What to do in Kandy - Our guide to Sri Lanka's Ancient Capital
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Nestled in a bowl of mountains, the ancient capital of Kandy, sprawls out around a central man made lake. This spiritual and cultural hub was the seat of the last Kings of the Kandyan empire, and now serves as the Capital of Sri Lanka’s Central Province.
We’ve been to Kandy twice now, staying for a total of 8 nights in the bustling city. Here’s our guide of things to do, foods to eat, places to drink and where we stayed.
Getting To and From Kandy
Kandy is a major city in Sri Lanka, and as such is very well connected to the rest of the island. The train station is a hub that serves both the Capital of Colombo as well as the iconic Kandy to Ella line that weaves its way through the mountains and tea plantations of the Highland’s region.
Kandy’s train station is the arrival and departure point for the majority of people visiting Kandy. If you’re looking to take the train between Kandy and Ella, train tickets need to be brought in advance as tickets sell out extremely quickly on this route. For on the day tickets to other destinations (or even the Kandy to Ella line if you get very lucky), there are seperate ticket windows at the station for first, second and third class tickets. The long line full of locals that often stretches out of the station is for third class tickets. If you’d prefer to book tickets in advance, you can do this via tour operators or online via 12Go.
Reserved seating tickets to the Kandy to Ella line are typically made available 30 days in advance and will sell out very quickly, so do plan ahead! You can buy second and third class tickets on the day, but as we found out, this will mean you are stood up and wedged in a crowd for 6 hours… even so, the train line is beautiful and we loved our experience!
Kandy’s vast bus stations are confusing, hectic and a little bit stressful but fantastically useful. From Kandy bus station you can get to or from almost anywhere on the island of Sri Lanka. The public buses also have the advantage of being extremely cheap! On the more popular routes e.g. Kandy to Dambulla, AC mini buses are available.
The bus stands and buses are labelled with their final destinations, and the locals are more than happy to point you in the right direction.
For those not wanting to brave the chaos, there are lots of tour operators within Kandy, as well as online operators such as 12Go that can help arrange tickets for tourist buses and mini vans, or taxis in advance.
Things to Do in Kandy
The Royal Botanic Gardens - Map Location
A short tuk tuk or a bus ride away are Kandy’s Royal Botanical Gardens. Set amongst 147 acres and containing over 4000 plants, these gardens are a welcome green oasis from the bustling and occasionally overwhelming city. The gardens contain a number of different glasshouses, a large arboretum and many ornamental flower beds.
For those after their cringy (but essential) Instagram shots, the gardens supply ample opportunities. The most popular of which are the grand palm tree avenues. Almost impossibly high and arranged in perfect symmetry, these tree lined corridors are a posers paradise and an Insta-boyfriends nightmare.
Oh look a poser!
Another Instagram favourite is the suspension bridge built over the Mahaweli Ganga river. This swinging iron bridge has a maximum capacity of 5 people, so be prepared for a little wait, but the river and forest views make the short wait well worthwhile.
One of the key draws of Kandy’s Royal Botanical Gardens is its collection of giant bamboos. They have not been named in error, these things were truly massive in height. When you remember that bamboo is a grass, it has no right to be as tall as this was!
When we visited (a morning in July) we were initially confused by some of the trees as they seemed to have thousands of little black fruits hanging from them. On closer inspection we realised that they were not in fact fruits, but hundreds upon hundred of black bats. Along with bats we also saw lots of monkeys, birds, chipmunks and even a snake in the botanical garden grounds.
Many, many bats!
If you are feeling peckish, there is a cafe serving snacks, drinks and a well deserved ice-cream right in the heart of the gardens. Or alternatively, there are several vendors found outside the front entrance where we brought some tasty fried treats before we entered.
Entry to the gardens cost 2000 LKR each for a ticket (£4.71 or $5.48). We stayed at the gardens for a few hours, and enjoyed slowly wandering around the shaded avenues and admiring the flowers.
Udawattakele Forest Reserve - Map Location
A short 25 minute walk, or for those feeling lazy a tuk tuk ride from the Centre of Kandy lies the Udawattakele Forest Reserve. This hilltop nature park boasts a wide variety of fauna, city views and even some religiously significant caves.
Walking through the entrance (tickets cost 830 LKR, £1.96 or $2.27), we were instantly greeted by a huge troop of Macaque monkeys. Mothers with their babies clinging to their underside romped and played over the sign bearing the park's map.
There are several routes around the park, but we opted for the circular one which would take in the city view point, the ancient bathing pond and also the religious caves.
As you wander through, the green canopy descends, smothering the sounds of the nearby city and enclosing you in a calm green bubble of rustling leaves, chirping birds and the occasional squeal of a monkey. We later learned (thanks Wikipedia) that the enormous tree-sized vines that slung and coiled themselves around the park’s paths were actually the famous Liana’s. We recommend Googling these as they were really quite impressive.
Following a path upwards through the forest, you come to a break in the foliage and the city viewpoint. This viewpoint overlooks Kandy town and the lake, and was a quick reminder that even though you were surrounded by nature, you’re only a stone's throw away from the city proper. Whilst we were at the viewpoint we were lucky enough to see a couple of eagles circling high above the city.
Buddhist paintings outside the Cittavisuddhi Lena cave.
Further around the trail, there are three religious caves, but when we visited we only sought out one, the Cittavisuddhi Lena cave. Outside the cave were Buddhist paintings, sculpture and offerings left by pilgrims. We were too chicken to go inside the cave (bats and many insects!) but enjoyed the scramble down to it and the serene jungle setting. We did try to seek out the other two caves, but the paths to these caves were severely overgrown, and there were some “natural obstacles” we were wary of encountering.
We mentioned some “natural obstacles”… we should probably elaborate…
On that note - our tip for the walk: pack and liberally use strong Deet before venturing out. Failure to do this, may result in a leech scenario as John found out shortly into our walk. Looking down he discovered he had become a mobile buffet for a selection of gross wiggling leeches. As soon as your eye was trained in, a look in any direction would reveal many more leeches slinking their way blindly towards you like tiny vampiric slugs. Ellie was extremely helpful in this situation, if by helpful you mean panicking, running away and generally flailing around leaving John to feed his new found friends. The leeches weren’t painful, and were very small but did bleed for quite some time after they had been removed. We’ve since learned the proper removal technique for leeches. What John performed that day was not the ‘proper’ technique. John’s leech removal system consisted of swearing at them (presumably to hurt their feelings), pinching them and flinging them as far away as possible. We did venture out on a wet day which apparently makes it much worse. Ellie, who had applied Deet remained leech free whereas John who was sans Deet acquired three of the squigglers.
Aside from the leeches, the Udawattakele Forest Reserve really was a very nice walk. Much like the Botanical Gardens it was great to get back out into nature, whilst staying in a busy city. The walk did not take long, and followed well maintained paths (the exception being the routes to the caves). We saw gorgeous fauna and lots of monkeys. Even with our blood sucking companions we would definitely recommend seeking this walk out.
Bahirawakanda Vihara Buddha Statue - Map Location
Visible from pretty much anywhere in the city, the Bahirawakanda Vihara Buddha Statue sits atop a hill gazing down on the streets and valleys below. The Buddha statue is a short but very steep walk from the town, or again can be accessed by tuk tuk. The 600 LKR entrance fee (£1.45 or $1.67) gives you access to panoramic views over Kandy and the surrounding countryside as well as a close up view of this beautiful Buddhist monument. There are steps behind the Buddha for an even higher vantage point which looks out over the other side of the hill away from town. There is also a small shop (selling religious texts and trinkets) and a small temple you can enter filled with statues, paintings and offerings. As this is a Buddhist religious site, the usual clothing rules (shoes removed and shoulders and knees covered) need to be observed with shoes stored at a front with a little old man who will definitely ask you for a tip for the privilege of watching over your smelly shoes. We walked there and back and although extremely sweaty (maybe don’t do this at midday as we did), the views over Kandy were spectacular.
Kandy Market - Map Location
Near to the station, Kandy produce market is spread out over two courtyards and sprawls over the surrounding streets. We recommend getting here in the morning to see the market in full swing. Inside were butchers, dried fish vendors and a multitude of other shops. In the streets outside, fruit and vegetable sellers pedal a bewildering array of produce. Their colourful goods stacked up in multicoloured pyramids. This isn’t a market for souvenir shopping, but if you, like us, love to see the raw ingredients of the local food, the market is a fascinating place to wander about. We also recommend buying a banana or two as they are delicious!
Kandy Lake - Map Location
Sat in the heart of Kandy, next to the Temple of the Tooth is the iconic Kandy lake. This large man made lake provides another good excuse for a wander, with 2.1 miles of pathways stretching around its circumference. Following along the delightfully named “Cloud Wall” you quickly leave the busy town behind. The Queen’s bathing pavilion juts out onto the lake in all its ivory splendour, a preserved reminder of the lake’s royal past. As you continue round the lake you pass by a leafy university on one side of you, whilst on the other, water monitor lizards, ducks and fish float, swim or splash through the water. In the centre of the lake a little garden island sits like a jewel in its crown. Perfectly maintained and in colourful bloom, this island sadly does not appear open to the public but remains a pretty addition to the view. A short wander around Kandy Lake is a great way to stretch your legs and enjoy some greenery in what can sometimes be an intense city.
A view of Kandy Lake taken through the ‘Cloud Wall’.
Kandy Viewpoint - Map Location
From the lake you can take a short sharp walk (everything in Kandy seems to be up some monstrous hill) to the Kandy viewpoint. This viewpoint overlooks the lake and city and is a popular place for a panoramic photo of the city. There is no entrance fee for the viewing platform, but there are the traditional hawkers of tourist tat to contend with.
Asgiri Maha Vihara Pirivena - Buddhist Stupa and Temple - Map Location
We had admired this stupa from afar as you can see it from the majority of Kandy. Just outside the city centre, across the train tracks and up a steep set of stairs lies this Buddhist temple and ornate stupa. We arrived expecting nothing more than to admire a beautiful building from the outside. However, upon arrival we were greeted by a charming military gentleman who ushered us inside the base of the stupa and turning on all the lights, revealed what turned out to be a compact but interesting museum about (we think) the history of Buddhist literature and scripture in Sri Lanka. After the base, we were taken up to the meditation room on the central floor of the stupa. This floor was decorated with fascinating but quite extreme iconography. The walls depicted the stages of life and then the states of decay a body goes through after passing.
Finally we were ushered into the dome of the stupa itself we were not expecting what awaited us. As our military guide clicked on the lights, a Sistine Chapel of Buddhist artwork was illuminated in the dome above us. Around the perimeter of the dome, stories from the life of the Buddha were painted in complex detail. As the dome soared towards its zenith, a swirling mandala of wheels in dazzling colours adorned the stupa. An enormous lotus flower carved entirely of wood sat in the centre of the floor. Carved wooden panels clad the walls with eight statues of the Buddha, all in different aspects circling the room. We were blown away by the colour, intricate carving and enormity of the space.
Outside a circular balcony surrounded the stupa, giving fantastic views of the city. There was no entrance fee for this and the military guard did not ask for a donation or tip from us. As we walked back down the steep staircase the novice monks came out to water the lawn. We left this unexpected treasure with the sight of orange clad monks smiling against the lush green grass.
“The Elephant in the Room” - the Temple of the Tooth
Yes we know it’s the big thing to do in Kandy, but for some reason over our multiple stops in this city we just never got to it. The temple looks extremely pretty and the building is amazing from the outside. It is also clearly a place of intense religious devotion. We frequently saw people take both hands off their motorbike handlebars to pay respect when passing by the temple. We have heard it can get extremely busy on weekends, Poya days and during religious festivals.
Other Things To Do From Kandy
There are also a couple of good day trips we took from Kandy. We’ve now written about these in their own blogs. Click the links below to read all about these trips:
Kandy can also be used as a base of accommodation for attractions slighty further afield. From Kandy you could organise trips into the central region of Sri Lanka including the Lion’s Rock of Sigiriya, the Royal Cave Temples of Dambulla or a wildlife safari in one of Sri Lanka’s National Parks. We had a wonderful time with the elephants at Kaudulla National Park. To organise one of these trips, you can either use a local tour operator, or book a taxi in advance via 12Go. As these attractions are slightly further away (two and half hours plus away), we wouldn’t recommend trying to use public transport for a day trip, as any delay could ruin your day!
If your still looking for things to do in the city or want a curated / hassle free experience check out Get Your Guide:
Similarly if you are stuck for ideas, or want a full tour have a browse on Tripadvisor who have hundreds of activities that start in Kandy.
Accommodation in Kandy - Where to Stay?
The majority of Kandy’s accommodation is found in the hillsides surrounding the city. The hotels/hostels/guesthouses that we looked at in these areas looked great, with beautiful views over the city. However, coming from London, we wanted to be in the heart of the city and not a 40 minute walk to it. We wanted to eat local and stay local so we decided to stay in the thick of it. Ticking all our boxes was the Ceyloni City Hotel. Set in the perfect location in the heart of the hustle and bustle of Kandy’s shopping streets we checked in.
Ceyloni City Hotel (Map Link) is nothing fancy, but more like the standard business hotels found all over the world - think Premier Inn standard for those reading this from the UK. As we have travelled more and more through Sri Lanka, and have been more and more budget minded with our accommodation, we really appreciated the normality of Ceyloni City Hotel (yay for constant shower pressure and luxury of luxuries a wardrobe)! Both times we had a comfortable bed, a hot shower, tea and coffee making facilities, a cold fridge to store the Lion lagers in (an essential for any backpacking trip) and a balcony overlooking the streets of Kandy. There was an option upon checking in to add breakfast to our stay, but as we were staying in the heart of Kandy, surrounded by food, we cheaped out on this.
Ceyloni City Hotel was slightly more expensive than we’ve paid for guesthouses elsewhere in Sri Lanka, but the facilities were definitely higher class than we’ve had in local guesthouses. After negotiating with the owner, we were paying 7500 LKR (£18.05 or $20.79) a night.
There are so many options for accomodation in Kandy, check out our handy map below for a more complete list of where you can stay:
What to Eat in Kandy ? Our Stand Out Choices
As we’ve said before, we visited Kandy on a couple of occasions and stayed for a few days. Below are our favourite places we ate at in Kandy.
Balaji Dosai - Map Location
This unassuming local chain has two outlets in Kandy. Purely vegetarian and specialising in dosa, this quickly became our go to spot for cheap, delicious and filling food. We’d recommend the branch further away from the Temple of the Tooth, as we found the curries spicier and more flavourful.
We always went for one of their many varieties of dosa. Dosa is a fermented chickpea flour pancake, grilled on a flat top until crispy and then stuffed full of a filling of your choice. Our favourite was the masala dosa, a crispy pancake filled with a mild potato curry. Served alongside whatever dosa you order, comes three different curries: a lentil curry, a chickpea curry and a spicy coconut chutney. Tearing into the crunchy pancake batter with your hands and mopping up the curry sauces was one of our favourite eating experiences. We can also highly recommend the lassi’s (think milkshake but made with yoghurt) which came in a variety of different yummy flavours, our favourite was the mango lassi.
Aside from being completely delicious, one of the reasons we frequented this place so regularly was its price. For two masala dosa dinners with two lassi’s the cost was only 1400 LKR (£3.37 or $3.87).
Siri Ramya Hotel - Map Location
Sitting out on our hotel balcony, we would often hear the machine gun rattle of kottu being made in the Siri Ramya Hotel opposite our balcony. Kottu for those who don’t know, is one of those fantastic ideas that you cannot believe isn’t more widespread. A thin bread batter is spread over a sizzling hot plate, with crunchy vegetables, sauce and toppings. As the bread batter cooks, it is violently sliced up and hacked apart by a chef dual wielding metal cleavers. What results is a sort of Sri Lankan stir fry, where instead of noodles you have strips of paper thin bread. Tempted in by this sound we came for lunch.
Over the course of our stays in Kandy, we ate many meals at this establishment. In addition to the tasty kottu, their rice and curries were amazing (only available for lunch when we were there). Also they specialised in baked goods so you can get a variety of samosa, roti and other portable snacks.
This delicious mountain of food was all for under £5.00!
The staff here also made it memorable for us. With the international sign language of pointing and smiling, we were always greeted by a little old man who took very good care of us, up to and including totally unnecessary napkin origami. Another example of Sri Lankan hospitality we encountered at this place occurred during one of our lunches. A table next to us were celebrating together and had brought a sandwich that was well over a metre long (we think this was specially requested as we never saw anyone else have it). We had ordered our food and were sipping on our drinks, when the head of the table turned around to us and plonked over a good 6 inch portion of their sandwich and advised us to tuck in and to join in with the festivities.
This restaurant is very much a local joint, full of plastic chairs, tea sipping Sri Lankan’s and not much air conditioning. Don’t judge a book by its cover, judge it by how many locals it is feeding. Spread over three floors, the place was always packed with hungry locals munching down on steaming piles of deliciousness.
It is extremely cheap to eat here. We paid 1200 LKR for two plates of egg kottu and two bottles of water (£2.88 or $3.31).
Train or Bus Snacks
Kandy is very well connected, with both a large train station and a massive bus terminal. For any onward journey, snacks are essential. Now we’ve travelled here for a little while, and we know you can always get food on any form of transport. Seriously, we wouldn't be surprised if we were on a helicopter tour and a little old man selling fried goods popped up to flog his wares! Even so, you have a much better choice of snacks at a much better price if you stock up beforehand.
Firstly we would recommend the Kandyan Muslim Hotel. We picked up their baked/fried snacks on more than one occasion and were always blown away by how good they were. We’ve eaten a lot of samosa and egg puffs in our time in Sri Lanka, but the beef samosa and chilli egg puff we brought from the Kandyan Muslim Hotel are still (currently!) the best we’ve eaten.
Crispy, crunch, bus munchies!
Crispy fried chip like things and sweets are also essentials for a long train journey. Just outside the produce market, on the street leading towards the train station, are a parade of shops selling perfect train snacks. Displayed in see-through boxes at the front of each store, are a pick and mix of savoury fried goods. Think deconstructed Bombay mix but better. Fried chickpeas, spicy peanuts, garlic chips, herby fried potato all mixed up in a paper bag and sprinkled with salt and chilli. A 100 grams of any combination costs only 100 LKR (£0.24 or $0.28).
Sold alongside these was an unexpected nostalgia trip. In the past, iced gems were reserved only for birthdays (if you were John at least) but here over sized iced gems were available for year round consumption. Those who wish to survive a long journey with Ellie know they need to pack sweets! We brought 100 grams (again 100 LKR).
Rice and Curry
Kandy, like every Sri Lankan town or city, has numerous ‘hole in the wall’ rice and curry joints. These tend not to appear on Google or Trip Advisor but we cannot recommend them enough. Please just jump into one of these for a cheap, tasty and filling lunch. To the tourist these places sometimes don’t seem welcoming, and paranoia may have you questioning the hygiene, but get over yourself and get on in them. They are definitely some of the best food we’ve had in the country and places don’t often stay in business by routinely poisoning their patrons.
P.S. eating with your hands is fun!
Where to Go for a Drink in Kandy? Nightlife in the City
Kandy didn’t strike us as a “party” town. As dusk fell each evening, the streets seemed to quietly empty with few establishments remaining open. However as you know, we do like a beer after a day exploring, so here’s two places we can definitely recommend.
The Stag’s Head Pub - Map Location
Yes we know… that name…can you get any more British than flying halfway around the world only to go to a pub called the Stag’s Head?!
This pub is not really a pub at all. It is the bar on the top floor of Hotel Casamara. Accessed via a vintage lift, we were ushered out onto a corner balcony with fantastic sunset views across Kandy. This bar is the more expensive of our two recommendations, but was the ideal spot to sink a cold beer whilst watching the sunset. Food is available, as are a variety of cocktails.
Jellie beer price index: 900 LKR for a large bottle of beer (£2.18 or $2.50). This is the most expensive beer we’ve encountered so far in Sri Lanka.
Royal Bar and Hotel - Map Location
Set in a beautiful colonial building and bedecked in vintage travel posters and paraphernalia we were not quite sure we were classy enough for this establishment (especially after we were escorted past a grand piano in a chandelier lit room). However once seated we were made thoroughly at ease and provided with ice cold beer, free spicy peanuts and a candlelit ambiance. The Royal Bar quickly became our place of choice for a few evening beers. The seating stretched around a gorgeous courtyard as well as an upstairs veranda overlooking the street below. We favoured the veranda seats as we always enjoy a bit of street theatre with our beverages.
Food and cocktails are available. We didn’t have a main meal here, but thoroughly enjoyed our plate of chips one night (yes we know, playing to stereotypes, but dammit we wanted chips!) and found ourselves frequently jealous of our neighbouring diners.
At the time of our visits, power cuts were daily and lengthy. The staff at the Royal Bar Hotel were always super helpful and friendly, bringing candelabras and setting up lanterns to illuminate our evening drinks.
Jellie beer price index: 500 LKR for a large bottle of beer* (£1.21 or $1.39) an absolute bargain for the comfortable and lavish surroundings
*Please note that we visited this bar in the midst of the economic crisis of 2022 - it certainly didnt look like a backpacker budget bar and it may now have increased its prices!
Final Thoughts on Staying in Kandy
We absolutely loved our time in Kandy and hope this blog gives you some ideas for where to go and what to eat. If you’re travelling around Sri Lanka, Kandy is a transport hub you're sure to find yourself in or at least passing through. Many travellers use it as a starting point for the railway line to Ella, but we’d recommend stopping and having a proper look around. It’s definitely worth it.
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie
#adventuresofjellie
Obligatory Jellie selfie taken at the Kandy viewpoint.
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