Kandy Esala Perahera
What: The festival of the Tooth – Sri Lanka’s Esala Perahera honours the sacred tooth relic of Buddha and the four ‘guardian’ Gods Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Goddess Pattini which are housed in the divine temple of the tooth in Kandy. The festival features musicians, dancers, art performances, fire-breathers, and the impressive sight of a herd of elephants decked in colourful and lit-up ceremonial dress marching through the streets of Kandy.
The Esala Perahera is also one of the worlds grandest and spectacular Buddhist festivals and takes place over the course of 10 days, with the first five days dedicated to the planting of a tree and an opening procession, the next five days dedicated to the four gods and the final five days featuring the elephant parades and a series of street dancing, music and drumming – followed by a closing water cutting and holy water collecting ceremony at dawn – which over the course of the festival helps combine the fun and breath-taking sight of performances and elephant parades with the teachings and observations of Buddhists, making the Esala Perahera a moving but thoroughly enjoyable festival.
When: The Kandy Esala Perahera takes place over the course of 10 days – normally in late July to early August.
Where: The Kandy Esala Perahera takes place in the town of Kandy in Sri Lanka – with the processions beginning from the Buddha tooth temple and marching down the main street of Kandy.
Duration: The Kandy Esala Perahera last for 10 days, normally beginning in late July and ending in early August.
The festival begins with the ‘Kappa’ in which a young tree will be cut and planted in the four corners of the Temple of the Tooth Relic dedicated to the four gods of Natha, Vishnu, Katharagama and the goddess Pattini – then in the last afternoon a crowd gather sin silence to wait for the first procession called the Perahera – which begins with a cannon blast and sees devotes exit the temple to the sounds of drums, music and with dances, whips and lights.
This is then followed by five days of the “Devale Peraheras” — a series of evening events held in the four grounds of the temple dedicated to the four gods in which music, drumming, flag and canopy bearers honour the gods.
Which is then followed by five days of the ‘Kumbal Perahera’ — series of parades and processions featuring the iconic elephant parades, dancers, drummers, fire crackers, acrobats, Buddhist flag bearers – who march through the streets each night at 8pm. With the herd of elephants decked in colourful and lighted costumes and the lead elephant carrying a coffin holding the sacred tooth of Buddha.
The festival ends the following morning at dawn with the diya-kepeema ritual – in which worshippers from all shrines in Kandy walk to the Mahaweli River for a water ceremony and to collect holy water which will be used to clean the city of Kandy ahead of the next Esala Perahera.
Tickets: While you are able to line the streets to watch the dancers, drumming, parades and elephant processions for no cost – the best option to fully enjoy the festival is to purchase seats on one of the various rooftops lining the procession route for the day / days you wish to view the performances – we’d strongly recommend getting seats for the final evening Elephant procession and parading of the Buddha tooth.
To purchase seats in advance at one of the various hotel and café bars the sfest bet is to visit [https://kandyperaherabookings.com/] where tickets range from $50 — $120 depending on the day and location – alternatively for those in Kandy at the time of the festival a number of Sri Lankan tour operators and hotels in Kandy will offer seats or packages to witness the parades from their rooftops or balconies.
Need to Know: Kandy is a lovely city – but during the Esala Perahera hotels will fill up in booking well in advance – so it’s advised to book tours, accommodation and viewing spots for the Esala Perahera well in advance. It’s also recommended that if attending you do not miss out on the last three nights of the festival – which tend to feature the most elephants, loudest drums and the biggest displays.
More Information: For further information on the Esala Perahera, including the procession routes, dates of the festival and to purchase tickets – visit: [https://kandyperaherabookings.com/index.php]