Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

The Temple of Tooth at the final location of the Sacred Kandy is Tooth (Left Canine) of the Buddha, which was brought to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Kirtisri Megahavanna (301-328) by Prince Danta and Princess Hemamala from the kingdom of Kalinga, India. It became the paladium of the Sri Lankan Kings and was preciously guarded in a special Shrine built within the precincts of the royal palace, wherever the capital was located. The ruins of such edifices remain in ancient capitals of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambabeniya, Yapahuwa, Kurunegala, Kotte and Gampola, while at Kandy, the last capital, the Sacred Tooth Relic Temple continues to be the greatest Shrine that receives the utmost veneration of the Buddhist world.

Royal Botanical Gardens

PERADENIYA BOTANICAL GARDEN As Sri Lanka’s largest garden an elegant and spacious 147-acres (60-hectares) plenty of time is needed to stroll Peradeniya’s imposing Avenue of Royal Palms. There are some 4,000 different species of plants at Peradeniya Gardens. The 10,000 or so trees, which are the stars, are mature, lofty giants, many of them tropical timber trees. Highlights of the collection include the Giant Bamboo of Burma, capable of growing to 40 meters height (130 feet) with a 25-centimetre (10-inch) stem diameter. And it can grow by a rapid 30 centimeters a day (12 inches). Absolutely sensational is the century old giant Javan fig tree, its tentacle like roots spread across the enormous area of about 1,800 square meters (19,375 square feet) a massive central trunk beneath the tree’s vast canopy ‘umbrella’. The Cannonball tree is also intriguing, with its cannonball-like fruit hanging off the trunk and large open, waxy pink-white flowers.