Colombo Court Blog Colombo
The Kandy Esala Perahera, and how to see it well
Ten nights of drummers, dancers, whip-crackers and elephants through the streets of Kandy. Which night to choose, when to be in your seat, and how far ahead to book.
Every year in July or August, Kandy holds the most spectacular festival in Sri Lanka. The Esala Perahera is a procession of drummers, dancers, fire-eaters, whip-crackers and dozens of elephants in embroidered cloth, winding through the streets of the hill capital for ten nights in honour of the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Esala is the Sinhala name for the month. If your trip falls in that window, it is worth building the whole itinerary around.
Where it comes from
The procession began as a rain-making ritual in honour of the guardian deities Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini, whose temples still send their own peraheras to join the main one. In 1775 King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe added the relic itself, carried in a golden casket on the back of the tusker, and the Perahera became what you see today.
The shape of the festival
It opens with the planting of the kapa, a sanctified tree trunk, and five nights of processions inside the temple grounds. Then come five nights of the Kumbal Perahera, which grows a little larger each night, followed by five nights of the Randoli Perahera, the grand one, with the most elephants and the longest route. It ends at dawn with the water-cutting ceremony at the river. The exact dates move with the full moon each year.
Which night, and where to sit
Aim for one of the Randoli nights, ideally the last two. The Kumbal nights are shorter and quieter, and worth seeing if that is when you are there. The procession starts around seven in the evening and runs until eleven or later on the big nights. Roads close from late afternoon, so be in your seat by five. Ticketed seats along the route, in the balconies of shops and hotels, are the comfortable option; the pavement is free and the crowd is remarkably patient.
How far ahead
Kandy is full for the Perahera. Rooms and seats sell out months in advance, so if you are travelling in July or August, start planning in January. We can arrange a car and driver from Colombo, and the drive is about three and a half hours; ask our front office when you book. The best time to visit Sri Lanka puts the festival in the context of the two monsoons.
