It is believed the Kandy Perahera has its origin with the arrival of Prince Danta and Princess Hemamala, the son-in- law and daughter of King Guhasiva of Kalinga, India to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Kirthisiri Meghawanna (305-331 AD). Following the decree of King Kirthisiri Meghawanna that the Relic be taken round the city of Anuradhapura once a year, the Esala Perehera pageant had been followed by the succession of kings, though with interruptions caused by the foreign invasions. The most revealing narration on the Esala Perehera is found in the book written by the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hien who visited Sri Lanka in the 5th century A.D. The intermittent invasions by the Dravidian kingdoms in the southern Sri Lanka was to result in the shifting of the seat of the kingdom from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa, then to Dambadeniya and other cities. In each retreat, a new temple of tooth was built to enshrine Sacred Tooth Relic. Finally, since the shift of the capital to Kandy, the Sacred Tooth Relic has been undisturbed. Today the Temple of the Tooth at Kandy houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha and naturally it has been there that the annual Kandy Esala Perehera Pageant is held in every year.
The Kataragama festival is a major Festival during the month of Esala, July-August. Kataragama is a jungle shrine dedicated to god Skanda and is popular pilgrim center for Buddhists and Hindus where devotees flock year out. During the festival Fire walking on the dawn and the grand perahara are some of its highlights.
Event done for this year.
SURFING ARUGAM BAY
Arugam Bay is one of the World TOP 10 surf points Located near by 320 km from Colombo, Some 60km due east from Monaragala. Also Arugam Bay's proximity to Lahugala National Park & Yala East National Park makes it a unique surfing beach. Arugam Bay is a pristine sandy beach of stunning natural beauty. It is a well lined up right hand point break, generating a clean peeling glassy wave that barrels a surfer a 400m ride right through to the inside
Adam's Peak (also Adam's Mount; Sinhalese Samanalakanda - සමනළ කන්ද "butterfly mountain", Tamil Sivanolipatha Malai - சிவனொலி பாதமலை), is a 2,243 metres (7,359 ft) tall conicalmountain located in central Sri Lanka. It is well-known for the Sri Pada "sacred footprint", a 1.8 m rock formation near the summit, in Buddhist tradition held to be the footprint of the Buddha, in Hindu tradition that of Shiva, in Christian tradition that of St. Thomas, and in Muslim tradition that of Adam. Sri Pada is revered as a holy site by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians. It has specific qualities that cause it to stand out and be noticed; including its dominant and outstanding profile, and the boulder at the peak that contains an indentation resembling a footprint.
