The Ancient Cities
An elegant, modern place with rice-field views from the balconies of the five rooms, Sesatha has delightful gardens, dotted with palm trees and overlooked by restaurant tables. The catch (and it's potentially a big one) is that it's also a popular wedding venue, so time your visit wrong and you'll end up centre stage in a no-holds-barred Bollywood-style extravaganza.
Sesatha is 1.5km south of town, about 200m off the main road, and easily missed.
27.71 MILES
The beautiful Royal Rock Temple complex sits about 160m above the road in the southern part of Dambulla. Five separate caves contain about 150 absolutely…
12.68 MILES
These stunning gardens were once reserved exclusively for Kandyan royalty. Today, even commoners are allowed in to enjoy the most impressive and largest …
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
11.02 MILES
The golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Buddha. During puja…
15.82 MILES
This impressive 14th-century temple, mounted on a rocky bluff, is the most imposing in the region. It's divided into two halves – one half Buddhist and…
10.93 MILES
The primary attraction at this Buddhist temple is the golden standing Buddha statue in the main cave called the Pahala Vihara (Lower Temple), which also…
11.15 MILES
Dominating the town is Kandy Lake. A leisurely stroll around it, with a few stops on the lakeside seats, is a pleasant way to spend a few hours, although…
12.28 MILES
Hidden away in Kandy's leafy outskirts is the little-visited, but fascinating, Degal Doruwa Raja Maha Vihara cave temple, constructed (with the help of…
11.03 MILES
This museum occupies the upper two floors of the Alut Maligawa building and contains a stunning array of gifts donated by several presidents and Buddhist…
1. Sri Muthumariamman Thevasthanam
1.65 MILES
Just north of the bus stand for Kandy (at the north end of town) is this interesting South Indian–style Hindu temple. A couple of garages to the side…
2.66 MILES
This crafts centre draws on the rich traditions of the area, producing quality batik and embroidery, which visitors can see being made on site. The future…
3.04 MILES
Set in the foothills 3km north of Matale, surrounded by giant boulders, this monastery is a low-key, but intriguing, site. There's a charming series of…
9.57 MILES
This 20m-tall sitting Buddha, 4km southeast of Ridigama, was unveiled in 2015 as the largest (but not the loveliest) granite statue in the world. Set on a…
5. Heritage Spice & Herbs Garden
9.75 MILES
With an attractive, shady garden, this spice specialist runs informative tours and has a cafe for snacks and drinks. Around 15km north of Matale.
9.77 MILES
Offers very detailed tours of its spice garden and has a shop selling all kinds of creams, potions and lotions that are said to help everything from…
10.56 MILES
This forest on the north side of Kandy Lake has soaring hardwood trees and giant bamboo, good birding and loads of cheeky monkeys. Birdwatchers can…
10.59 MILES
The head monks here also administer the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Inside, there's a large reclining Buddha. It's located 1km northwest of the town…