Quick answer
Kandy Central Market is the city's main covered market, on Station Road beside the clock tower and about ten minutes on foot from the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. The ground floor sells fruit, vegetables, spices, rice, dried fish and meat; the upper floor has textiles, leather goods and souvenirs. It is busiest from about 7 to 10 in the morning and is quieter on Sundays and poya days. Allow 45 minutes, carry small notes, and expect to bargain lightly for anything without a marked price.
Key takeaways
- Kandy Central Market stands beside the clock tower, about 500 metres west of Kandy Lake.
- The ground floor of Kandy Central Market sells fresh produce and spices, and the upper floor sells clothing and crafts.
- Rambutan, mangosteen and durian are in season in Kandy from roughly June to August.
- Whole spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and pepper usually cost far less in Kandy market than in a roadside spice garden.
- Many stalls in Kandy Central Market close or trade short hours on poya days and Sunday afternoons.
How Kandy Central Market is laid out
Kandy Central Market is a rectangular municipal building of two floors around a planted courtyard. Stalls face inwards and outwards on the ground floor, grouped by trade. A stairway at each corner leads to an upper gallery of small shops.
The sections of Kandy Central Market are easy to learn. Fruit sellers occupy the stalls nearest the main entrance, where visitors are greeted first. Vegetables, rice and dry goods fill the centre. Fish and meat are at the rear, in a separate wing that you will find by smell.
- →Front: tropical fruit, bananas in a dozen varieties, and king coconuts.
- →Centre: vegetables, pulses, rice, coconut oil and jaggery.
- →Side aisles: whole and ground spices, tea and dried chillies.
- →Rear wing: fresh and dried fish, chicken and beef.
- →Upstairs: batik, sarongs, leather bags, tailors and souvenirs.
What is worth buying
The best things to buy in Kandy Central Market are edible. Whole spices travel well and are sold loose by weight: cinnamon quills, green cardamom, cloves, black pepper, nutmeg and mace. Vacuum-sealed packs are available for the journey home.
Fruit in Kandy Central Market follows the seasons of the wet zone. Ask the stallholder to choose fruit for eating today and to cut a sample. Kithul jaggery and treacle, made from the sap of the fishtail palm in the surrounding hills, are a regional speciality worth carrying home.
- →All year: papaya, pineapple, bananas, passion fruit, wood apple, avocado.
- →May to August: mango, rambutan, mangosteen and durian.
- →Good souvenirs: whole spices, loose-leaf tea, kithul jaggery, cashew nuts.
- →Not recommended: saffron, vanilla and "herbal medicines" of doubtful origin.
Prices and bargaining
Prices in Kandy Central Market are usually fair for produce and flexible for everything else. Fruit and vegetables are sold by weight at rates that locals also pay, although a visitor may be quoted a little more. A smile and a counter-offer of two-thirds is normal and not rude.
Spice prices in Kandy Central Market are a fraction of those in the tourist spice gardens on the roads outside the city. The upstairs craft shops are less of a bargain, and the quality of batik and leather varies. Compare two or three stalls before buying, and do not follow anyone who offers to take you to a "cheaper" shop outside.
When to go
The best time to visit Kandy Central Market is between 7 and 10 in the morning, when deliveries arrive and households shop. By midday the produce has been picked over and the building is hot. A second, smaller rush comes after offices close, around 5.
Kandy Central Market trades every day, although Sunday is slow and many stalls shut by early afternoon. On poya days meat and fish stalls are closed and others may not open. In the week before Sinhala and Tamil New Year in mid-April the market is at its most crowded and colourful.
Etiquette, hygiene and photographs
Photographing in Kandy Central Market is welcome if you ask first, and most stallholders will pose with pride. Buying a little fruit from someone you have photographed is good manners. The fish and meat wing is wet underfoot, so wear closed shoes.
Food safety in Kandy Central Market is a matter of choosing fruit you can peel. Ask for cut fruit to be prepared in front of you with a clean knife. Lankan Stays & Trails often starts cooking-class mornings here, with the host choosing vegetables and explaining what each is used for.
- →Ask before photographing people.
- →Carry small notes; stallholders rarely have change for large ones.
- →Keep bags in front of you in the crowded aisles.
- →Wash or peel all fruit before eating.
What to combine with the market
Kandy Central Market sits in the commercial heart of the city. The clock tower, the main bus stands and the railway station are all within five minutes. The lake and the temple are ten minutes east along Dalada Veediya, the main shopping street.
A morning that begins at Kandy Central Market can continue to the Kataragama Devale on Kotugodella Veediya, the old shop-houses of the bazaar streets and a bakery for short eats. Bahirawakanda rises directly behind the market, a ten-minute tuk-tuk ride for the view.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Kandy Central Market?
Kandy Central Market is on Station Road next to the clock tower, in the commercial centre of the city. It is about ten minutes on foot from the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and five minutes from the railway station and the main bus stands.
What time does Kandy market open?
Kandy Central Market generally trades from about 7 in the morning until early evening, Monday to Saturday. Sunday hours are shorter, and on poya days many stalls stay closed. The best selection of fruit and vegetables is before 10 in the morning.
Is Kandy market good for buying spices?
Kandy Central Market is one of the best places in the hill country to buy spices at local prices. Whole cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and pepper are sold by weight and can be vacuum-packed. Buy whole spices, which keep their flavour far longer than ground ones.
Do you need to bargain in Kandy market?
Light bargaining is expected in Kandy Central Market for crafts, clothing and unpriced goods, and a counter-offer of about two-thirds of the first price is reasonable. Fresh produce sold by weight has less room to move, though asking the price before choosing avoids surprises.
What fruit should I try in Kandy?
Try mangosteen, rambutan and durian if you visit between June and August, when they come in from the surrounding wet-zone gardens. All year round, look for wood apple, small sweet bananas, passion fruit and king coconut, which is opened for drinking on the spot.
Is Kandy Central Market safe for tourists?
Kandy Central Market is safe, busy and used to visitors. The main annoyances are persistent sellers near the entrance and men offering to guide you to shops outside. Keep valuables zipped away in the crowded aisles, as you would in any market.