Lady’s Kandy Sightseeing Guide

Today I want to share my Kandy sightseeing guide with you. This city in central Sri Lanka is the cultural capital of the country, and it’s known for everything from its colorful temples to Kandy Lake.

Kandy Sightseeing

After my tranquil stay at Ceylon Tea Trails, my Sri Lanka trip continued in another location in the hill country: Kandy.

But first there was a slight delay. My love of train travel prompted me to attempt to take a train from Hatton to Kandy.

After my tea factory tour at Norwood, I arrived at the Hatton train station an hour-and-a-half before my train was scheduled to leave.

I enjoyed some samosas while waiting for the ticket office to open, then went inside to pay the fare to Kandy.

It was then that the station manager informed me the train was running late. How late? An hour, maybe more. Two hours? Maybe. Three? Possibly, but not likely. Hmmmm.

Five minutes later I had negotiated a decent price for a tuk tuk to drive me the two hours to Kandy. The drive was a pretty one, even if it was a bit worrying that the driver was pulled over twice for not having a drivers’ license.

When I finally arrived in Kandy it was 5:30pm. The tuk tuk took me straight through the city and up up up into the hills where I’d been offered a complimentary stay at a boutique hotel called The Theva Residency.

Perched on a hillside overlooking Kandy and the green hills around it, The Theva Residency was a peaceful haven in an otherwise bustling city.

I checked into my room—which was furnished with stylish decor and had a huge bathroom as well as a terrace with an outdoor shower—and promptly headed upstairs to the bar/dining room/lounge area to use the WiFi.

A few hours later it was dark and I was hungry. I ate dinner that night at The Theva Residency. My meal consisted of fried prawns and a delicious paneer dish that I couldn’t help eating way more of than I needed to.

Kandy Sightseeing Tour

The next morning I woke up and had a seriously good breakfast quesadilla at the hotel (who knew Sri Lankan Mexican food was so good?) before heading out on a tuk tuk tour to do some Kandy sightseeing.

First up was the Ceylon Tea Museum. I was a bit skeptical at first, having just been on a tour of a Sri Lankan tea factory the day before. How much more could I really learn?

But the moment I walked in, I knew I’d love the museum. Several stories high, it housed a host of historic tea manufacturing equipment that was interesting to see in light of the factory tour the morning before. My inner nerd was in heaven.

My inner photographer was, too. The museum was fascinating from a photography perspective.

The soft, golden light streamed through the window panes, creating an absolutely beautiful setting. I couldn’t put my camera down.

When I finally tore myself away, my Kandy sightseeing tour continued with a visit to the Kandy Botanical Garden.

Located on the outskirts of the city, the garden had a pretty steep entry fee for foreigners. However, it was one of the largest and most well-manicured botanical gardens I’ve ever seen.

From the orchid house to the fernery, from the man-made lake to the herb garden, the botanical garden was one of the highlights of my Kandy sightseeing tour.

Even the bats, which reminded me of the ones I saw in the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, were amusing.

Not so much, however, was the propensity of the staff to pop up out of nowhere carrying small papers on which giant black scorpions rested. Still, I had a pleasant experience.

As a contrast, the next stop on my Kandy sightseeing tour was the bustling city center.

The crowds and congestion reminded me so much of India that I could have easily mistaken the city for a smaller, cleaner, less crowded version of Jaipur or Jodhpur.

Right in the middle of Kandy lay the Temple of the Tooth, an important Buddhist religious site that’s said to house a relic of a tooth of Buddha himself.

All around the temple were vendors selling brightly-colored flowers for the devoted to offer on their visits.

I entered the temple complex after going through a security screening, then walked around the grounds to explore.

In addition to the temple itself, which had been rebuilt multiple times over the centuries, there were gardens, lawns, and even a resident elephant.

After the temple my Kandy sightseeing tour came to an end. Back up the hill, I went to collect my things from The Theva Residency and start the next phase of my trip: the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. To be continued…

Want more? Take a look at my Sri Lanka travel video.

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