The Kandy City Guides answer what every visitor asks: when to see the Temple of the Tooth without the worst crowds, where to find rice and curry before the counters run out at lunch, what to do on an evening in a city that goes to bed early, and how to reach Sigiriya, the tea country or the elephants of Pinnawala. Each guide is a short, honest list with the reason to go, what to order or look for and one practical tip for every place, and it opens in your browser as soon as you pay.
About the Kandy City Guides
- 139 places
- 6 guides
- 13 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The six Kandy guides
Food guide
23 places
Rice and curry counters where you point at the pots, parotta and kottu at the old Muslim hotels, bakery short eats, colonial dining rooms and hill-country tea, coffee and sweets.
Things to do guide
20 places
The Temple of the Tooth at a good hour, the palace and museums, the lake loop, forest trails and gardens, and the 14th-century temples in the hills outside town.
Family guide
23 places
Lake walks with monitor lizards, play parks, elephants, museums and indoor play for wet days, and easy food and ice cream, with ages and pushchair notes.
Nightlife guide
24 places
Dance shows and the drums of the evening puja, lakeside strolls and night views, rooftop bars, colonial hotel bars and where to eat once most kitchens close.
Day trips guide
25 places
Carved temples and spice gardens close to Kandy, the Pinnawala elephants, Knuckles Range viewpoints, Sigiriya and Dambulla and the hill-country train to the tea estates, each with the transport to get there.
Budget guide
24 places
Free temples and viewpoints in the centre, rice and curry and dosa for very little, markets and tea, and buses and trains that cost next to nothing.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Put Chutney
Colombo Street
A plain local counter where you point at the pots you want and the bill follows the number of curries on your plate, with meat costing a little more. Quick, cheap and full of locals at lunchtime. From the food guide.
Udawatta Kele Sanctuary
Sangamitta Mawatha, behind the Temple of the Tooth
An old forest reserve ten minutes on foot from the temple, busy with monkeys, birds and butterflies and dotted with viewpoints. Walk the short trail in an hour or give the full loop up to three. From the things to do guide.
Embekka Dewalaya
Embekke, 20 km south-west of Kandy
A 14th-century shrine whose drummers’ hall stands on carved wooden pillars, no two the same. Few visitors make the trip, and the caretaker will explain the carvings for a tip. From the day trips guide.
Plan your days in Kandy
Day one: the Temple of the Tooth and the National Museum in the morning from the things to do guide, a rice and curry lunch from the food guide before the pots run dry, the lake loop late in the afternoon and the evening puja or a Kandyan dance show from the nightlife guide. Day two: the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, or an early start with the day trips guide to the carved temples south-west of town or the Pinnawala elephants, then a drink in a colonial hotel bar. For a rainy or slow day, the family and budget guides send you to the Ceylon Tea Museum, the indoor play centre at the Kandy City Centre mall and a cheap dosa lunch between showers.
Questions about the Kandy guides
What is inside the Kandy City Guides?
Six guides with 139 places between them: food, things to do, family, nightlife, day trips and budget. For every place you get the reason to go, the area, notes on opening times and one practical tip.
Where do I find my guides after buying?
The links are on your order page the moment payment is complete, and they are also in your order email. Open them in any browser on your phone or laptop, with no app and no account.
Will the guides work without internet in Kandy?
Yes. Open each guide once while you are online and it carries on working offline, with your ticks and notes saved. Map links need a data connection.
Are the guides available in other languages?
The guides open in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
Do I have to buy all six guides?
No. One guide costs €4.99, two cost €8.99, four cost €15.99 and all six together cost €19.99.
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