Do you know that there is a temple in Sri Lanka where Lord Buddha’s canine tooth is preserved? Do you know any traditional dances of Sri Lanka? You think about these questions; until then, we will take you all on a pleasant journey experience of Kandy.
In case you don’t know who we are………..
We call ourselves Travel Freaks……..
Let’s begin this blog on a different note. You might be eager to know………
You all might be curious about……
1. When did we land in Sri Lanka?
We landed in Sri Lanka two days back. If you haven’t read it, check out our Sri Lanka Series for more details. You will know how to plan a perfect Sri Lanka trip. Of course, we are just a click away to help you all.
Coming back to our story. We were in Dambulla and explored Sigirya Rock the previous. However, it was too late, so we explored the famous Dambulla Cave Temple the next morning.
Now that you heard about a famous temple let’s answer before you think…..
2. How was the Dambulla Cave Temple?
After a good sound sleep, the next day, we started by visiting the Dambulla Cave Temple, which was barely 1 km from our stay. There was a short hike of approximately 500 to 700 steps. The entrance ticket for foreigners was 2000 LKR.
The hike was tiring, but the view on the way made our morning. Monkeys were playing and jumping from one tree to another. It was fun to watch. When we got off from our car, our driver informed us that he would be waiting on the other side. Be aware that there are two entrances to this beautiful Cave Temple.
As we reached the Temple Premise, we saw barely any visitors as it was about seven o’clock in the morning. The place felt so serene and calm that we felt like spending the whole day sitting there. There were five major caves dedicated to Lord Buddha. Most of the statues were carved out of granite. Only a few were carved out of wood.
There was a cave where the water from the mountain gets accumulated in a pot that the locals called holy water. Our temple guide showed us that the water flows through a small channel from a lower to a higher level. All the caves depicted the different phases of his life and his preachings.
The Cave temple was built during the era of King Valagamba during the first century BC. Legends also say King Valagamba used it as a hideout from foreign invasions.
Our temple guide showed an exciting feature of a door in one of the caves. The door weighs around one ton. Surprisingly, there were no hinges to balance. Instead, the door was standing on a single support with a coconut shell from beneath the door. All these amazing facts fascinated us to spend more time. There were a few caves that had Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Suddenly we looked at our watch; it was already 8 o’clock; we realized we needed to return to stay and leave for our next destination, Kandy.
Folks travelling to this place may keep two hours exploring and understanding the history and the fascinating facts that this place has to offer. On the way down and this time, there were fewer stairs. Instead, there was a road that was steeply inclined. It took us less time to get down instead of upward journey. There was a Golden Temple near the car parking. A huge Buddha statue was there in golden colour. Due to the time constraint, we didn’t enter the temple and hurriedly moved towards our car as we were late.
After returning to our stay, we had a sumptuous breakfast where we tried string hoppers and coconut chutney for the first time and loved it to the core of our hearts and stomach. We all were full. Now it was time to head to our next destination. We exchanged nos. with the host family and bid adieu to them.
Anyone travelling to Dambulla may opt to stay in this hotel. You may connect with us for more details.
2. Where were we heading to in Kandy?
It was around 9 o’clock when we departed from our Dambulla stay. It took around two hours to reach Kandy. This place is located in the central region of this island nation. It was hot when we reached our first spot in the Peradeniya Botanical Garden in Kandy. It took us a little over two hours to reach this beautiful garden.
You might want to know…….
3. How was the Peradeniya Botanical Garden?
The entry tickets to this Garden cost 3000 LKR for foreigners. This garden is heaven for botany lovers. The area is spread across a vast region. There were numerous varieties of trees, plants and flowers. You can get a map from the ticket counter and explore at your own pace and interest. We were more inclined to the Palm Avenue region for the beauty and, at the same time capturing in our camera lens.
We were taken aback when we spotted thousands of bats hanging on high-rise trees across the garden. Never before have we witnessed such a bizarre sight. There was a region where we found bamboo trees with thick stems. It was more than 20 cm in diameter.
A region was also dedicated to double coconut trees. In short, this garden has dedicated spots for a specific class of trees. One can spend an entire day exploring amidst nature.
For us, we had other spots to explore that made us bid adieu to this beautiful garden. Our next stop for the day was the Temple of Tooth Relic.
Did you remember when we started this blog, we referred to a temple that has the left canine of Lord Buddha?
You are right; let’s answer your query……
4. How was the experience of the Temple of Tooth Relic?
The Temple of Tooth Relic, also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa, is one of the most famous sacred Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka. Most importantly, it is one of the famous UNESCO world heritage sites.
It took us 20 minutes to reach this temple from the Botanical Garden. The entrance fee was around 1000 LKR for SAARC citizens and 2000 LKR for other countries. The temple is situated near Kandy Lake. Legends say that Lord Buddha’s left canine tooth has been preserved in the temple; also, it is claimed that Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha brought the tooth from the ashes of Lord Buddha.
Our driver cum guide, Mr Mahesh, showed us golden flowers on the top of the temple. Also, a museum is next to the temple highlighting countries following Buddhist culture and monuments. It took us around an hour to explore the entire temple complex.
After exploring the temple region, it was about 5 o’clock and a Kandy dance performance was planned for the next.
You are right; we referred to this dance performance at the beginning of our blog. You might want to know…….
5. How was the Kandy Dance Performance?
Our hotel booked tickets, so we directly reached the site. The Kandy Dance Show ticket cost was 2000 LKR per person. It was next to the exit of the Temple of Tooth Relic.
We displayed our tickets at the entrance and rushed to grab a good seating position as it was crowded. If you plan to see this performance, book the tickets and reach on time as the show is usually Housefull. We got a good row to view the performance.
By 5 o’clock, the show started. It was a beautiful cultural event depicting the rich cultural heritage of Sri Lanka. We had an entertaining one hour. Artists performed classical dance, fire acts; back flips and comical acts. It was a memorable show that we witnessed.
6. What did we explore in Kandy?
After the show, we walked down Kandy Lake and had some tea with snacks. Then Mahesh ji told us a beautiful temple named Bahirawakanda Kandy is nearby. So we thought to visit it.
It was around 20 km from the place of the performance. We reached the temple in no time. The entrance ticket was around 300 LKR. It was a stunning Buddhist temple. You can view the Kandy city and lake from the temple complex. One can also climb stairs to reach the top of the Lord Buddha Statue and get a stunning view of Kandy City.
You might now be eager about……
7. Where did we stay at Kandy?
We booked Hotel Kandy Garden Villa. After about an hour, we decided to call off the day and return to our stay at Ampitiya Road. We chose this location as it was close to most tourist attractions. Additionally, the rooms were spacious, with all the required amenities. The reception area was beautifully decorated with colourful stones. The vibe was cosy and homely. You can get other stay options in this area as per your budget. Yeah, you can contact us for any help.
We requested our stay manager to prepare our dinner. It was surprising to find such a sumptuous meal after an eventful day.
We slept early as we had an early start the next morning.
Wait, we are not going anywhere without this last question……
8. What kind of help are we going to provide?
Let us inform you that we prepare itineraries not only for anywhere in India but also for Asia. We have been travelling since we were toddlers. So here in our blogs and stories, we will give you a glimpse of our journey and help you plan your trip.
Read about our Uzbekistan blogs.
Read about our Kazakhstan blogs.
Read about our Singapore blogs.
Read about our Vietnam blogs.
Read about our Cambodia blogs.
Read about our Bali blogs.
Read about our Kuala Lumpur blog series.
Read about our Sri Lanka blogs.
Read about our Nepal blogs.
Read about our Char Dham blogs.
Read about our Ladakh blogs.
Read about our day trip to Hyderabad.
Read about our Madhya Pradesh blogs.
Read about our Andaman and Nicobar blogs.
Do follow our Instagram handle @mindfulllofvacations and watch for the next destination story of Sri Lanka. For any query related to any trip, drop a mail at @mitkau007@gmail.com.
by mitkau