The Kandy Esala Perahera has been running, in some form, for well over a thousand years — and it remains one of the most spectacular festival processions anywhere on earth. For ten nights (sometimes more) in July or August, the streets of Kandy fill nightly with the sounds of drums, trumpets and ankle bells as a procession of decorated elephants, Kandyan dancers and costumed performers winds through the city.
At the heart of it all is the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, enshrined in the Dalada Maligawa. During the Perahera the relic itself remains in the temple, but a golden karanduwa — the replica casket — is carried on the back of the Maligawa Tusker, the largest and most honoured of all the participating elephants, draped in illuminated cloths and accompanied by a retinue of attendants holding ceremonial umbrellas and fans.
The procession also honours four guardian deities of the island — Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and the goddess Pattini — each represented by their own section with its own elephants, dancers, musicians and standards. The result is a layered, multi-shrine event that weaves Buddhism and Hindu devotion into a single stream of light moving through the dark city streets.
The final night, the Randoli Perahera, is the most spectacular. Viewing spots along the route fill hours before the procession begins. Book accommodation in Kandy months ahead if you intend to attend, and purchase seats in the reserved grandstands rather than trying to catch it from the roadside — the difference in visibility is significant, and the event runs for several hours.
The Perahera is listed among the great festivals of Asia for good reason. Even a single night of it, standing in the warm dark as a painted elephant the size of a small house passes within arm's reach, leaves an impression nothing quite prepares you for.
