Kandy - Sri Lanka
Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is one of best places to visit in sri lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Sinhalese kings. The temple of the tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic.
Bhikkhus of the two particular chapters, the Malwathu chapters and Asgiri chapters conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon, and in the evenings. On Wednesdays, there is a symbolic bathing of the relic with a herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers called Nanumura Mangallaya; this holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed to those present.
Kandy Esala Perahera
The Esala is believed[who?] to be a fusion of two separate but interconnected “Peraheras” (Processions) – The Esala and Dalada. The Esala Perahera, which is thought to date back to the 3rd century BC, was a ritual enacted to request the gods for rainfall. The Dalada Perahera is believed to have begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka from India during the 4th century CE, eight hundred years after the passing away of Buddha.
According to tradition, the Tooth Relic was taken in procession to Sri Lanka by Princess Hemamala & Prince Dantha.[citation needed]
It was also through the efforts of Upali Thera that the Kandy Esala Perahera came into being. This procession was originally focused on honor to Hindu deities, particularly those incorporated into Sri Lankan Buddhism. Upali Thera believed this to be inappropriate in a Buddhist nation, and his influence led to the king declaring that “Henceforth Gods and men are to follow the Buddha”.
Kandy City Centre
Kandy City Centre is a ten storey commercial and retail complex near the Temple of Tooth Relic. It is the most modern commercial and shopping complex. It has all the leading banks, a fully equipped supermarket, a variety of restaurants, an entertainment zone.
Udawattakele Forest Reserve
Udawattakele Forest Reserve often spelled as Udawatta Kele, is a historic forest reserve on a hill-ridge in the city of Kandy. It is 104 hectares (257 acres) large. During the days of the Kandyan kingdom, Udawattakele was known as “Uda Wasala Watta” in Sinhalese meaning “the garden above the royal palace”. The sanctuary is famous for its extensive avifauna. The reserve also contains a great variety of plant species, especially lianas, shrubs and small trees. There are several giant lianas. Many of small and medium size mammals that inhabit Sri Lanka can be seen here. Several kinds of snakes and other reptiles might be seen. Udawattakele was designated as a forest reserve in 1856, and it became a sanctuary in 1938.
Ceylon Tea Museum
Ceylon Tea Museum situated in Hantana, 3 Km from the Kandy city. It exhibits memorable machinery, documents, pictures and items of historical value of the Sri Lankan tea industry and will take you through a journey into the aromatic world of tea. There is a tea sales outlet where a selection of fine ceylon teas are available. There is a restaurant where you may sip a tasty cup of ceylon tea facing the enchanting tea country scenery. The panoramic view of kandy town, Knuckles and Matale range of hills can be viewed.
Royal Botanical Gardens
The origins of the Botanic Gardens date as far back as 1371 when King Wickramabahu III ascended the throne and kept court at Peradeniya near the Mahaweli river. This was followed by King Kirti Sri and King Rajadhi Rajasinghe. A temple was built on this location by King Wimala Dharma, but it was destroyed by the British when they were given control over the Kingdom of Kandy. Thereafter, the groundwork for a botanical garden was formed by Alexandar Moon in 1821. He used the garden for coffee and cinnamon plants. The Botanical Garden at Peradeniya was formally established in 1843 with plants brought from Kew Garden, Slave Island, Colombo, and the Kalutara Garden in Kalutara. The Royal Botanic Garden, Peradeniya was made more independent and expanded under George Gardner as superintendent in 1844. On Gardner’s death in 1849 George Henry Kendrick Thwaites became superintendent. He served until he resigned in 1879, when he was succeeded by Henry Trimen, who served until 1895.The garden came under the administration of the Department of Agriculture when it was established in 1912.
Commonwealth War Cemetery
The Kandy War Cemetery, formerly known as the Pitakande Military Cemetery, is a British military cemetery in Kandy, Sri Lanka, for soldiers of the British Empire who were killed during World War II as well as a soldier who died during World War I.
There are 203 buried consisting of: 107 British, 35 East Africans, 26 Sri Lankans, 23 Indians, 6 Canadians, 3 Italians, 1 Frenchman and 2 unidentified persons, Of the 203 dead, 151 were army, 32 were air force, 16 were navy, 2 were unidentified, 1 was merchant navy and 1 was from the national fire service.
University of Peradeniya - Blooming Beauty of Asia
The University of Peradeniya is the largest and oldest university of Sri Lanka established in 1942. The University of Peradeniya site touches the natural environment of the lower slopes of the Hanthana mountain range. The University of Peradeniya is one of the most beautiful and scenic place in the historic Senkadagala town. And this is one of the most beautiful and largest universities in South Asia. The University of Peradeniya, which consists of nine faculties, allow nearly 12000 undergraduates to pursue their degree. Unlike all other universities in Sri Lanka, the beauty of this university is dominated by song literature. All the scholars are blessed with the opportunity to study at the University of Peradeniya with the beauty of the Hanthana mountain ring and the Mahaweli river. The Peradeniya University is designed in such a way that the natural beauty of the are is around 1700 acres.
Samadhi Cultural Centre
This unique temple is located at the top of the mountain near the city area. Samadhi Cultural Centre was officially opened for the public in December 1996 and it took 3 long years for the project to complete. Many manpower were spent to ensure that the construction of the temple was of high standard and quality. We have replicated the Chinese temple design when designing the exterior look of our temple. This includes the using of building materials shipped directly from China.
Our huge Buddha image is from Burma and is one of the biggest marble Buddha image found in Sri Lanka. There is also a big Avalokiteshevara Boddhisatta image displayed in the temple compound. Traditionally, the Mahayana buddhist followers respect this Boddhisatta image in the belief that it will bring happiness and prosperity to them.
There are 32 auspicious marks of the Buddha engraved on marble tiles in 3 languages,
namely Chinese, English and Pali. The temple also displays more than 200 different collections of Chinese buddhist statutes.
We have incorporated both the Mahayana and Theravada culture into this temple. This is the first in Sri Lanka and it will be of great interest to everyone. The temple also conducts daily evening Buddha puja, Full Moon and New Moon puja as well as Sunday English Dhamma classes. This is the great vision of Veneravable Dr. Rambukewala
Gnanaseeha thero residing in Singapore. The Present Chief Incumbent of the Samadhi Cultural Centre is most Venerable Wehigala Dhamasiri thero .
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage
Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is an orphanage, nursery and captive breeding ground for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. In 2011, there were 96 elephants, including 43 males and 68 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala.
The orphanage was founded to care and protect the many orphaned unweaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).
Sri Lankathilaka Raja Maha Viharaya
Sri Lankathilaka Rajamaha Viharaya showing many great architectural characteristics of the Gampola era. In Udunuwara village in Kandy district of Sri Lanka (The statue is on the road from the junction to Daulagala. Only 4 meters away) This elegant design is located surrounded by a marvellous wave of mountains in a rock called Pahangala.
It is said that this was built by a minister named Senadilankara during the fourth Buwanekabahu reign of the Gampola era. In the construction of this temple called relative to the famous art tradition of the Kandy era, the Polonnaru era Sinhalese and Indochina architecture patterns have been used. 64 feet long width, Samachathuras Government basement made of wall bricks. Inside the temple, a black stone-carved moonlit can be seen and two lions carrying a large dragon pandal on the wall on the door. A golden plated Buddha statue from the meditation seal of the statue takes a special place in a statue where the eyes without saint are frightened and the open glory of the statue to start a divine form with the eyes and the fearful respect given to God is given to the Buddha by the artist. It is said that the purpose has been The Lankathilaka Temple is located in four floors and it is said that it is only 32 riyans tall and it is mentioned in the Sellipi and Copper Sannas and now we can see only two floors. The flag of the Olanda era
The gem statue, Athdala ark (In addition, the bronze statue of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe and King Bhuwanekabahu) takes an important place among the legends here.
Nelligala International Buddhist Center
Nelligala is a mountain located in Muruthalawa, Kandy. Nelligala International Buddhist Center, well known as Nelligala Temple was built in 2015 on the top of the Nelligala mountain hill. It is worth mentioning the Nelligala Vihara which is built on a hilltop that is easily accessible in such a background. The buildings of the Nelligala temple are very beautiful with a high construction style of architectural value. The Mahayana Buddha statue, a beautiful feature of the temple, is a perfect display of the golden Buddha statue, the Bo tree in the golden bowl, and the golden stupa.
