“Esala” festival on August
Fancy being part of the South Asia’s most splendid visual fest and world’s biggest Buddhist celebration? Visit Sri Lanka! Month of fire dancers, drummers, Elephants and thousands of traditional dancers are just several weeks away. With hundreds of Elephants in glamorous silk costumes on parade, male and female dancers in colorful traditional clothes dancing in the dim torch lights and illuminated by fire dancing, Kandy “Esala Perahera” is an annual parade which takes place in honor of the sacred tooth relic of Buddha.
Lord Buddha’s tooth relic is removed from its’ shrine once a year. During the “Esala Perahera”, it’s carried by the Royal Male Elephant, the most proud, strong and calm Elephant in the country, an Elephant which shows royalty in its’ blood. This festival starts with near the full moon and lasts 10 days. This parade starts from the Shrine “Dalada Maligawa” and taken round the streets of Kandy. The last 5 nights of the festival, known as Randoli Perahera, get progressively larger and more intense until the last night, on the full moon, when you’ll witness one of the most feverishly energetic parades ever. On the last night, the tooth relic is moved from the city to the temple, led by elders and nobles in the costumes of the ancient kings of Kandy and lit by handheld candles.
Attendants of this festival numbers are at about million people.
Kandy is Sri Lanka’s second largest city. It’s in the middle of the island, surrounded by untouched rain forests and mountains. The Temple of Tooth is situated in the middle of the town, near a clear lake which is protected by an old wall, named “Walakulu Bamma-Cloud Wall”. This shrine is made in 17th century, and houses the upper canine tooth of Lord Buddha. According to legend, the tooth was taken from the Buddha as he lay on his funeral pyre. It was smuggled to Sri Lanka in 313 AD, hidden in the hair of Princess Hemamali who fled the Hindu armies besieging her father’s kingdom in India.
All packages include:
A souvenir gift / A tropical fruit basket as a farewell gift.Note
- For all reservations, 50% of the payment should be made in advance when making the reservation and the remaining 50% should be paid after arrival (on the 1st day morning)
- Rates given above are economy class/budget rates (accommodation includes up to 3 star hotels)
- If you wish for middle/luxury class packages 4 stars + hotels may be arranged for an additional fee (depending on availability and choice)
- Special Sri Lankan Ayurvedic treatments/spa treatments could be arranged.
- Rates as in USD
- Rates includes accommodation- bed/breakfast & transportation only.
Rates do not include:
- Airfares (i.e. there’s no air travel)
- Entrance fees or other fees for obtaining permission to visit venues
- Additional hotel expenses including those for any calls, Internet access or bar fridge use etc
- Medical & Insurance related expenses (i.e. we recommend obtaining adequate insurance coverage for the duration of your travels)
- All above expenses should be borne by individuals