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The place is 129 Km away from Colombo and 465 metres above sea level, the delightful hill capital, cultural centre of the island and a World Heritage City . Nestling amidst low hills, and looped by the Mahaweli River . Kandy is still the abode of the arts and crafts, music, dance, and song, which boomed under the patronage of the Kandyan Kings.
The town was born in the 14th century and became the capital of the Kandyan sovereignty in the 16th century. It was the seat of much of Sri Lanka 's culture. The Royal town fell into the British in 1815, when the last Kandyan King, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe was arrested.
For Buddhists, Kandy is the holy city. The central point is the Dalada Maligawa also known as the temple of the tooth, where the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha is enshrined.There are many shrines and temples in and around Kandy , where you will see unusual paintings, frescoes, wood and stone carvings. The emphasize of the year is the Kandy Esala Perahera, when a replica of the relic casket is taken in procession accompanied by exotically dressed drummers, dancers and about 80 - 100 caparisoned elephants during ten sparkling nights in July/ August.
The gorgeous city, bounded by hills, valleys, rivers, lakes and cascading waterfalls, show offs of the Royal Botanical gardens at Peradeniya.
Kandy is a thrilling spot for shopping with souvenirs of wood, copper, silver, brass and bronze. Ceramics, lacquer work, handlooms, batiks, jewellery, rush and reed-ware too could be purchased. While in Kandy , an excursion to a tea factory as well as a tea plantation should also be made to observer first hand, the procedure that directs to the formation of the popular 'Ceylon Tea'.
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