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Kandy History |
| Kandy
is a place of great historical and
cultural significance and was the
Kandyan kingdom withstanding the
western colonial invasions of the
Portuguese and Dutch power until the
signing of the Kandyan Convention of
1815. It became pert of the crown
Colony of the British Empire. The
Island has several names - Taprobane,
Serendib, Ceylon. It is now the
Republic of Sri Lanka with its
multi-Cultural society and
religious. |
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 Kandy is situated in the central
province of the island of Sri Lanka.
Nestling among green verdant hills
and
blue mountain ranges, surrounded
by tea plantations. The city is 129
Km away from Colombo and situated
about 500 meters above sea level.
The temperature is moderate between
25
oC and 30 oC
and there is a difference in
temperature between day and night of
about 10 oC. Humidity is
moderate ranging from 70 % in
January to 85 % in November. |
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 Kandy
provides easy access to places of
historical, archaeological,
religious and cultural interest. The
Kandy Perahara is held annually in
the township and is an event of
great religious significance, where
the sacred tooth of the Buddha is
carried on a golden casket on the
back of the special "Maligawa Atha"
(The elephant has the honour of
bearing the sacred relic from the
Dalada Maligawa). The procession is
conducted along the streets of Kandy
for several nights and is a
spectacular sight with its
gorgeously caparisoned elephants,
and traditional dancing and
drumming, especially the virtuoso
Ves Dancers. There are also
the Kavadi Dancers and the fire
dancers from the Hindu dewales
Besides the Perahara which comes
from the Dalada Maligawa. (The
temple of the tooth relic).
There are four other Peraharas from
the dewales - the Natha Vishnu,
Kataragama and Pattini dewales. |
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 Many famous temples lie in the
environs of Kandy - Embekke,
Lankathilake, Gadaladeniya,
Degaldoruwa and famous Medamahanuwara as well. As a result
of western colonization there are
churches (Protestant) and Roman
catholic with their special
religious events. Many chrismatic
churches exists as well. Kandy has
many leading schools, Convents,
Colleges, International schools as
well as a host of talented and
gifted writers in English, Sinhala
and Tamil.
Also Kany has
interesting colonial architecture,
many excellent hotels and
guesthouses where visitors can enjoy
every facility together with peace
and tranquility. |
 The Peradeniya botanical garden
begun during the period of British
rule provides a glimpse of exotic
orchids, tropical plants, the
fernery, summer houses, lawns for
relaxation with colourful flowers
and avenues of palms for relaxation. |
| There are
also a meditation centers for those
who seek peace of mind. |
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