Kandy on a luxury 7-day Sri Lanka itinerary

Kandy gets a single night on a luxury 7-day Sri Lanka itinerary because the week has only six, and the city asks less of them than Sigiriya or the coast. Its great sight is one temple, seen in one evening. Two nights here means one fewer by the sea.

The stop still earns its place. Kandy breaks the journey from the Cultural Triangle to the tea country into two comfortable halves, and the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is the most important Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka. Travellers who skip it tend to regret the gap.

Luxury hotels in Kandy divide into two kinds. Heritage properties near Kandy Lake put you within walking distance of the temple, with traffic noise and the sound of evening drums as part of the stay. Hillside hotels and small villas above the city trade that closeness for views, gardens and quiet.

For one night, the hills usually win. A terrace above the Mahaweli River or the Hanthana range is a better end to the day than a room over a main road, and a car takes care of the distance. Allow 10 to 25 minutes to the temple, and more in the evening rush.

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic holds its main evening ceremony at about 6.30pm, when drummers play and the doors of the inner chamber open for a short time. The casket is visible. The relic itself is not shown.

A guide makes the difference between a crowd and a ceremony. Arrive 30 to 40 minutes early, walk the lower halls first, and be upstairs before the drums begin. Dress covers shoulders and knees, shoes come off at the entrance, and white or pale clothing is appreciated.

Kandy offers more than one evening can hold, and the luxury week is better for choosing. The cultural dance show at about 5pm is lively but runs straight into the puja. The gem showrooms and spice gardens on the road in are sales stops, and a good chauffeur-guide will not suggest them.

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya are worth doing if you leave Sigiriya early, since they sit on the way into the city. Otherwise, save the energy. The road from Kandy into the tea country on day 4 is the better use of a morning.

Dinner in Kandy on a luxury week is best taken at the hotel. The city has few restaurants at the level of its better hotels, traffic after the puja is slow, and day 4 starts early. Ask the hotel to hold a table for about 8pm.

Kandyan cooking has its own character, with jackfruit curries, fried lake fish and sweetmeats made for temple offerings. A hotel chef told a day ahead will usually build a rice and curry table of eight or ten dishes around what the market had that morning.

Kandy sits at about 500 metres, and day 4 climbs to more than 1,800 metres at Nanu Oya. The drive takes roughly three hours with a tea factory on the way, and the scenic train from Nanu Oya to Ella takes two and a half to three hours more.

Lankan Stays & Trails times the Kandy departure around your train seats, not the other way round. If the seats are on a morning service, that can mean leaving at 6.30am with a packed breakfast, which is one more reason to choose a hotel on the south side of the city.