Kandy

Kandy, the last Royal capital of Sri Lanka, is situated amongst wooded hills on the shores of a lake and, due to its rambling colonial buildings and temples, could be called the cultural capital of Sri Lanka.

Its most famous temple is the Temple of the Tooth, named thus as it is said to hold Buddha's tooth.  Every year in July or August a festival is held called Kandy Perahera, at which the golden caskets are paraded around the city accompanied by drummers, dancers, chieftains and more than 50 elephants. 

Established in the 15th-century, Kandy is a bustling market town, rich in cultural diversity and is a good transit point for the cultural triangle to the north or the hill country to the south.