This morning you’ll transfer to Kandy. En route, you’ll visit the most impressive of Sri Lanka’s cave temples at Dambulla – a designated World Heritage Site. Expect to find five caves containing over 2,000 square metres of painted walls and more than 150 images of Buddha – the largest being a colossal, rock-carved statue spanning 14 metres.
You’ll then continue your drive to Kandy to visit the fabled Temple of the Tooth. As legend has it, the tooth was taken from Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre and smuggled into Sri Lanka in 313 AD, hidden in the hair of Princess Hemamali. It has survived numerous attempts to capture and destroy it, and today lives in Kandy where a temple was built to honour it.
Later you’ll visit the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, originally built by a Sinhala king, where you’ll find 147 acres of vivid flowers, plants and trees. Before returning to your hotel, there’s also time to attend a cultural show and explore the bustling Kandy market.
Stay: Two nights in an Ultra Category Room at Kandy House – including breakfast