Sri Lanka

Kandy

WHS Score 2.98
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1.5

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2.0

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2.5

  • Adrian Turtschi
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  • Frederik Dawson
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4.0

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The Sacred City of Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhala kings and holds an important Buddhist relic.

Kandy was Ceylon’s capital till the arrival of the British in 1815 and the Royal Palace remains. It also still is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site for the presence of the Temple of the Tooth. According to tradition, a tooth of the Buddha is kept here.

Community Perspective: Kandy is a small city set in pleasant green hilly surroundings. Frederik has described what you may expect from a visit to the Temple of the Tooth.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Sacred City of Kandy (ID: 450)
Country
Sri Lanka
Status
Inscribed 1988 Site history
History of Kandy
1988: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iv
  • vi
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Religious structure: Buddhist
Travel Information
Central Sri Lanka hotspot
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Connections of Kandy
Individual People
Trivia
History
Architecture
  • Octagons
    Temple of Tooth in Kandy
  • Gold Surfaces
    The Japanese donated golden roof of the temple of tooth
Damaged
World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
Human Activity
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
WHS Hotspots
Visiting conditions
  • Foreigner prices
    (Tooth temple) 2000LKR (USD6), free for locals (updated Dec 2023)
18
  • Indiana Jones movie
    Temple of Doom
  • Location for a classic movie
    The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, Best Picture at Academy Awards, Best Film at BAFTA, preserved in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress)
News

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Visitors of Kandy
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Community Reviews

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First published: 23/01/16.

Michael Turtle

Kandy

Kandy (Inscribed)

Kandy by Michael Turtle

The highlight of Kandy is the Temple of the Tooth and I spent most of my time there. What I found most interesting was all the people there. Every generation within a family comes along together and spends time in the temple - often just sitting on the floor and hanging out together. It's a lovely portrait of the people in Sri Lanka and their relationship with their religious buildings.

Kandy is a really easy city to get to and it has good train connections with other parts of Sri Lanka and it's a pleasant way to get in and out of the city.

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First published: 18/01/09.

Frederik Dawson

Kandy

Kandy (Inscribed)

Kandy by Frederik Dawson

Kandy, the third world heritage capital city of Sri Lanka, is regarded as one of the most sacred places for Buddhists locating in the beautiful lush green hill country, a very contrast with dry flat land of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Similar to Anuradhapura, the center of Kandy is the sacred city, but for Kandy, its sacred area is quite small only comprise of the former royal palace complex and nearby associated shrines and temples.

The most important place of the sacred city is the famous Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Holy Tooth Relic of the Lord Buddha. The temple is actually a part of the Kandyan royal palace, so the temple is a good example of Kandyan architecture, a Sri Lankan national style. Not only the temple, the nearby four small Hindu shrines for local gods and goddesses are also very interesting for study local belief that use Hindu gods as the protectors of Buddhism.

The Tooth relic is very important for Sri Lankan as it is the symbol of sovereignty over Ceylon, so every time Sinhalese move their capital city, the Tooth will go with them except Colombo. Even today the president has to come to pay respect the Tooth every year and become state tradition. Apart from local Sri Lankan, all Buddhist around the world especially Thai and Japanese come and make lots of donations to this temple as part of their pilgrimages.

Every visitor to the Temple of the Tooth has …

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First published: 16/07/08.

Rob Wilson

Kandy

Kandy (Inscribed)

Kandy by Carlo Sarion

Kandy is a lovely city, but I'm not convinced that it is WHS material really.

The Temple of the Tooth is interesting but is marred by some rather nasty political nonsence in one of the exhibition rooms.

Still, the city is a nice place to hang out for a few days before seeing the more interesting WHSs nearby.

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First published: 01/05/05.

Anonymous

Kandy

Kandy (Inscribed)

Kandy by Carlo Sarion

I was in Kandy for one year stint as an expatriate in year 1998. Kandy is a small, serene and hilly city with a big man-made lake in the center. Its climate is perfectly nice for me. Ooops..Tamil Tiger suicide bombers bombed the temple of the tooth few days before I arrived at the city.

Kandy is like Mecca to Muslim, a holy city visited by many Buddhist worshippers especially on 1st and 15th day of the lunar calendar. The rooftop of the temple is coated with the gold sheet.

The annual grand parade or processing in somewhere June or July is an unforgettable event, not found in other part of this world. Singhalese dancers in traditional gears performing traditional dance and music in acrobatic movement to entertain bystanders and a platoon of elephants carrying Buddha tooth is truly eye-opening experience. This grand processing usually last for three long weeks!

Wesak day is a big celebration day to Singhalese people. Almost every house is decorated with lantern made from the bamboo and white paper.

Kandy botanical garden is a beautiful and magnificent tropical garden. Watch out for the countless of fruit bats hanging upside down on the treetop. Bad thing is foreigners need to pay 10 times more entrance fee than local folks.

Bull carts and elephants are still a mode of transport to some local people. Don't be panic when you see elephant is blocking your four wheels car. Lastly, I hope my friends in Sri Lanka can email …

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First published: 12/08/96.

Els Slots

Kandy

Kandy (Inscribed)

Kandy by Els Slots

Kandy is a green city with 100.000 inhabitants. It is dominated by a large, central lake. Compared to the capital Colombo a stay here is a relief. There are several shrines to visit, and it is also a good place for walking tours.

The Temple of the Tooth of course is the major sight. Watching the pilgrims even more ... each day the room where the tooth is saved is opened up to let the numerous visitors catch a glimpse

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