worshipped in this shrine which is older than the nearby Tooth Temple, is the guardian deity of Kandy. Natha, originally a local deity of the valley, has been identified with a Bodhisattva. The Natha Devale is a mystical treasure place, too, as many Buddhists believe that the alms bowl of the Buddha, which can be considered to be the “Holy Grale of Asia”, is kept in this temple.

The Vishnu Devale next to the Royal Palace is one more of the above-mentioned Hatara Devale and thereby part of the Sacred City of Kandy and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the same name, see above. The Vishnu Devale is dedicated to the highest guardian god of Sri Lanka, Upulvan, who is identified with the Brahmanical deity Vishnu, venerated by Hindus and Buddhists alike. The interior of the structure is somwhat colourful. Don’t overlook when climbing the small access stairway: At it’s bottom lies the best surviving specimen of a Kandyan style moonstone, which is triangular in shape, in contrast to the semi-circular moonstones from the Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa periods. Every year in July or August, the Vishnu Devale is the starting point of the world-famous Buddhist pageant called Kandy Perahera. The temple os open in the morning from around 5 am, when a first offering made is made here.

Pattini Devale next to Natha Devale is one of three important shrines near the Tooth Relic complex, the fourth one being Kataragama Devale in Kandy downtown. Of these four so-called Hatara Devales, Hindu and Buddhist shrines dedicated to the four highest deities protecting the nation, Pattini Devale is the only one of a goddess. The Pattini Devale is much frequented by local devotees, particularly females praying for fertility and health. In front of the small shrine, the Bo-Tree of the Pattini Devale is the most impressive one in Kandy.

On the same compound, in a wing of the former royal palace adjacent to the Tooth Temple and not far from the Natha and Vishnu Devales, is the small Archaeological Museum of Kandy, not to be confused with the Narional Museum of Kandy behind the Tooth Temple. The former is to the north and the latter to the east of the Tooth Temple.

8. Asgiriya Monastery

The Asgiriya Monastery in the northwest of Kandy downtown is the principal monastery of one of the two branches of the Siyam Nikaya, which is the oldest existing line of ordination in Sri Lanka, the other branch of the "Siam Order" is Malwatta, see above. The Asgiriy monatery's most important ancient monument, standing on the “Adahana Maluwa” or Royal Cremation Ground, is a Gedige from the late Middle Ages, which is the scond oldest monument of Kandy. Highly attractive for visitors is the large modern stupa, which contains a small museum on the ground floor and a monumental hall with colourful new paintings on the upper floor, illustrating the Buddhist history of Sri Lanka. A small stupa in the center of the hall is entirely made of wood.

9. Nelligala Hill Temple

The newly founded Nelligala International Buddhist Center is placed atop a crest like an eagle's nest. It's a major attractions in the western vicinity of Kandy not only for its scenic location but because of the picturesque buildings. The temple has two stupas, one in the classical white hemispherical design of Sri Lankan, the other one a golden Chedi in the style of Myanmar.

10. Gadaladeniya

The Gadaladeniya Temple is the northernmost and easiest to reach of the three so-called Western Temples which date from the 14th century, the Gampola period. It is located not far from the A1 main road to Colombo. Within the temple compound, there are at least two very different edifices of interest. A small stupa named Vijayotpaya is sheltered by a wooden roof, that’s a quite unique feature now, but it was not uncommon to protect stupas by roofs in Sri Lanka. The main shrine of Gadaladeniya is famous for its doors, which carry the best-preserved and most exquisite paintings from the Middle Ages in Sri Lanka. The flower maiden depicted is very popular and often copied in Sri Lankan art. It's a depiction of an Asian mythical being known as Kinnari. The restoration of the Gadaladeniya temple is part of the Cultural Triangle project sponsored by the UNESCO.

11. Gangaramaya Temple

The Gangaramaya Temple is located 2 km to the east of the Tooth Temple by road, in a suburb known as Lewella. If you are looking for the temple with the very best Kandyan paintings inside Kandy Town, the Gangaramaya Raja Maha Viharaya should be your first choice. All walls of the image house are fully covered with murals. These are Sittara art originals from the 18th century of high artistic value. Surprisingly, the most common sujet of the Sittara murals is not represented in the Gangaramaya image house. You do not find depictions of Jataka stories here. But in the lower segment of the wall paintings, below the rows of Buddhas, you find long rows very similar in style to Jataka paintings. The detailed murals do not depict stories from the previous lives of the Buddha Shakyamuni (Jatakas), but  the story of his last life. When entering the room, you see palace scenes of the princely life Shakyamuni led beforeleaving the household and becoming a Buddha.

12. World Buddhist Museum

This new museum just behind the Tooth Temple is breaking the history of Buddhism up by region, with lots of information, photos and artefacts about the branches of this Asian world religion. The rooms are dedicated to various Buddhist tradtions, furnished and equipped by each of 18 Asian countries that are still mainly Buddhist or at least have been influenced by Buddhist culture. Indeed, with this concept representing various regions, the museum has become an exhibition retracing the history of Asia as well. As a traveller interested in religious traditions or history of Asia you shouldn’t miss the World Buddhism Museum, if you have a few hours time left during their stay in Kandy.

13. Embekke

Embekke, one ot the three Western Temples from the Gampola period, is the woodcraft highlight near Kandy. The main shrine is dedicated to Kataragama, a deity venerated also by Hindus. But adjoined to it, there with a secondary small Buddhist shrine, too. Embekke’s main attraction for lovers of art is the so-called Digge, the ceremonial “drummers hall” just in front of the main shrine. It’s the most famous specimen of traditional Kandyan architecture at all. But it’s even more than that for the art of Sri Lanka: The wooden pillars show the best examples of traditional Sinhalese wood carvings you can find anywhere on the island. Each carving is unique. Shops of woodcarvers can be found just outside the temple compound.

14. Kataragama Devale

Amidst the hurly-burly of Kandy downtown and its local markets is one of the “Four Devalayas” (“Hatara Devales”), they belong to the Sacred City of Kandy World Heritage Site. Devales are mainly Sinhalese temples dedicated to Hindu deities. Kataragama is the Sri Lankan version of the Indian warrior god Skanda, also known as Murugan particularly in Tamil-speaking regions of southern India and northern Sri Lanka. In contrast to the other three Hatara Devales of Kandy, the priests of the Kataragama shrine’s are Tamils and Brahmins, though most devotees visiting the temple are Buddhists. The main shrine is situated in a calm courtyard surrounded by other temple buildings, including one shrine for the Buddha.

15. National Museum of Kandy

The National Museum of Kandy is located behind the Tooth Relic Temple within a colonial style building that was part of the Harem in the former Royal Palace. The museum, opened to the public in 1942, exhibits artifacts such as jewelry, tools and weapons from the Kandyan kingdom and the British Colonial era.

16. Degaldoruwa & Galmaduwa

Degaldoruwa Rajamaha Viharaya is an inconspicuous typical small rock temple to the west of Kandy, on the opposite side of the Mahaweli river. The amazing part of this historical temple from the 18th century is the decoration of the inner walls. They are covered by the most elaborate Kandyan paintings you can find anywhere in the hillcountry. The frescos depict pivotal secenes of Buddhist iconography in the main cave, but even more interesting are the outer walls of that cave shrine, as the murals in the hall in front of it illustrate episodes of canonical Jataka stories in very much detail. The woodwork done at the door frames is remarkable, too. Degaldoruwa is a peaceful place, not at all crowded with tourists. If the cave temple is closed, ask a monk or assistant in the nearby monastery building for the key.

Further 6 km east of Degaldoruwa is a small shrine known as Galmaduwa Temple. The full name is Rajamaha Viharya of Galmaduwa. It's located to the east of Kandy behind the Mahaveli River and not far from the Degaldoruwa cave temple, is an incomplete sructure from the late Kandyan period (18th century). It is a stone-built temple of a quite strange design. A circumambulatory surrounds the central shrine, that’s not unusual. But the steep tiered roof, resembling a Tamil gopuram, is somewhat surprising at a Buddhist temple. The tower is a structure consisting of seven diminishing storeys. King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe is said to have been engaged in completing this temple. But after he had heard of the discovery of a secret tunnel at Degaldoruwa, he stopped the work on Galmaduwa. Therefore, the unfinished building was not used as a temple during the Kandyan period.

17. Bahiravakanda

Bahiravakanda is the name of the steep hill just west of Kandy downtown. In historical times, particularly in the centuries of the Kandy kingdom, it was believed to be the home of a demon called Bahirava. “Kanda” just means “hill”. Virgins are said to have been sacrificed to him annually. There is an ongoing discussion among historians, if human sacrifices really took place during the Kandyan period. Today, a peaceful sitting Buddha is placed on top of the hill, overlooking the city of Kandy. The platforms offer great panoramic views to the the Kandy valley just below and the mountains of the northern highlands in the background. You have a choice: you can either hike or drive to the Bahiravakanda Buddha statue.

18. Udawattakale

As mentioned, Kandy is charmingly surrounded by lushy green hills. The northern one just behind the Sacred Tooth Temple is known as Udawattakale, a typical tropical forest now giving a break from the buzz in Kandy city. Udawattakale is a small sanctuary inviting hikers for one or two hours walks on well-maintained jungle pathes, which still carry names from the colonial period, with some vantage points along the way. Apart from the trees and the central pond, Udawattakale’s main attractions are the groupes of macaques and the avifauna. This is to say, Udawattakale is Kandy’s paradise for birdwatchers.

19. British & Commonwealth Cemeteries

The Garrison Cemetery, situated in close vicinity to the former Royal Palace, is the burial place of 19th century British soldiers and administrators who served in Kandy. Reading the inscriptions, you will be surprised that most of them died at a very young age, most often due to then unknown tropical diseases. A small adjoining museum in a former chapel provides a fact sheet for visitors. The staff maintaining the tombs can help you to find specific tombstones of interest. Kandy’s Garrison Cemetery is a peaceful and well maintained place. The

20. Monte Fano Benedictine monastery

Ampitiya is a village off-the-beaten-track in the south-eastern outskirts of Kandy. There is a small Roman Catholic monastery called Monte Fano in this hilly area. You have to climb a long winding road uphill to reach this tranquil place. Monte Fano is the main monastery of the Sylvestro Benedictine Priory in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1845. The monastery shelters a carbon copy of the famous “Shroud of Turin”.
Kandy in the northern part of Sri Lanka's central fighlands is situated in a loop of the Mahaweli Ganga, Sri Lanka's longest river. The region of the city and the vicinities in the west and north  and east are moderately hilly, whereas Hanthana to the southwest of the city is a considerably higher peak.
Tooth Temple at Kandy Lake
Tooth Temple at Kandy Lake
Handun Kunama in the Tooth Temple
Handun Kunama in the Tooth Temple
donation hall in the Temple of the Tooth Museum
donation hall in the Temple of the Tooth Museum
view from Senani restaurant to Kandy
view from Senani restaurant
Lankatila shrine to the east of Kandy
Lankatilaka shrine to the east of Kandy
Kataragama Devale in Kandy
Kataragama Devale in Kandy
Toque Macaque in Udawattakale
Toque Macaque in Udawattakale
woodcarving in the Digge of Embekke
woodcarving in the Digge of Embekke
mural in the cave temple of Degaldoruwa
mural in the cave temple of Degaldoruwa
Natha Devale in Kandy
Natha Devale
Buddha statue of Bahiravakanda
Buddha statue of Bahiravakanda
Vishnu Devale in Kandy
Vishnu Devale in Kandy
Kandy moonstone in the Vishnu Devale
Kandy moonstone in the Vishnu Devale
Vijayotpaya stupa of Lankatilaka
Vijayotpaya stupa of Lankatilaka
painted door in the Gadaladeniya temple
painted door in the Gadaladeniya temple
Kinnari painting in Gadaladeniya
Kinnari painting in Gadaladeniya
Archaeological Museum in a Royal Palace wing
Archaeological Museum in a Royal Palace wing
Bo-tree of the Pattini Devale in Kandy
Bo-tree of the Pattini Devale
monastic museum in Malwatta Viharaya
monastic museum in Malwatta Viharaya
Ordination hall of Malwatta Monastery
Ordination hall of Malwatta Monastery
stupa hall of Asgiriya Monastery
stupa hall of Asgiriya Monastery
Gangaramaya Pilimage gate
Gangaramaya Pilimage gate
British Garrison Cemetery
British Garrison Cemetery
Queen's Hotel
Queen's Hotel
Octagon of the Tooth Temple
Octagon of the Tooth Temple
Kandy clocktower
Kandy clocktower
Actually, every limitation to a fixed round number like "Top 20" is arbitrarily contrived. We were fiddling in the above list by counting the Archaeological Museum and the Devales of Natha and Vishnu and Pattini as only one attraction. This is acceptable, because they are all located in one garden in a single fenced compound. However, counting Degaldoruwa and Galmaduwa as only one attraction is quite artificial, as they are 6 km away from each other. In particular Hanthana, only one item on our list above, has actually several attractions distributes over a large area, namely the Ceylon Tea Museum, the International Bird Park, the large stupa of Sandagiri Seya, and various peaks of the Hanthana Range.
Hindagala cave temple near Kandy
Despite all those clever solutions to reduce the number of Kandy's attraction to 20 for a ranking list, one significant place of interest is still missing on our Top 20 hitlist. It's a heritage site rarely visited by foreigners, a true "hidden gem" on the touristic map of Kandy. But actually we consider it one of the most notable attractions in the near surroundings of Kandy: Hindagala is an ancient cave temple with excellent Kandyan paintings. It's also an idyllic location. And it's an extraordinary cultural attraction, because it has Sri Lanka's oldest surviving painting of a Buddha, though not easily recognizable, because the 1400 years old rock painting  was severely damaged during a wildfire. Anyway, it's a rarity to see a cave painting from the Anuradhapura period. And even without it, the Hindagala cave temple is a charming attraction. We wonder why in most guidebooks or blogs Hindagala is not on shortlists of Kandy's finest visting places. But there is an advantage of leaving it out: That Hindagala remains to be a tranquil place, not disturbed by the crowds, contributes very much to its appeal.