By Sanjaya, Sri Luxe Escapes
Every year when the Esala full moon rises over the hills, Kandy changes completely. For ten nights the streets around the Temple of the Tooth fill with drummers, whip crackers, fire dancers and long lines of elephants dressed in embroidered cloth. This is the Kandy Esala Perahera, and there is nothing else like it in Asia.
What the Perahera is
The festival honours the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, which is kept at the Sri Dalada Maligawa beside Kandy Lake. During the Perahera a golden replica of the relic casket travels through the city on the back of the Maligawa Tusker, the most respected elephant in Sri Lanka. White cloth is laid on the road before every step he takes. The temple procession is joined by processions from the four devales of Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini, so what looks like one parade is actually five moving together.
Ten nights that keep growing
The festival has two stages. The first five nights are called the Kumbal Perahera. These are quieter and you can get much closer to the performers. The last five nights are the Randoli Perahera, and each one is bigger than the night before. By the final night there are around a hundred elephants and thousands of dancers and drummers in the streets. At dawn the next morning the festival ends with the water cutting ceremony, the Diya Kepeema, on the Mahaweli River at Getambe, followed by a daytime procession that afternoon.
What you will see
- Whip crackers and fireball acrobats clearing the road, their cracks echoing between the old storefronts.
- Kandyan dancers and drummers. The ves dancers in their silver headdresses are the heartbeat of the whole night.
- Flag bearers carrying the standards of the old provinces and temples.
- Elephants and tuskers robed in cloth sewn with hundreds of small lights.
- Long rows of coconut flame lamps that give the streets a warm amber glow.
Our advice for seeing it well
The Perahera falls in July or August and the exact dates follow the lunar calendar, so they change every year. Kandy hotels sell out months ahead. If the festival is on your list, build the rest of your trip around it early.
- Book reserved seating. Ticketed seats along Dalada Veediya and D.S. Senanayake Veediya save you a long wait on the pavement and put you at eye level with the procession.
- Choose a Randoli night. The last two or three nights are the biggest, and the final night is something you will remember for the rest of your life.
- Arrive before sunset. The streets close early and the crowds are huge. Eat first, settle in, and bring water.
- Dress respectfully. This is a living religious ceremony rather than a show. Cover shoulders and knees, and stand when the Maligawa Tusker passes. Everyone around you will do the same.
Make it part of a longer journey
Kandy is the gateway to the hill country, so the Perahera fits naturally with the tea estates of Nuwara Eliya, the famous train ride to Ella, and the ancient cities of Sigiriya and Dambulla to the north. We plan hill country itineraries around the festival calendar every year. Talk to us and we will build your trip around the nights that matter most.
Photos by Daniel Liabeuf, Sachin Kaveesha Fernando, Rob Hooft and Shashikaprathibha, used under Creative Commons licences via Wikimedia Commons.