The name Kandy conjures visions of splendor and magnificence, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of the legends, traditions and folklore are still lovingly kept alive. On your way to Kandy, you will visit the nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants, visit the colorful Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya renowned for its collection of orchids and the golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth housing Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha. During puja (offerings or prayers), the heavily guarded room housing the tooth is open to devotees and tourists. However, you don’t actually see the tooth as it is kept in a gold casket shaped like a dagoba (stupa), which contains a series of six dagoba caskets of diminishing size. But a visit to Kandy is never complete without having visited the Temple of the Tooth.
