See Kandy’s Temple of the Tooth

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, known locally as Sri Dalada Maligawa, holds the left canine tooth of the Buddha, retrieved from his funeral pyre following his cremation, traditionally dated to 543 BCE. The relic reached Sri Lanka centuries later, in the 4th century CE, smuggled into the country by Princess Hemamali, who hid it in her hair while fleeing with her brother, Prince Dantha. A private visit moves through the temple complex, then continues on through Kandy’s botanical gardens or surrounding hills.

The temple sits within the former Royal Palace complex, entered across a moat through the Maha Vahalkada, a gateway carved with a traditional moonstone and flanked by stone elephants. Inside, the two-story shrine holds the relic chamber on its upper floor, behind doors carved from ivory, in a room known as the Handun Kunama. The octagonal Paththirippuwa pavilion rises above the complex, added in the early 19th century and now used as the temple’s library. Beyond the temple, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya spread across 147 acres along a bend in the Mahaweli River, home to more than 4,000 plant species, including a well-known collection of orchids.

The relic itself is never seen directly. It rests inside seven nested golden caskets, shaped like stupas and set with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds, and only the outermost casket becomes visible, and only during the temple’s daily ritual windows, at dawn, midday, and evening. Monks from two monastic chapters, Malwathu and Asgiri, carry out worship at these times, and on Wednesdays a symbolic bathing of the relic takes place with scented water believed to hold healing properties. The tooth is fully exposed to view only during rare state exhibitions, sometimes decades apart.

Timing the visit around the temple’s daily ritual windows makes the difference between arriving to a closed inner chamber and witnessing the ceremony itself. A private guide explains the history and symbolism as the visit unfolds, from the relic’s centuries of movement between capitals to the architecture added by successive Kandyan kings. From the temple, the day can continue at an unhurried pace through the botanical gardens or into the hills surrounding Kandy, shaped around the group rather than a fixed itinerary.

Is the Temple of the Tooth worth visiting?

The temple holds one of Buddhism’s most significant relics inside a complex of Kandyan architecture and centuries of royal history, set within Kandy’s former royal palace grounds.

Can you see the tooth at the Temple of the Tooth?

The tooth itself is rarely exposed to view. It rests inside seven nested golden caskets, with only the outermost visible during the temple’s daily ritual windows.

How did the Tooth Relic get to Sri Lanka?

According to tradition, Princess Hemamali smuggled the relic into Sri Lanka in the 4th century CE, hiding it in her hair while fleeing with her brother, Prince Dantha.

What else is there to see near the Temple of the Tooth?

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya sit nearby, spanning 147 acres with more than 4,000 plant species, and Kandy’s surrounding hills offer further ground to explore.

Do Not Disturb arranges the visit around the temple’s ritual windows, with a private guide leading the way through the complex’s history and architecture. The day continues into the botanical gardens or the hills around Kandy, sitting within a wider Sri Lanka Highlands itinerary.

Start Planning Your Kandy Visit.