At the Temple of the Tooth, with Jesse wearing a “dress” looking outfit to cover his leg

Everyone we talked to told us that Kandy is one of the “must see” destinations on any trip to Sri Lanka. Maybe it was because of our very high expectations we were underwhelmed, and are glad we only chose to stay one night.

The traffic into Kandy regularly adds an extra hour to the trip both in and out of the city. While Kandy Lake and the the Temple of the Tooth, are peaceful and nice areas, both located in a renown spot in the center of the city, overall we found the town crowded with tourists, even during the slow monsoon season when we were there. We were glad that we booked a stay on a hill top above the village at the The Richmond House Hotel, which offered amazing views of the surrounding valley and we would strongly advise everyone to book a hotel above the city, just be advised many of the roads are steep and a large car can not travel on them, so you will have to take a $2-$3 tuk tuk to your hotel and back. Additionally, virtually all hotels in Sri Lanka do not serve alcohol so if you would like alcohol with dinner, buy some in town before heading to your hotel and drink it at dinner. We loved our hotel so much we had a leisurely morning enjoying the balcony views over a long breakfast.

View from our balcony at the Richmond House Hotel above Kandy

We set off the next day for Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, a park located above the Temple of the Tooth. This is an easy one hour stroll that gives you views of the natural fauna and a little wildlife in Sri Lanka, but perhaps a bit too easy for our taste and if you are into hikes and nature, we found Ella much better. Our driver strongly recommended this and we agreed because he was so passionate about it. In hindsight we would have much preferred visiting the botanical gardens in Kandy that are supposed to be one of the best in the region. Afterwards we walked around the grounds surrounding the Temple of the Tooth, the top tourist destination in Kandy. For both men and women, before you go be sure your legs and shoulders are covered.

Quan bored and hanging out on a tree during a nature walk in Udawatta Kele Sanctuary above Kandy

From there it was a beautiful five hour drive to Adam’s Peak through rolling tea plantations.