Kandy is the Sri Lanka's hill capital, stronghold of the Sinhala Kings as well as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is 488 metres above sea level and next to Colombo is Sri Lanka's most visited place. The valley of Kandy is surrounded by hills and a colourful pageant takes place in Kandy annually. Visit Kalapuraya in the beautiful Dumbara valley 8 km. from Kandy, where descendants of the ancient craftsmen still create items of rare elegance in metal and wood.

Elephant bathing, botanical gardens, waterfalls and the mountains are only some of the attractions at Kandy. The sacred tooth relic is housed in the temple known as the 'Dalada Maligawa'. It includes an octagon, which now houses a rare collection of Buddhist books. The art, architecture and paintings in the temple, stand testimony to the generosity of the kings and other members of royalty who patronised the temple through the years to enhance its beauty and history. En-route to Kandy is the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the home to more than 50 elephants.

The 'Nuwara Perahara', or pageant of Kandy, is the most colourful processions in the world. About 100 caparisoned elephants and over 1000 dancers, drummers and noblemen, led by the custodian of the temple of the sacred tooth relic, parade past hundreds of thousands of spectators, while they pay homage to the casket of the sacred tooth relic carried by the king of the elephants. The procession moves along the streets for seven consecutive nights and concludes on the day of the August full moon.