Kandy has been founded at end of the 15th Century by a nobleman of the Singhalese court.
There exist numerous legends about the foundation of the city, but there is also much evidence that the area was populated long before this foundation.
Kandy is and has always been the center of Singhalese nationalism.
As defiant fortress in the mountains she successfully resisted the Portuguese and Dutch, and it took the English two decades to conquer Kandy, capturing the last Sinhalese king and sending him to India into exile where he later died.
All Ceylon was then British colony and Kandy lost its role as capital but become due to its situation on 500m above sea level a popular resort town of the new rules.
Later Kandy was the center of the coffee industry. The holy tooth temple where as a relic a tooth of the Lord Buddha is kept and venerated is the holiest shrine of the Sinhalese Buddhism.
No newly elected president of the country, party leader or any other dignity can neglect to go immediately after his election or inauguration to Kandy for a visit to the temple of the holy tooth.
Today Kandy is a city with a population of 160’000.
In the heart of the city, close to a lovely little lake lays the holy tooth temple, which was the last palace of the Singhalese king.
Kandy with its lake and nestled within green hills is a lovely place with a very special atmosphere.
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