Kandy is Sri Lanka’s second largest city and a frequent stop on visits to the country. Is it worth visiting? I will share my thoughts in this post. We drove from Sigiriya to Kandy. Along the way, our first stop was a spice factory where we were given a garden tour, and learned about the various spices and their uses, in the country. One of the coolest things to see, and learn about, were the 8 spices that make up a Sri Lankan curry powder. Our guide ground some fresh in front of my eyes.
The 8 spices you need to re-create this wonderful powder, which is a real treat for the senses, are:
- fenugreek
- curry leaf
- cinnamon
- corriander
- fennel
- cumin
- cardamom
- clove
After the spice garden, we stopped at the Sri Muththumari Amman Kovil Hindu temple. We could not enter as there was some sort of festival going on so we just took pics outside. In my opinion, this is something that can be skipped.
When we finally got to Kandy, our first stop was the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. One of the most popular sites that is said to house the tooth of Buddha. Just near the temple, there are some European style buildings.
In my opinion, the Tooth Temple was disappointing and not worth the trip to see. The best part of it was this beautiful hallway.
Another popular thing to do in Kandy is to check out the view over the lake. While it was nice, I wouldn’t recommend making a special trip here just to see it. Our guide also recommended we have lunch at a restaurant which I believe was called the Log Cabin (inside the Oak Ridge Heritage Hotel). I should of stuck to my philosophy of not eating in tourist places with a nice view because the food was not good at all. I had the curry fish and the fish was extremely dry and hard.
After lunch, we went to check out the Sri Maha Bodhi Buddhist temple. Our guide told us that it was not ancient and just recently built for tourists so we decided to skip seeing the inside and just take pics outside.
One plus was the nice view on our way up.
After this, we went to a silk store and I was able to pick up a Sri Lankan cricket uniform as a souvenir (I buy a soccer/football jersey whenever I visit a new country). Then we went to the hotel which was the best part of our trip to Kandy – The King’s Pavillion. The service, food, and room was excellent. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful pool (which made for an amazing early morning swim).
Once they showed us to our room, I was very happy with the choice of hotel.
As mentioned above, the food at the hotel was really good as well. I found that they cooked it with full flavor and spices and did not serve a watered down “tourist version”.
Overall, I would say that if you are short on time, you can skip Kandy. Our next stop on this trip will be tea country, something you do not want to skip!
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