Kandy Town

Overcrowded, humid, bustling, colourful and loud, with lots of tuk tuks beeping, is how I’d describe a first impression of Kandy town. It has a fabulously faded grandeur with its centre piece: a stunning lake overlooked by an imposing Victorian hotel – Queen’s. These merge seamlessly into Kandy’s south-east Asian self, with its octagonal Buddhist temple and plentiful displays of exotic food and brightly coloured saris. Also, within feet of the temple are churches, kovils and mosques which help create the multi-cultural feel of Sri Lanka. That was pre-Covid. Not sure if it’s as ‘in ya face’ as that now, or what it’ll be like when I get out there at the end of the year, travel restrictions permitting.

We’ll disembark at Kandy train station having come all the way around the hill country from Ella on the old colonial train. Arriving in Kandy will still feel for me like home as it’s where I’ve volunteered each year since 2013. The Women’s Development Centre (WDC) is where I base myself, just off the old Peradeniya Road. You can read about what I do out there and who inspired me to keep returning, here.

The ancient kings of Kandy

Anyone who knows anything about Kandy will know that for centuries it was a kingdom in its own right. It’s unique to Sri Lankan history for the only region that successfully defeated the numerous attempts to invade it, including the Portuguese and the Dutch. The mountain terrain, poor or non-existent roads, mercurial weather and local diseases enabled the kings of Kandy to maintain their rule until 1815 AD. This was when the Kandyans chose to hand over their kingdom to the British who already ruled the rest of Ceylon, following the capture of a very corrupt and allegedly vindictive, despotic king.

Kandy Temple

Kandy Temple, known as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is adjacent to the gorgeous white parapet-walled Bogambara lake. The Buddha’s tooth is said to have been brought to Sri Lanka c301AD from India and is now housed in the library in the temple. As the capital of Sri Lanka moved around the island in ancient times, then so did the tooth, finally resting in Kandy in 1592 AD. Now, during the month of August, the Sinhalese celebrate a sacred celebration called Esala Perahera, where a replica of the Buddha’s tooth is paraded around the town in a casket on an elephant in a magnificent street procession.

This time I’m going to make the time to get to the Botanic Gardens just 5km east of Kandy, in Peradeniya. The gardens are renowned for their orchids, 4000 species of plants including spices and medicinal herbs. The park dates back to the 14C but the current gardens were established in 1842 with plants imported from Kew Gardens in London. I thought it would’ve been the other way around but I’m sure plant exchanges will have taken place too.

Trekking on

I’ve been told that some of the women working at WDC, and maybe some of the girls living in refuge, will walk a little way with me as I exit Kandy. All funds I raise from my 10 week challenge will go to support and empower the girls in the refuge, and to help get children out of orphanages and living within supportive families.

As always I’d love to hear your comments about my favourite Sri Lankan town of Kandy, either if you’ve visited Kandy yourself, or what you think of it as I describe it here.

Next up

Planning for Leg 4 – Kandy to the ancient city of Polonnarawu via Mahiyangana to meet a Veddha community – approximately 135km