3 Days at The Radh Hotel Kandy – Temple of the Tooth Relic & Heeloya Village Tour

Arrive in Kandy and check in to The Radh Hotel, a Kandyan-inspired boutique property on Colombo Street, in the historic Temple area. Spend the afternoon at leisure: walk to nearby Kandy Lake, browse the Kandy City Centre shopping mall, or simply settle into your room. In the evening, the hotel team can arrange tickets to a traditional Kandyan cultural dance show nearby. Dinner is available at the hotel’s Café Nihonbashi (Japanese cuisine) or Street Café (international and Sri Lankan dishes).

After breakfast at The Radh, walk a few minutes to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), the most venerated Buddhist site in Sri Lanka, housing Lord Buddha’s tooth relic since the 4th century and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. A guide leads you through the temple complex and the adjoining International Buddhist Museum, once the city’s High Court buildings. Continue on foot to the Royal Palace of Kandy, once home to the last Kandyan kings, and around Kandy Lake, built in 1807 by King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe. The afternoon is free to explore Kandyan Art Association & Cultural Centre or relax at the hotel spa.

After an early breakfast, transfer to the trailhead near Rangala for a guided trek into Heeloya, a self-sustaining agricultural village tucked into the Knuckles foothills. Walk the narrow bunds between step-cultivated paddy fields, visit spice gardens growing cinnamon, pepper and cardamom, and meet the village elder, who explains Heeloya’s traditional community-justice system, still remembered by residents today. Help harvest fruit and vegetables for a home-cooked Sri Lankan lunch with a local family before trekking back and transferring to Kandy for check-out and onward departure.