Kandy is perhaps the pit stop you need to make to conduct your one-day trips everywhere. It is located at the center of Sri Lanka and is generally recognized as the island nation's cultural capital. It is to Sri Lanka what Lahore is to Pakistan while Karachi is Colombo. It is the second largest city and is in a mountainous region, with a cooler climate. Being a large city, it has done a great job to remain green and clean, and is surrounded by a beautiful tropical rain forest.
The downtown area is crowded but alive, and has some great food and juices. I loved Sri Lanka for simply the amount of tropical juices there were.
To get to Kandy, you can take a tax from the airport (cost us 10,000 rupees) or you could even take two buses. There is a free shuttle bus to the bus terminal, where the friendly locals will direct you to the bus to Kandy which is about a hundred rupees
One in Kandy, you can use tuk tuk or the local bus, or even walk. Tuk Tuks are cheap and the person usually tells you a bit about the places.
The Temple of the Tooth, is the main temple next to the lake and is open only in the morning till dusk. It houses a tooth relic of the Lord Buddha, and is consequently considered one of Sri Lanka's most holy shrines. Although you may not view the actual tooth itself, the casket within which it is said to be is displayed twice a day. The best time to view this ornate casket is around 6.30PM. Also for ladies, you must cover up below the knees with pants and everything on the shoulders. There are plenty of people at the entrance that will hire you a shoal to cover for 150 to 200 LKR.
The main lake in Kandy is the Bogambara lake and you cant miss it. You can walk all the way around the Bogambara lake, right next to the temple of tooth relic.
There is also a nearby Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage , which I would not recommend as the elephants are in captivity. A better idea is to go to a national park where you will find the elephants in the wild. There is also the Millenium Elephant Foundation right next to Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage. There, you can ride and wash elephants in the river. Entrance: LKR1,000
You can also see Kandyan dancing you can see this traditional form of dancing in the "Kandyan Cultural Center" near the Kandy lake.
Kandy is essentially the stopover place so from here, head onwards to Sigiriya and the Minneriya National Park.
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