Colombo → Sigiriya → Kandy → Ella
Example · Sigiriya, Kandy and Ella — 7 Days with a Local Guide
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Researched by Sarisara, with sources.
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic sits beside Kandy Lake, in the middle of the city that was the last royal capital of Sri Lanka. Buddhists believe it holds one of the Buddha’s own teeth, carried to Sri Lanka from India in the 4th century. For more than a thousand years, whoever kept this tooth was seen as the rightful ruler of the island, so kings built their palaces right beside it. The temple you see today is part of that old royal palace.
The tooth itself is never shown to visitors. It stays inside a small gold casket, inside a larger gold casket shaped like a bell (a stupa), locked inside an inner room. Three times a day, monks open the doors of that inner room for a worship ceremony, with drums, horns and chanting. You can stand in the hall outside and watch, and on a lucky day the doors stay open long enough to see the outer casket.
The white octagonal tower with the red roof, called the Paththirippuwa, is the building most people photograph — it used to be where the king watched festivals, and is now the temple library. The whole site, together with the old royal palace around it and the city of Kandy, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 1988.
Most visitors spend about one to one and a half hours here. It is a living, working temple, not a museum — Buddhist pilgrims come to pray, not to sightsee, so visitors are asked to stay quiet and respectful, especially during a ceremony.
Entrance tickets are not included in Sarisara prices. Please pay them in cash at the gate.
Last checked: 20 Oct 2026. Prices are set by the temple and can change.
From the temple's own website (FAQ, read 20 Oct 2026): the ticket also covers the Dalada Museum, the World Buddhist Museum, the Tusker Museum and the Royal Elephant Stable. Tickets come only from the temple's ticket machines; tickets sold by anyone else are not valid. The South Asian price also applies to visitors from Thailand and Myanmar.
Cover your shoulders and knees, and take off your shoes and any hat before you go into the temple buildings.
Not dressed for the temple? The dress rule is checked at the entrance. If you arrive in shorts or a sleeveless top, the temple's own guidance says appropriate clothing can be obtained at the entrance, and independent guides report that sarongs and shawls can usually be rented or bought near the gate. It is still better to arrive already dressed correctly, in case nothing is available on a very busy day.
Hours and puja times are reported consistently across the temple's own site and independent guides. The Esala Perahera dates must be checked closer to the date each year, since they move with the lunar calendar.
Diyawadana Nilame (the temple's lay custodian) and the Sri Dalada Maligawa Trust, with the Malwatta and Asgiriya monastic chapters conducting the daily worship Official website
Sri Dalada Veediya, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Trips, experiences and stays in and around Kandy.
Trips
Colombo → Sigiriya → Kandy → Ella
Experiences
Stays
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Fire dancers light the road before the elephants of the Esala Perahera.
