Kandy

City Kandy is  located in the Central province of Sri Lanka at 125 kilometers from Colombo. It is the capital of the Central province. It is also the last kingdom of Sinhalese monarchy.

Most prominent place in Kandy is Sri Dalada Maligawa(or Temple Of Tooth Relic), which is located in the royal palace complex in the ancient kingdom of Kandy,  which houses the relic of the tooth of Buddha. This is a temple that you should not miss on a visit to Kandy. This relic played an important roll in ancient days because the person who holds the relic is the king of the country.This temple is a World Heritage Site.

The tooth relic was brought to Sri Lanka ,from India by Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha, her husbend. They landed in Lankapattana during the reign of King Sirimeghavanna (301-328AD) of Anuradhapura and handed over to the king who enshrined it in Isurumuniya Vihara. After that, kings of the Island built the tooth relic temples close to their palaces and safeguarded it. Present day temple of tooth was built by King Vira Narendra singha. Later the octagonal Paththirippuwa and the moat was built during the reign of King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha. The brick wall which runs along the moat is known as water waves wall. At the foot of main entrance gate there is a Sandakada Pahana (Moonstone). It is carved according to Kandyan architecture.On either sides of the entrance, pictures of Elephants were on stone slabs. You can see a Makara Thorana on top of the staircase. Main shrine consists of two storeys.

In 1987 then Prime Minister Ranasingha Premadasa built a golden canopy over the main shrine. You can see the Magul Maduwa where Kandyan kings held their court.The roof of Magul Maduwa is supported by wooden pillars with carvings of the Kandyan period.