Things to Do in Kandy

This one-of-a-kind museum, also known as the International Buddhist Museum, showcases the growth and history of Buddhism across all of Asia. Travelers who journey through the galleries, exhibit halls and displays will find artifacts, art work, 

and other items that tell the story of how the culture and religion expanded from east to west. 

Visitors are asked to follow a specific path that winds through models of sacred buildings, photographs and a number of Buddhist artifacts. Whether travelers are well-versed in the religion or new to the scene entirely, guests agree that most anyone will leave the World Buddhist Museum with a deeper understanding of the tradition and the beliefs associated with this global religion.

Located within the royal palace complex of Kandy, the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic. In the heart of the temple, within a two-story shrine fronted by elephant tusks sits what devotees believe to be the left upper canine tooth of the Buddha, supposedly taken from his body before cremation. The Temple of the Tooth was built between 1687 and 1707 to house the relic.

While the tooth stays hidden within a gold casket, visitors and devotees still flock to the temple during puja for a glimpse at the heavily guarded inner shrine where it is kept. Also of interest is the International Buddhist Museum, housed on the temple grounds, where visitors can learn about the history and expansion of the religion throughout Asia and the world.

Once each year during the Esala Perahera procession, the relic casket gets paraded through the streets atop a male elephant. The 10-day festival is one of the largest Buddhist festivals in the world and the most important in Sri Lanka.