We spent a week in Sri Lanka, starting and finishing in the capital, Colombo. In the interim, we took a train up to the tea plantations of the island’s interior. On the way back, we spent a night in Kandy, the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy. Our main aim was to visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which is said to hold a tooth of the Buddha – one of the most important Buddhist relics.
How to get to Kandy
Kandy is in the centre of Sri Lanka, some 70 miles north east of Colombo. We travelled to Kandy by train. There are several trains a day from the capital to Kandy and into the hill stations beyond. There are a range of options including express trains (faster), commuter trains (slower and cheaper) and observation trains with panoramic windows to make the most of the spectacular scenery along the way.
Getting around Kandy
Kandy is centred around Kandy Lake, which has a pathway running around its shore. We did all our sightseeing on foot, much of it along the lake. We travelled to and from the station by tuk tuk. If you’ve had enough of walking, there’s never a tuk tuk far away…
Where to stay in Kandy
We stayed at the Radisson Hotel Kandy, which sits on a hill overlooking the south shore of Kandy Lake. It has clean, comfortable rooms with balconies (don’t leave any belonging on your balcony or they are likely to be pilfered by monkeys). We chose this hotel for its location and for the excellent roof top pool. Just what you want after a sweaty day of travelling or sightseeing.
Kandy in 1 Day Itinerary
| Train to Kandy Accommodation – Radisson Hotel Kandy Dinner at Kandy Garden Cafe | |
| Day 1 | Kandy Lake Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic Kandy Clock Tower |
Train to Kandy
We took the express train, or Blue Train to Kandy. It is a modern Chinese train with an air conditioned first class carriage. It’s quicker and more comfortable than the Observation Train. But it doesn’t have openable windows, so it’s less good for viewing the scenery as we descend towards Kandy.
Accommodation – Raddison Hotel Kandy
We reach Kandy by mid afternoon. We check into our hotel; Radisson Hotel Kandy. The rooms are very nice, but we op to head straight to the rooftop pool to cool down. From here, there is a great view over Kandy Lake, which we enjoy whilst sitting on sun loungers drinking beer.
Dinner at Kandy Garden Cafe
On the south eastern edge of the lake is the Kandy Garden Club; a social and sports club which was established in 1878. Initially for the exclusive use of British coffee planters, these days it is, of course, more inclusive. Next door, you will find Kandy Garden Cafe. This small lakeside cafe offers authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, specialising in Kottu – eggs, onion and vegetables are cooked on a griddle, then shredded bread is added to the mixture. The old man orders a mixed Kottu, which contains all manner of extra ingredients; meat, seafood, sausage, cheese – it’s all in there.
We walk back to our hotel as the sun sets over the lake.
Kandy Day 1
The main focus of our visit to Kandy is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which is located on the north shore of Kandy Lake. So we walk , so we walk the mile round the lake from our hotel to the temple.
Kandy Lake
Kandy Lake is a pretty lake lined with trees. This artificial lake was created in 1807.
We walk along the lake, observing the the huge amount of wildlife that inhabits it; we manage to spot birds, fish, turtles, monkeys, bats, chipmunks, even a huge monitor lizard.
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is the site Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic; a tooth believed to belong to the Buddha, which is housed in a series of six golden caskets.
The queues to (a) get into the temple and (b) view the relic are enormous. The place is full of devotees dressed in white. It feels wrong to impose on their pilgrimage to gawk, so we just wander round the edges, watching the offerings and prayers.
We enter a shrine which is rectangular and has Buddhas on all four sides, which throws me into a cultural panic. I have been told it’s rude to turn your back on a Buddha, so how to act when they’re all around you?
The Temple is open daily from 5.30 am until 8 pm. Entry for most foreigners costs 2,000 LKR (around £5).
We spend the remainder of the day completing a circumnavigation of the lake. On the western edge is the City Centre, where we pick up some lunch for a lakeside picnic and purchase souvenirs.
Kandy Clock Tower
Central landmark, in the middle of a roundabout, is Kandy Clock Tower. The tower was commissioned in 1950 by Haji Mohamed Ismail, agent for a British car company, as a monument to his dead son.
The it’s back to the hotel, where there’s just time for a swim and a beer to cool us down before braving the scrum and the heat of Sri Lankan rail travel once more.
- Trip Taken: April 2018
- Updated: November 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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