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Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and is also the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the
Temple of the Tooth The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which hou ...
Relic ('' Sri Dalada Maligawa''), one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a world heritage site by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in 1988. Historically the local
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
rulers resisted Portuguese,
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
, and British colonial expansion and occupation.


Etymology

The city and the region have been known by many different names and versions of those names. Some scholars suggest that the original name of Kandy was Katubulu Nuwara located near the present
Watapuluwa Watapuluwa is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also * List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka External links * {{KandyDistrict-geo-stub Populated places in Kandy District ...
. However, the more popular historical name is Senkadagala or Senkadagalapura, officially Senkadagala Siriwardhana Maha Nuwara (meaning 'great city of Senkadagala of growing resplendence'), generally shortened to 'Maha Nuwara'. According to folklore, this name originated from one of the several possible sources. One being the city was named after a
brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
with the name Senkanda who lived in a cave nearby, and another being a queen of Vikramabahu III was named Senkanda, and after a coloured stone named Senkadagala. The
Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...
has also been known by various names. The English name Kandy, which originated during the colonial era, is derived from an anglicised version of the Sinhala Kanda Uda Rata (meaning the land on the mountain) or Kanda Uda Pas Rata (the five counties/countries on the mountain). The Portuguese shortened this to "Candea", using the name for both the kingdom and its capital. In Sinhala, Kandy is called ''Maha Nuwara'', meaning "Great City" or "The Capital", although this is most often shortened to ''Nuwara''.


History


Founding

Historical records suggest that Kandy was first established by the Vikramabahu III (1357–1374 AD), who was the monarch of the
Kingdom of Gampola Gampola is a town and once an ancient polity located near Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was made the capital city of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four years in the mid-fourteenth century. King Buwanekabahu ...
, north of the present city, and named ''Senkadagalapura'' at the time.


Kandyan Kingdom

Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu (1473–1511) was the first king of the
Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...
. He was a royal from the Kotte Royal Bloodline and ruled Kandy as a semi-independent kingdom under the
Kingdom of Kotte The Kingdom of Kotte ( si, කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය, Kottay Rajadhaniya), named after its capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Kotte, was a Sinhala kingdom, Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th cent ...
, making it the new capital of the Kandyan Kingdom. Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu was followed by his son Jayaweera Astana (1511–1551) and then by
Karaliyadde Bandara Karalliyadde Banḍāra was King of Kandy, who ruled from 1552 to 1582. During his reign Banḍāra publicly embraced Catholicism, brought to the island by the Portuguese. He and his infant daughter princess Kusumāsana Devi fled the kingdom with ...
(1551–1581) who was succeeded by his daughter
Dona Catherina of Kandy Kusumāsana Devi (died 10 July 1613), also known as , was ruling Queen of Kandy in 1581. She was deposed, but queen consort of Kandy by marriage to Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy from 1594 to 1604. Life In her infancy she and her father Karaliy ...
(1581–1581). Dona Catherina was succeeded by Rajasinha I. Rajasinha I, however, preferred to rule the hill country from the
Kingdom of Sitawaka The Kingdom of Sitawaka ( si, සීතාවක, ta, சீீீதாவாக்கை இராசதானி) was a kingdom located in south-central Sri Lanka. It emerged from the division of the Kingdom of Kotte following the Spoilin ...
on the west of the island. A period of turmoil for power ended with the ascent to the throne by Konappu Bandara who came to be known as
Vimaladharmasuriya I Vimaladharmasūriya I was a king of Kandy from 1590 to 1604. His reputation was built when he successfully repulsed two major Portuguese offensives on Kandy, the Battle of Danture in 1594 and the Battle of Balana in 1602, in both of which the P ...
. Having embraced Buddhism, he consolidated his authority further by bringing the
tooth relic of the Buddha The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya Śarīra, relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide. History The relic in India According to ...
to Kandy from a place called Delgamuwa. In 1592 Kandy became the capital city of the last remaining independent kingdom in the island after the coastal regions had been conquered by the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
. Several invasions by the Portuguese were repelled, most notably in the
campaign of Danture The Danture campaign comprised a series of encounters between the Portuguese and the Kingdom of Kandy in 1594, part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It is considered a turning point in the indigenous resistance to Portuguese expansion. For t ...
. After the Sinhalese–Portuguese War and the establishment of Dutch Ceylon, attempts by the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
to conquer the kingdom were repelled. The kingdom tolerated a Dutch presence on the coast of Sri Lanka, although attacks were occasionally launched. The most ambitious offensive was undertaken in 1761, when King Kirti Sri Rajasinha attacked and overran most of the coast, leaving only the heavily fortified
Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...
intact. When a Dutch retaliatory force returned to the island in 1763, Kirti Sri Rajasinha abandoned the coastline and withdrew into the interior. When the Dutch continued to the jungles the next year, they were constantly harassed by disease, heat, lack of provisions, and Kandyan sharpshooters, who hid in the jungle and inflicted heavy losses on the Dutch. The Dutch launched a better-adapted force in January 1765, replacing their troops' bayonets with machetes and using more practical uniforms and tactics suited to jungle warfare. The Dutch were initially successful in capturing the capital, which was deserted, and the Kandyans withdrew to the jungles once more, refusing to engage in open battle. However, the Dutch were again worn down by constant attrition. A peace treaty was signed in 1766. The Dutch remained in control of the coastal areas until 1796, when Great Britain took them over (while the Netherlands was under French control) due to the
Kew letters The Kew Letters (also known as the Circular Note of Kew) were a number of letters, written by stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange between 30 January and 8 February 1795 from the "Dutch House" at Kew Palace, where he temporarily stayed after hi ...
during the
Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. British possession of these areas was formalized with the
treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...
in 1802. The next year the British also invaded Kandy in what became known as the First Kandyan War but were repulsed. As the capital, Kandy had become home to the
relic of the tooth of the Buddha The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide. History The relic in India According to Sri Lanka ...
which symbolizes a 4th-century tradition that used to be linked to the
Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...
monarchy, since the protector of the relic was the ruler of the land. Thus the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Tooth were placed in close proximity to each other. The last ruling dynasty of Kandy was the Nayaks. Kandy stayed independent until the early 19th century. In the Second Kandyan War, the British launched an invasion that met no resistance and reached the city on 10 February 1815. The first time Sri Lanka fully fell into the hands of a foreign power was in Kandy with the signing of the Kandyan Convention in 1815 at the Sri Dalada Maligawa. The king,
Vikrama Rajasinha Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (Sinhala language, Sinhala:ශ්‍රී වික්‍රම රාජසිංහ, Tamil language, Tamil:ஸ்ரீ விக்கிரம ராஜசிங்க; 1780 – January 30, 1832, born Kannasamy Nayaka) w ...
of Kandy who was of
South Indian South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
ancestry faced powerful opposition from the
Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...
chieftains and sought to reduce his power. A successful coup was organized by the Sinhalese chieftains in which they accepted the British crown as their new king. This ended over 2500 years of Sinhalese monarchs and the line of Kandyan monarchs and Rajasinha was taken as prisoner. By 2 March 1815 the island's sovereignty was under that of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. A treaty known as the Kandyan Convention was signed between the British and the
Radala Radala refers to a small minority group in Sri Lanka in the former provinces of the Kingdom of Kandy, who are either descendants of chiefs and courtiers of the King of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy or descendants of native headmen appointed by the ...
s (Kandyan aristocrats). The treaty was not signed by the deposed King but by members of his court and other dignitaries of the Kandyan Kingdom. With this treaty, Kandy recognized George III as its King and became a British protectorate. The last king of the kingdom Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was captured and taken as a royal prisoner by the British to
Vellore Fort Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, India built by Vijayanagara Empire, Vijayanagara kings. The fort was at one time the headquarters of ...
in southern India along with all claimants to the throne. Some of the family members were also exiled to
Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
(now known as Thanjavur, in Tamil Nadu). Their erstwhile living place is still referred to as "Kandy Raja Aranmanai" on the eastern part of Thanjavur town on Old Mariamman Koil Road.


Colonial era

During the British period in Sri Lanka, the history of Kandy and its townscape witnessed a rapid and drastic change and particularly after the
Uva Rebellion UVA most often refers to: * Ultraviolet A, a type of ultraviolet radiation * University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Uva or UVA may also refer to: Places * Uva, Missouri, an unincorpora ...
. Sir Lowry is noted for recording in his Gazetteer "The story of English rule in the Kandyan country during the rebellion of 1818 cannot be related without shame...Hardly a member of the leading families remained alive...Those whom the sword and the gun had spared,
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
and small pox and privations had slain by the hundreds...Others became ignorant and apathetic. Any subsequent development efforts of the government for many years were only attempts begun and abandoned". In 1848 led by
Gongalegoda Banda Wansapurna Dewage David alias Gongalegoda Banda (a.k.a. Peliyagoda David) (13 March 1809 – 1 December 1849 ) was the leader of the Matale rebellion in 1848, pretender to the throne of Kandy and a national hero of Sri Lanka. Early life Bor ...
and
Puran Appu Weerahannadige Francisco Fernando alias Puran Appu ( Sinhala පුරන් අප්පු) is one of the notable personalities in Sri Lanka's history. He was born on 7 November 1812 in the coastal town of Moratuwa. He left Moratuwa at the ag ...
saw the rebellion known as the Matale Rebellion. Prior to that the city and the country had been under British rule for 32 years, during which the British had expropriated the common land of the peasantry and reduced them to extreme poverty. The Kandyan villagers were forced to abandon their traditional way of life and become wage-workers in the abominable conditions that prevailed on these new estates and plantations that had been introduced. Despite all the pressure exerted by the colonials, the Kandyans refused. This forced the British to bring in hundreds of thousands of
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
coolie A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
s from southern India. The rebellion began on 26 July 1848 with Gongalegoda Banda, crowned as king, and Puran Appu, as prime minister, and their main objective was to capture Kandy back from the British. The Matale Rebellion was a peasant revolt in the hands of the
Common people A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...
, the Kandyan leadership being totally wiped out after the
Uva Rebellion UVA most often refers to: * Ultraviolet A, a type of ultraviolet radiation * University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Uva or UVA may also refer to: Places * Uva, Missouri, an unincorpora ...
, marked the first step in a transition from the classic
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
form of anti-colonial revolt to modern independence struggles. The leadership was for the first time passed from the Kandyan provinces into the hands of ordinary people or non-aristocrats. In 1944, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allies of World War II, Allied operations in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, South-East Asian Theatre during the World War II, Second World War. Histo ...
of the allies was moved to Kandy, where it remained until the end of the war.


Contemporary Kandy

It is the second-largest city of the island and the capital of the Central Province of modern Sri Lanka. Its geographic location has made it a major transportation hub in the island: while Kandy being the gateway to the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka, the city can be reached by major motorways in every direction of the island. The railway line from Colombo, the seaport on the western coast runs via Kandy to the farthest point of Badulla in the Central Highlands. The main roads Colombo-Kandy and Kandy-Nuwara Eliya are two of the most scenic roads of Sri Lanka; Colombo-Kandy road passes through the rubber, tea plantations and rice paddies, Kandy-Nuwara Eliya road cuts through paddy fields and seamless tea plantations. Both roads claw their way up winding, rounding over the rings of hills. Currently, feasibility studies are afoot for another highway between Colombo and Kandy via Kadawata and the scenic city of Katugastota.


Geography and climate


Topography

Kandy is located in the mountainous and thickly forested interior of the island. The city is located in between multiple mountain ranges including the
Knuckles mountain range The Knuckles Mountain Range lies in central Sri Lanka, in the Districts of Matale and Kandy. The range takes its name from a series of recumbent folds and peaks in the west of the massif which resemble the knuckles of clenched fist when viewed ...
and the Hanthana Mountain Range, giving the city an elevation of above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
. It lies adjacent to the artificial
Kandy Lake Kandy Lake ( si, බෝගම්බර වැව/ කිරි මූද), also known as Kiri Muhuda or the Sea of Milk, is an artificial lake in the heart of the hill city of Kandy, Sri Lanka, built in 1807 by King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe next ...
and south of
Udawatta Kele Sanctuary 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 Watt ...
. Today Udawatte Kele is reducing its area.


Climate

In Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, its climate is
tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...
(Af). With Kandy located in the centre of the island and in a high elevation, the city has a relatively wetter and cooler temperatures than that of the tropical climate of the rest of the country, especially the coastal regions.
Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...
is south to it and has a cooler climate due to its higher elevation. Nevertheless, Kandy's climate is still tropical as mean temperatures year round are above 18 °C on average. The city does experience a drier period from January to April. From May through to July and October to December the region experiences its monsoon season, during this time the weather is rough and unstable. From March through the middle of May is the intermonsoonal period, during this time there is light rain and strong humidity. The humidity is generally between 70% to 79%.


Cityscape

The city of Kandy lies at an elevation of above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
. Its plan developed around two open spaces: an elongated square, at the end of which are the administration buildings of the old capital, and an artificial lake that is quadrangular in form. A public garden adds to the openness of the city's spatial organization. Kandy has now grown out to encompass
Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...
, home to the University of Peradeniya and the Botanical Gardens,
Katugastota Katugastota ( Sinhala: කටුගස්තොට, Tamil: கடுகஸ்தொட) is a suburb of the city of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is located along the Kandy-Jaffna A9 highway approximately from the ...
to the north, and east to
Kundasale Kundasale ( si, කුණ්ඩසාලේ, translit=Kuṇḍasālē; ta, குண்டசாலை, translit=Kuṇṭacālai) is a former town, now a suburb of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. The town is situated to ...
, Tennekumbura and Gurudeniya.


Neighbourhoods

*
Akurana Akurana ( si, අකුරණ, ta, அக்குரணை) is a suburb of the city of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka. The town is situated from Colombo and from the centre of Kandy, on the Kandy—Matale road. Akurana ...
* Ampitiya * Ampitiya North * Ampitiya South * Anniwatta * Aruppola East *
Asgiriya Asgiriya is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. There is also a village called Asgiriya in Gampaha district, off Gampaha town, in Western Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Provi ...
* Bahirawakanda *
Bogambara Bogambara is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Kandy District, Matale District, and Nuwara Eliya D ...
* Bogodawatta * Bowala * Buwelikada * Dangolla * Deiyannewelle * Etamoragodawatta Colony * Gannoruwa West *
Gelioya Gelioya ( si, ගෙළිඔය) is a town located in Udunuwara Divisional Secretariat, Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka The Central Province ( si, මධ්‍යම පළාත ''Madhyama Paḷāta'', ta, மத்திய ...
*
Gampola Gampola ( si, ගම්පොල, ta, கம்பளை) is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four yea ...
* Heenagama *
Katugastota Katugastota ( Sinhala: කටුගස්තොට, Tamil: கடுகஸ்தொட) is a suburb of the city of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is located along the Kandy-Jaffna A9 highway approximately from the ...
* Katukele * Kosgaspitiya * Kotugodella *
Lewella Lewella (meaning "blood sand") is a village and northeastern suburb of Kandy, in Central Province, Sri Lanka. It contains the Buddhist Lewella Meditation Centre, as well as a center for the Jesuits. The Mahaweli River The Mahaweli River ( si, ...
*
Madawala Madawala is a village in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Madawala is popular for its Madina National School or also known as Madina Central College, is one of the leading Tamil/English medium schools in Sri Lanka, which is situated in t ...
*
Mahaiyawa Mahaiyawa is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also * List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Mahaiyawa belongs to Kandy district External links * Populated places in Kandy District {{KandyDistrict- ...
* Malwatta * Mapanawatura * Mavilmada * Menikkumbura * Mulgampola * Navayalatenna *
Nittawela Nittawela is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Kandy District, Matale District, and Nuwara Eliya D ...
* Nuwara Dodanwala *
Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...
*
Polgolla Polgolla is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also * List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka External links * Populated places in Kandy District {{KandyDistrict-geo-stub ...
* Siyabalapitiya * Siyambalagastenna * Suduhumpola East * Suduhumpola West * Talwatta * Udamadapola * Udathalawinna *
Watapuluwa Watapuluwa is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also * List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka External links * {{KandyDistrict-geo-stub Populated places in Kandy District ...
* Wattarantenna * Wewelpitiya * Yatiwawala * Wattegama


Wards

Kandy has 24 wards:


Government

Kandy is a
charter city In the United States, a charter city is a city in which the governing system is defined by the city's own charter document rather than solely by general law. In states where city charters are allowed by law, a city can adopt or modify its organ ...
, with a Mayor Council form of government. The
Mayor of Kandy The mayor of Kandy is the mayor and head of the Kandy Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Kandy Municipal Council established by the ''Municipalities Ordinance of 1865''. The offices of the mayor are at the Kandy Town Hall. ...
and the councillors are elected through local government elections held once in five years. The Head of administration is the ''Municipal Commissioner'', who handles the day-to-day operations of the 16 departments that it is made up of. The
Kandy Municipal Council The Kandy Municipal Council (Sinhala language, Sinhala: මහනුවර මහ නගර සභා ''Mahanuwara Maha Nagara Sabha'') is the Politics of Sri Lanka#Local government structure, local council for Kandy, the second largest city and ...
governs the City of Kandy, it was established under the Municipalities Ordinance of 1865. The inaugural meeting had been held on 20 March 1866. The
Kandy Town Hall The Town Hall of Kandy is the headquarters of the Kandy Municipal Council and the office of the Mayor of Kandy. The building known as the ''Dunuwille Walawwe'' was acquired by the Municipal Council in 1870 at a court sanctioned auction, conducted ...
was established in the present premises known as the ''Dunuwille Walawwe'' in 1870. The Government Agent of the Central Province had presided over the council until 1939 when the Mayor was elected. The first elected mayor was Sir
Cuda Ratwatte Sir Jayatilaka Cudah Ratwatte Adigar (15 March 1880 – 27 March 1940) was a Ceylonese colonial-era politician and headman. He was a member of the State Council of Ceylon (1931–1933), the first elected Mayor of Kandy (1939–40), the first per ...
. With further amendments to the ordinance in 1978, the Mayor became the Executive Head whilst the Commissioner was the Administrative head. Presently, the council consists of 24 members. The Governing Party,
United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
has 14 and the opposition 10. The Council meets once a month to review the progress and decide on the implementation of its projects. Five standing committees of the council, namely Finance, Law, Works, Sports and Welfare Services (Pre-Schools, Library), also meet monthly to evaluate and recommend to Council relative matters for approval.


Demographics

Kandy is a
Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...
majority city; there are sizable communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as
Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...
and
Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
. The city remains an important religious centre of the
Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...
and a place of
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
for
Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, namely those belonging to the
Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
school. The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
has a
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
headquartered in the city.


Census of population (2012)

''Source:
''statistics.gov.lk''


Population by ethnicity according to urban area (2007)

''Source:


Economy

It is the second-largest city in the island and the capital of Central Province. Many major corporations have large branch offices in Kandy and many industries including textiles, Sri Lankan gemstones, furniture, information technology, and jewellery are found there. Many agriculture research centres are located throughout the city.


Health care

The National Hospital, Kandy is the second-largest medical institution in Sri Lanka, established and administered under the purview of the Ministry of Health, which remains a key hospital maintained by the Sri Lankan Government. The
Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya, is one of the three hospitals in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. It is one of the leading community teaching hospitals in Sri Lanka, affiliated with the University of Peradeniya. In addition to delivering medical care to pati ...
is one of the prime tertiary care hospitals in the country, located along the A1 highway connecting Kandy and
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, near the
Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya are about 5.5 km to the west of the city of Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. In 2016, the garden was visited by 1.2 million locals and 400,000 foreign visitors. It is near the Mahaweli River (The ...
. The Dental Hospital Peradeniya and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Children's Hospitals are located adjacent to the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Kandy has a public transport system based primarily on buses. The bus service is operated both by private companies and the government's own Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB). The Kandy Multimodal Transport Terminal (KMTT) after constructed will integrate a major bus terminal to the Kandy railway station. KMTT will handle about 2,000 bus departures, up to 3,000 further through-services, and about 320,000 passenger movements on a daily basis. EoIs from consultants for the Design, Construction Supervision and Contract Administration of the project were called in 2016.


Air

The proposed Kandy Airport in the nearby area of
Kundasale Kundasale ( si, කුණ්ඩසාලේ, translit=Kuṇḍasālē; ta, குண்டசாலை, translit=Kuṇṭacālai) is a former town, now a suburb of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. The town is situated to ...
will create a direct air link to
Bandaranaike International Airport Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්‍යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. The new airport will act as a catalyst to the tourism industry in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.


Roads

It is about from Colombo, from Nuwaraeliya and from Kurunegala. ;A-Grade highways: * A1 highway (Kandy road) connects Colombo with Kandy. * A9 highway connects Jaffna with Kandy. * A26 highway connects Padiyathalawa with Kandy via Mahiyangana. * A10 highway connects
Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam ...
with Kandy via
Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...
and Katugastota. * A5 highway connects Chenkalady with Kandy via
Padiyathalawa Padiyathalawa is a small town in Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya ...
Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...
Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...
and Peradeniya. ;High-speed expressways: *Colombo – Kandy high-speed elevated expressway running is currently under construction, providing a high-speed link between the two largest economic centres.


Rail

*''Matale Line'' of the Sri Lanka Railways connects Kandy by way of Peradeniya and
Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...
. It connects to the ''Main Line'' that links Colombo and
Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...


Architecture


Temple of the Tooth

On the north shore of the lake, which is enclosed by a parapet of white stone dating to the beginning of the 19th century, are the city's official religious monuments, including the Royal Palace and the
Temple of the Tooth The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which hou ...
, known as the Sri Dalada Maligawa (daḷadā māligāva). Reconstructed in the 18th century, the Sri Dalada Maligawa is built on a base of
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
that was inspired by the
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
s of Sri Lanka's former capital city,
Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
. An array of materials (
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
,
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
, sculpted
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
,
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
, etc.) contribute to the richness of this temple. Throughout this small ''holy city'', a number of recent Buddhist
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
can be found. The monumental ensemble of Kandy is an example of construction that associates the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Tooth (''Palace of the tooth relic'') is the place that houses the
relic of the tooth of the Buddha The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide. History The relic in India According to Sri Lanka ...
. Originally part of the Royal Palace complex of the Kandyan Kingdom, it is one of the holiest places of worship and pilgrimage for Buddhists around the world. It was the last of a series of temples built in the places where the relic, the actual palladium of the Sinhalese monarchy, was brought following the various relocations of the capital city. The Palace of the Tooth relic, the palace complex and the holy city of Kandy are associated with the history of the dissemination of Buddhism. The temple is the product of the last peregrination of the relic of the tooth of Buddha and the testimony of a religion which continues to be practiced today. The International Buddhist Museum nearby houses objects contributed by India, Gandhara, Bhutan, Nepal, Korea, Thailand, etc. A 16-foot statue of Gautama Buddha, a replica of the Sarnath Buddha is installed in front of the museum, gifted by the Government of India.


Royal Palace

The
Royal Palace of Kandy The Royal Palace of Kandy (known as ''Mahawàsala''), located to the north of the Temple of the Tooth (Daladà Màligàwa) in Kandy, was the royal residence of the Sri Lankan monarchy of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka. The last king to resid ...
is the last Royal Palace built in the island. Although only part of the original palace complex remains. The Temple of the Tooth was part of this complex, due to the ancient tradition that stated that the monarch is the protector of the relic though which the ruler of the land. It today houses the National Museum Kandy which holds an extensive collection of artefacts from both the Kandy Kingdom and the British colonial rule.


Lankatilaka Temple

The Lankatilaka Temple is considered to be one of the best-preserved examples of traditional Sinhalese temple architecture. Built on a rock, the temple is reached by a long series of rock-cut steps. An arched passage of the image house leads through a Mandapa (hall) into the inner sanctum which is decorated with floral designs. The two side walls and the ceiling are decorated with paintings. In the inner sanctum is a large seated image of the Buddha.


Gadaladeniya Temple

The Gadaladeniya Temple's design is of South Indian origin with a Devale attached to it, similar in character to the Natha Devale and the Gedige of Adahana Maluwa. The main shrine room has a seated Buddha statue and the remains of some paintings of the Gampola period. Among other important temples around Kandy are Dodanwala Devalaya (shrine),
Embekka Devalaya ''Embekka Devalaya'' (Embekka Temple) was built by the King Vikramabahu III of Gampola Era (AD 1357–1374) in Sri Lanka. The Devalaya is dedicated to Kataragama deviyo. A local deity called Devatha Bandara is also worshiped at this site. The s ...
(shrine), Galmaduwa Vihara temple, Handagala Vihara temple, Medawala Vihara and
Nalanda Gedige Nalanda Gedige ( si, නාලන්දා ගෙඩිගේ; ta, நாலந்த கெடிகே) is an ancient complete stone temple near Matale, Sri Lanka and its original site is considered the geographical centre of Sri Lanka. The ...
.


Parks and gardens

The Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya is situated about 5 km to the west of the city centre at
Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...
and is visited by 2 million people per year.Royal Botanic Gardens Peradeniya Official Guide Map 2013 It is the largest botanical garden on the island extending to and containing over 4000 species of plants.
Knuckles Mountain Range The Knuckles Mountain Range lies in central Sri Lanka, in the Districts of Matale and Kandy. The range takes its name from a series of recumbent folds and peaks in the west of the massif which resemble the knuckles of clenched fist when viewed ...
in Kandy is a world heritage site of UNESCO. Alagalla Mountain Range also named in English as Potato Range both famous for trekking in Sri Lanka. The Udawatta Kele (''Udawatta Forest'') is a protected sanctuary situated in the heart of the city, just north of the Temple of the Tooth. Known as "Uda Wasala Watta" in Sinhala meaning, "the garden situated above the royal palace", it was designated as a forest reserve in 1856, and it became a sanctuary in 1938. The Royal Palace Park, known as ''Wales Park'' is a small park that overlooks
Kandy Lake Kandy Lake ( si, බෝගම්බර වැව/ කිරි මූද), also known as Kiri Muhuda or the Sea of Milk, is an artificial lake in the heart of the hill city of Kandy, Sri Lanka, built in 1807 by King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe next ...
and most of the city. In the park is a Japanese
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...
which was captured by the British 14th Army in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
during World War II and presented to the city of Kandy by
Lord Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of German ...
, Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Theatre.


Education


Primary and secondary education

Kandy is home to some of the island's oldest and leading schools. *
Dharmaraja College Dharmaraja College ( si, ධර්මරාජ විද්‍යාලය), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and around 5000+ students. The school has many notable ...
*
Girls' High School, Kandy Girls' High School, Kandy is a national girls' school located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1879 by Wesleyan Methodist missionaries and the oldest school for girls in Kandy affiliated with the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka. History ...
* Good Shepherd Convent, Kandy * Hemamali Girls College * Gothami Girls College *
Hillwood College Hillwood College is an independent private girls' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka founded by British Anglican missionaries of the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society in 1890. The school is situated in the Kandy Lake round (Victoria Drive). Th ...
* Kingswood College *
Mahamaya Girls' College, Kandy Mahamaya Girls’ College is a public girls' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Located in the centre of Kandy, overlooking the Kandy Lake, the school is named after Queen Mahamaya, the mother of Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha. History Mahamaya Girl ...
* Pushpadana Girls' College, Kandy * Ranabima Royal College *
St. Anthony's College, Kandy St. Anthony's College, Kandy is a Catholic School, Roman Catholic School in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The college was established in 1854 by the Franciscan missionary, Felice Zoppi. The college is under the management of the Sylvestrines, Syl ...
* St. Anthony's Girls College * St. Benedict's College, Kandy * St. Sylvester's College * Sarasavi Uyana College * Seethadevi Girls' College * Sri Chandananda Buddhist College * Sri Rahula College * Swarnamali Girls College *
Trinity College Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...
* Vidyartha College * Viharamahadevi Girls College * Wariyapola Sri Sumangala College


Tertiary education

The country's second-oldest university,
University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a public university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University ...
is situated in
Peradeniya Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය, translit=Pēradeniya; ta, பேராதனை, translit=Pērātaṉai) is a suburb of the city of Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a m ...
, while the
Open University of Sri Lanka "The Open University of Sri Lanka" (OUSL; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා විවෘත විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, இலங்கை திறந்த பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a national universit ...
, the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology, the National Institute of Business Management and the College of Technology have centres in the city. Most of the private-sector higher educational institutions also have their branches in Kandy. The Geology Department at the University of Peradeniya is the only earth science department in Sri Lanka.


Culture


Leisure and entertainment

Kandyans do many things for leisure and entertainment in the city. Kandy is popular due to the annual
procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
known as the
Esala Perahera The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth is a festival held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred To ...
, in which one of the inner caskets used for covering the tooth relic of Buddha is taken in a grand procession through the streets of the city. This casket is taken on a royal tusker. The procession includes traditional dancers and drummers, flag bearers of the provinces of the old Kandyan kingdom, the Nilames (
lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...
custodians of temples ) wearing their traditional dresses, torch-bearers, and also the grandly attired elephant. This ceremony which is annually held in the months of July or August attracts large crowds from all parts of the country and also many foreign tourists.
Kandy City Centre Kandy City Centre is a ten-storey commercial and retail complex which is located in Kandy, Sri Lanka near the Temple of Tooth Relic. Construction of the centre was started in 1993 and opened in 2008. The complex was the vision of Thusitha Wijay ...
is commercial and shopping complex open in 2005 at Dalada Veediya. and is the most modern commercial complex in Kandy. The complex is studded with ultra-modern features, also incorporating the traditional architecture of Kandy during the medieval period of Sri Lanka. The city centre is host to several leading banks, a fully equipped supermarket, modern restaurants, an entertainment zone including a 3-cinema complex, a well-designed state-of-the-art food court, Sri Lanka's leading bookshop, flora, and an Ayurveda site. There is a five-level car park outside managed separately by the Kandy Municipal Council and is the largest car park in Kandy.


Literature, film and television

Much of the 1984 film ''
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', fea ...
'' was shot in Kandy.


Sport

Kandy has produced national-level competitors in a wide range of sports, including
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
,
Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
,
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
, athletics, table tennis, boxing, basketball, golf, and even baseball, which has only been introduced into Kandy recently. Kandy has produced national captains of cricket and rugby and athletes that play at the highest level of all sports. Unlike the rest of the country
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
is the most popular sport in the region. This is because of the local rugby union club, Kandy Sports Club being the reigning Club Rugby Champions in the national league for almost a decade, as well as the fondness and support the local schools treat the sport with. The
Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7's The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Sponsored by telecommunications provider Dialog, the event has been part of the Asian Sevens Series since 2015. It was founded in 1999 as the Singer Sri ...
tournament is an annual international rugby union event held at the local
Bogambara Stadium Bogambara Stadium ( si, බෝගම්බර ක්‍රිඩාංගනය) is a multi-purpose stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka It is one of the oldest grounds in the country. Stadium is currently used mostly for Rugby matches and hosted the g ...
, attracting nations from all over the world. Cricket is widely played in Kandy with the city having three first-class teams in the Premier Trophy,
Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
,
Kandy Cricket Club The Kandy Cricket Club, also known as Kandy CC, is a cricket club based in Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the la ...
and
Kandy Youth Cricket Club Kandy Youth Cricket Club was a first class cricket team in Sri Lanka which competed in the Premier Trophy. See also * List of Sri Lankan cricket teams This is a list of Sri Lankan cricket teams who have played all forms of the game, past and p ...
, as well as being the main city for the
Lanka Premier League The Lanka Premier League (abbreviated as LPL; , ) is a professional cricket league in Sri Lanka in Twenty20 format contested every year by teams representing Sri Lankan cities from 2020. The league was founded by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in 201 ...
side
Kandy Falcons Kandy Falcons, formerly known as Kandy Tuskers and Kandy Warriors, are a Sri Lankan franchise professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), representing the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka which was founded in 2020 ...
. Kandy is host to the
Sri Lanka national cricket team The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායම, ta, இலங்கை தேசிய கிரிக்கெட் அணி) nicknamed The Lions ...
with two
Test status Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...
grounds, Asgiriya Stadium, Asgiriya International Stadium and the newly built state-of-the-art Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Both stadiums have held Cricket World Cup, World Cup matches. Other cricket venues are Katugastota Oval (St.Anthony's College ground), Lake View ground at
Dharmaraja College Dharmaraja College ( si, ධර්මරාජ විද්‍යාලය), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and around 5000+ students. The school has many notable ...
, and Police ground Kandy. Sports like
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
, volleyball (the national sport of Sri Lanka), and association football however have not taken off in Kandy as much as other sports, due to the lack of proper playing fields, funding, and support. Cue games like billiards and snooker have hardly anyone playing. However, basketball, table tennis, badminton, and Swimming (sport), swimming are common due to the high participation of students and schools.


Twin towns and sister cities

The City of Kandy has a sister city relationship with:


See also

*
Esala Perahera The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth is a festival held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred To ...
*
Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...
*World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka * ''''


References


Further reading

* Woodcock, George. "The Kings of Kandy" ''History Today'' (Dec 1963) 13#12 pp 852–862, covers 1505 to 1833. * * * *


External links


Kandy Municipal Council – Government Website

Official UNESCO website entry

Ward Map of Kandy Municipal Council
{{Authority control Kandy, World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka Populated places established in the 14th century Provincial capitals in Sri Lanka Kingdom of Kandy Holy cities