01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Kandy.
No tours listed for Kandy yet — check back soon.
Hill country rice and curry, kiribath at Sinhala new year, kokis and konda kavum, wambatu moju pickled aubergine. Kandy cooks with more restraint than coastal Colombo but no less depth.
04 The pantry
- Kiribath, coconut-milk rice cooked for auspicious mornings
- Jaggery, palm sugar from Kithul palms in the surrounding hills
- Ambarella, tart green fruit for chutneys and pickles
- Coconut oil, cold-pressed for the hill-country kitchen
- Kithul treacle, dark syrup from tapped palm flowers
05 In the kitchen
- Pressing kiribath milk rice into diamonds for the morning plate
- Tapping kithul palms for treacle used with curd
- Slow-cooking polos young jackfruit into a dark curry
- Grinding fresh coconut sambol on a Kandyan grinding stone
- Layering lamprais rice packets and roasting them in banana leaf
06 Eat this first
- Kiribath, coconut milk rice pressed into diamonds and served with sambol
- Polos curry, young jackfruit slow-cooked in dark spice
- Curd and treacle, thick buffalo curd drizzled with kithul syrup
- Lamprais, banana-leaf parcel of rice, curries and frikkadels
- Wambatu moju, sweet-and-sour aubergine pickle for the rice plate
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Kandy.
Weather
Cool hill climate — mild year-round (18–28°C), rainiest October to January. The Perahera festival in July / August is a highlight; book far ahead.
Currency
The Sri Lankan rupee (LKR); cash almost everywhere; cards in upscale hotels and restaurants.
Language
Sinhala; some Tamil; English is widely spoken in tourism.
Etiquette
The Temple of the Tooth is strict — cover shoulders and knees, no hats, no photographs of Buddha images with your back to them. Remove shoes at the entrance.
Getting around
The centre is walkable; tuk-tuks and PickMe cover the hills. The scenic train to Ella is one of the world's great rail journeys — book second-class reserved for the views.
Prayer
Deeply Theravada Buddhist — the Temple of the Tooth is one of Buddhism's holiest sites. The evening puja (three times daily) draws pilgrims from across the country.