Known as the grandest and most important of all Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka, Kandy Esala Perahara (procession) parades through the streets of Kandy every year in July or August drawing devotees of the country and across the globe alike. Held to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha while seeking blessings for a good harvest from the deities of Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Goddess Pattini, ten days of increasingly vibrant cultural activity culminates in an ancient, awe-inspiring procession called ‘Randoli Perahara’. The final procession heralded by thousands of Kandyan drummers, a host of majestic elephants, adorned in elaborately embroidered cloaks, is led by the brilliantly caparisoned Maligawa Tusker who brings a huge canopy housing a replica of the cask inclosing the Sacred Tooth Relic.
Kandy Esala Perahera 2021 will begin on
Saturday, 14 August
and ends on
Tuesday, 24 August
