Sri Lanka Festival Tours: Esala Perahera & Vesak

The Esala Perahera in Kandy is the one to build a trip around. Over ten nights in July or August, a procession of caparisoned elephants, whip-crackers, fire-dancers, drummers and Kandyan dancers carries a replica of the sacred tooth relic casket through the city, growing in scale each night until the Randoli Perahera finale. It is one of the great religious processions in Asia and accommodation in Kandy sells out months ahead.

Vesak, on the May full moon, marks the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. Towns fill with paper lanterns and illuminated pandals telling stories from the Jataka tales, and roadside dansal give away free food to passers-by. It is gentler than the Perahera and arguably more moving. The Sinhala and Tamil New Year in mid-April brings games, oil-lamp rituals and a genuinely quiet week as the country goes home. The Kataragama festival in July draws pilgrims of several faiths to the south-east.

Timing matters more than usual for these trips. Dates move with the lunar calendar and are confirmed only a few months out, and the good viewing positions and hotel rooms go early. Talk to us well ahead if a festival is the reason you are coming.