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KANDY CALLS A view of the city from a hilltop

The day dawns with the birds singing merrily, and the mist covered mountains beckon you to enjoy the sunrise. As the sun slowly spreads its golden rays across the rolling hills of Kandy, the sound of a sleepy hill town stirring to life reaches you. The boatman on the Mahaweli hums a tune as you to take a leisurely ride to soak in the mild sun and breathe in the cool air. The cameras both still and video roll automatically and every frame is picturesque even if you are not adept at photography.

A sumptuous breakfast spread at the Chaaya Citadel that includes traditional Sri Lankan idiyappam (string hoppers) coconut rolls, steaming appam (hoppers) with chicken gravy or coconut milk, rice and sambal (both onion and fish) and a wide choice of breads and cereal from the continent, tropical fruit and fresh juices, tasty morsels of chicken, bacon, ham and eggs to order. Topped off with strong black tea or coffee and one is ready to take on the sight seeing.

Located 116 km from Colombo at an altitude of 500 metres, Kandy is a pleasant stop and next to Colombo, is Sri Lanka’s most visited place. In Sinhala, Kandy is called Maha Nuvara (meaning ‘Great City’ or ‘Capital,’ although this is most often shortened to Nuvara. The name Kandy is derived from the Sinhalese phrase, meaning literally “the five districts on the mountain.” The Portuguese shortened this to ‘Candea,’ using the name for both the kingdom and its capital Senkadagalapura.

Kandy is considered as Lanka’s most scenic city with its blue-green hills, the quaint twisting mountain roads, the serene Mahaweli River flowing past and the artificial lake dominating the centre of the city.

Inside the Dalada Maligawa

The white stone parapet walls surrounding the lake tempt one to sit on it but the guards wave you away and a stroll around the stone path is what you will have to be satisfied with. All around this wall are the city’s numerous shrines, including the famed Royal Palace and the sacred Temple of the Tooth, known as the Dalada Maligawa. They say that the Dalada Maligawa is built on a base of granite that was inspired by the temples of Sri Lanka’s former capital city, Anuradhapura. What strikes one the most is the frisking and body checks that are often done to enter the temple, a reminder that this country is in the grip of an internal war.

An array of materials (limestone, marble, sculpted wood, ivory, etc.) contribute to the richness of this temple that is seen in the intricate carvings, paintings and golden leaves covering the sanctum. The silence is broken by chanting as the monks perform their ritual duties and one glimpses the deity briefly before being sent off to explore the museum dedicated to the tuskers of the king.

Throughout this small holy city, a number of recent Buddhist monasteries can be found. Apparently, the highlight of the year is the Esala Perahera, when a replica of the relic casket is taken in procession, accompanied by exotically costumed dancers, drummers and some 100 elephants, on ten glittering nights in July/August. There are numerous shrines and temples in and around Kandy, where you will see rare paintings, frescoes, and stone carvings.

Kandy is an exciting place for shopping, with its quintessential Sri Lankan masks (each with its own story/legend and powers to ward off evil), souvenirs and antiques in wood, copper, silver, brass, ebony, and bronze. Ceramics, lacquer work, handlooms, batiks, jewellery and rush and reed-ware are also attractive but if you are the type who is not good at bargaining, sorry, you will end up emptying your wallet. The prices are steep considering this is a tourist destination. (I bought a fire mask for 450 SL rupees and then found the same selling at 100 SL rupees in Colombo)

Take time out to visit the Peradeniya Gardens, with its amazing variety of trees, plants and flowers. Though of course you have seen one botanical garden, its all seems alike. It is situated about 5 km to the west of the city centre at Peradeniya and is visited by 1.2 million people per annum.

Kandy offers a reasonable nightlife. Quiet meals at any of the continental restaurants a poolside buffet or a night club — the choice is yours. If you want a local flavour though go to one of the bars and pubs in the city where you can watch the traditional dancing of Kandy with the dancers dressed in exquisitely embroidered costumes and headgear moving sinuously on the floor to the beat of the Lankan music. What is Sri Lanka without a little Baila music that plays all the time in these pubs?

On the Kandy-Colombo highway a cute sight awaits the traveller: a roadside rail museum that showcases old train engines, coaches and other vehicles.

Inside the Dalada Maligawa

The tea factory and tea packaging unit is another must stop place where you can taste a variety of teas at the café and buy bags of orange, green containing herbal and regular tea leaves, and boxes of flavoured teas and herbal teas ranging from mint and lemon to cardamom and chocolate to suit palates across the world.

And as we leave the cool hills of Kandy and the warm people of the city behind us, all one can say is “bohoma stuti” (‘thank you very much’ in Sinhala) for a wonderful break

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