Situated in the central highlands cool away from the heat and heavy air of the coastal regions Kandy is blessed with green and lush tea plantations and mountain forests hugging the higher slopes. The city of Kandy has many noteworthy attractions like the Temple of the Tooth Relic, The Kandy Museum, Royal Botanical Gardens and the Udawattakele Forest Reserve. The town is a mix of old shops, antique and gemstone specialists, a bustling market and a very good selection of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants.
The Kandy Perahera is well know and visitors flock to Kandy during this period to see the tooth relic of the Lord Buddha being displayed in a procession. Legend has it that when Buddha was cremated in the fifth century BC, one of his followers took a tooth from the pyre. This was smuggled to Sri Lanka in the hair of a princess and paraded it through the city. The procession is headed by banner carriers and whip crackers, whose weapons clear the path of both evil spirits and the crush of humanity. Kandy is the country's main arts centre and the city's performers add to the chaos. Acrobatic fire performers juggle, twirl and eat oily flames, their glow reflected by palanquins teetering on elephant back.