Full of character, in Kandy memories of times gone by seem to hang in the air. Wander through the streets and you see fruit vendors with coconuts, jackfruit and pineapples piled high. Peeling paintwork clings to ramshackle buildings. Women in bright saris sell tasty treats from roadside stalls. Old boys chatter away on street corners as clapped-out cars honk their way round town.
Kandy is the laid-back centre of Sri Lanka‘s hill country and was once the capital of a powerful Buddhist kingdom. It’s home to the country’s most sacred Buddhist relic – a tooth of the Lord Buddha. Said to have been snatched from the flames of his funeral pyre, the tooth is housed in a golden casket inside the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. Every day there are ceremonies at the temple, where barefoot worshippers carrying lotus blossoms and frangipani file past the casket in reverence to this important religious relic.
Alison Blackie Best of Sri LankaIt exceeded our expectations.
The tour was fantastic, great group of people. The tour guide Mak went above and beyond our expectations. He was informative, fun, caring and gave us a real insight into the culture, people and had a vast knowledge of each place we visited. He went out of his way to make my birthday special whilst we were on the trip, and always ensured we were organised and happy. Fantastic trip all round.
Mary Whitehouse Best of Sri LankaA lovely week with good hotels – my first ‘adventure’ holiday and as a solo traveller. The cycling day is great for viewing the countryside and getting nearer to rural communities, elephants in the wild (and sometimes on the main roads) including a rarer tusker and a baby, temples enriched by insightul explanations of customs from our guide, climbing the Sigiriya rock was strenuous but paced with good railings for support, interesting tea-growing and processing, The Grade 3 white-water rafting is definitely worth doing and not that scary though you need to be mobile to descend the steps to the river. Good food, if spicy, though Sanjeewa was a helpful guide on how spicy!
Very straightforward booking, direct communication by phone and email, easy arrangement of pre-tour hotel to fit with my prior commitments in Sri Lanka. Very interesting tour, nicely challenging for my inexperience of such trips, helped by being in a small and friendly group. Our guide, Sanjeewa, was a really great guide – very knowledgeable and professional but always there to support us with a good sense of humour too. Felt very safe throughout and very careful driving from Donald.
Sarah Gardner Best of Sri LankaThe whole holiday was incredible and jam packed we didn’t stop and that’s why we love travelling with Exodus
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