Kandy

Kandy’s Temple of the Tooth Relic, or Sri Dalada Maligawa, houses what is believed to be a tooth of the Buddha and remains one of Sri Lanka’s most important pilgrimage sites. Evening puja ceremonies draw a steady stream of devotees, and the sound of drumming through the temple’s inner chambers is genuinely moving even for visitors with no religious connection to the place. Set beside Kandy Lake, the last capital of the Sinhalese kings makes an easy, atmospheric stop between the coast and the hill country.