🐘 Kandy Esala Perahera

Kandy, Sri Lanka

Usually: July–August by the Sinhala calendar, ending around the full moon (2026: Aug 18–28)Dates TBA

Sri Lanka's grandest Buddhist festival: ten nights of processions with a hundred caparisoned elephants, fire dancers and drummers, ending with the casket of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

Good to know

• The final Randoli nights are the grandest—book roadside seats through your hotel or an agency.
• Kandy hotels raise prices and fill up—book at least three months ahead.