Kandy is the heart of Sri Lanka's hill country, a city built around an artificial lake in a bowl of green hills at about five hundred metres. For over two hundred years it was the capital of the last Sinhalese kingdom, which held out against the Portuguese, Dutch and finally the British, who took it in 1815. Its great treasure is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the Sri Dalada Maligawa, which houses what is believed to be a tooth of the Buddha. The temple draws pilgrims every day, with drumming and offerings at set times, and the whole city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around 110,000 people live here, so fuel, supplies and hotels are easy.
Each year, in July or August, the Esala Perahera takes place: a huge procession of drummers, dancers, fire performers and decorated elephants, which parades through the streets at night. It has been held for centuries and is one of the great festivals of Asia. Outside the festival, the town is busy and chaotic, and traffic around the lake is heavy, with tuk-tuks, buses and motorbikes competing for every gap. Left-hand traffic and a slow tempo are the rules, and you should not expect speed.
The ride out of Kandy toward the south and east climbs through tea country. Roads wind up the hills past Kadugannawa and Gampola, through plantations, villages and forest, and the air cools as you rise. The curves are tight, with blind corners, and buses and trucks often overtake at risky points, so keep to a measured pace. The surface is often patched, and rain, which can fall hard at any time, makes it slick. Early morning is the best time, with clear skies before the clouds build.
Sri Lankan food is a joy: rice and curry with a dozen small dishes, hoppers, which are bowl-shaped pancakes, and string hoppers for breakfast, plus strong tea grown in the hills. Ceylon tea was first grown commercially here in the 1860s, after coffee plantations were wiped out by disease. The Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya, a few kilometres away, are among the finest in Asia. Leave early and enjoy the long climb into the cool.