culture
Temple of the Sacred Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa): visitor guide
How to visit the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy — puja timings, what you'll see, dress code, and avoiding the tourist-experience pitfalls.
The most sacred site in Sri Lanka
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth — Sri Dalada Maligawa in Sinhala — is the spiritual centre of Sri Lanka and one of the most important Buddhist sites in the world. Inside, a golden casket contains the left canine tooth of the Buddha, brought to Sri Lanka from India in the 4th century CE. Whoever holds the relic holds legitimacy over the island: for 1,600 years, the tooth was the most politically consequential object in Sri Lankan history.
Today the temple receives thousands of pilgrims and visitors daily. The puja ceremonies — held three times a day — open the inner shrine and allow a glimpse of the casket room, accompanied by drumming and the scent of jasmine and incense. It is not always a peaceful experience; during peak puja at 6:30pm on a regular evening, the queues can be slow and the crowd dense. But the atmosphere — genuinely devotional, multi-generational, with white-clad Sri Lankan pilgrims making offerings — is unlike anything in Western religious tourism.
At a glance
| Where | North shore of Kandy Lake, central Kandy — see the Kandy destination guide |
| Cost | Around $10 USD entry for foreign visitors; shoe storage and camera fee are small extras |
| Time needed | 1–1.5 hours for the temple; add a half-day if you’re combining it with the lake walk and museums |
| Getting there | Walkable from central Kandy hotels (15–25 min); tuk-tuk from the railway station is a few minutes |
| Best time | The 9:30am puja for a manageable crowd, or 5:30am for the quietest, most devotional atmosphere |
| Avoid if possible | The 6:30pm puja on a poya (full moon) day, unless you specifically want the biggest crowd |
The relic and its history
The Buddha’s tooth was retrieved from his funeral pyre and enshrined in India. In 313 CE, as India’s Buddhist kingdoms began to fall, the tooth was smuggled to Sri Lanka by Princess Hemamali and her husband, concealed in the princess’s hair bun. This story is recorded in the Mahavamsa (Sri Lanka’s ancient chronicle) and is treated as historical by the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition.
The relic has been in Kandy since 1590, when the Kandyan Kingdom became the last independent Sinhalese royal state. Every ruler who controlled it used the tooth as a symbol of political legitimacy — which is why the British, after their 1815 conquest of the Kandyan Kingdom, very deliberately did not take it.
The current temple complex was built by Kandyan kings between the 17th and 18th centuries and has been modified and restored many times since. The “cloud-shaped” moat surrounding the temple, the carved stone walls, and the distinctive Kandyan roof style (characterised by upturned eaves) are all visible from the lakeside.
The puja ceremonies
Three puja ceremonies are held daily. This is the single most important practical piece of information for planning your visit:
Tevava puja: 5:30am — dawn ceremony. The quietest puja; attended primarily by serious devotees and pilgrims. The drumming is gentle, the light is golden through the temple windows.
Nanumura puja: 9:30am — morning ceremony. Moderate crowds. A good balance of atmosphere and manageability.
Deweva puja: 6:30pm — evening ceremony. The most popular for tourists and pilgrims combined. The drumming is loudest; the smell of incense is strongest; the queue to approach the inner shrine can be 30-45 minutes long.
During puja, the inner shrine doors open and the golden casket containing the tooth (actually a series of seven nested caskets; the innermost is only opened for special royal ceremonies) is briefly visible through the doorway. You will not see the tooth itself; you will see the outer casket displayed on an altar while monks conduct rituals and pilgrims queue past.
Whether this feels like “enough” depends on your expectations. Approach it as a living religious ceremony rather than a museum exhibit, and it’s extraordinary.
Which puja to choose, if you can only attend one:
| Puja | Time | Crowd | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tevava | 5:30am | Light | Photography, quiet devotion, early risers |
| Nanumura | 9:30am | Moderate | First-time visitors who want atmosphere without the crush |
| Deweva | 6:30pm | Heaviest | Travellers who want the fullest sensory experience and don’t mind queuing |
If your schedule allows only one visit, the 9:30am Nanumura puja is the most reliable balance for most travellers — enough drumming and ceremony to feel the occasion, without the 6:30pm queue.
Book a Kandy cultural tour including the Temple of the ToothPinnawala + Kandy Temple of Tooth day trip from Colombo
What to see in the temple complex
The Temple of the Tooth is part of a larger palace complex. The entry ticket (~$10 USD) covers the temple and connected buildings:
Outer courtyard: the maluwa (sacred terrace) with a large Bo tree and the two octagonal towers that flank the main entrance. The palace moat and the lake are visible from here.
Drummers’ courtyard: before each puja, traditional drumming begins here — the drums are played by hereditary castes whose families have performed this role for generations. The sound is deep and resonant.
Inner temple (ground and upper floor): two floors of the main temple house the casket shrine. The upper floor is where the golden casket is displayed during puja; the ground floor has additional shrines, murals of Jataka tales (stories of the Buddha’s previous lives), and the “Tooth Box” exhibition showing replica caskets.
Palace museum: adjoining the temple, the Kandy National Museum occupies the former royal palace and displays Kandyan-period regalia, weaponry, and daily objects.
World Buddhist Museum: a newer addition to the complex (ground floor level), with educational displays on Buddhism across Asia. Often overlooked; more interesting than it sounds.
Practical information
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | 6am – 11pm (temple); puja 5:30am, 9:30am, 6:30pm |
| Entry fee (foreigners) | ~$10 USD |
| Dress code | Long trousers/skirt, shoulders covered; sarongs available to borrow |
| Shoes | Remove before entering; storage at entrance (small fee) |
| Photography | Permitted in public areas; prohibited in innermost shrine during puja |
| Duration | 1-1.5 hours for the full complex |
| Crowd warning | Poya (full moon) days: significant Sri Lankan pilgrim crowds |
Security: since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings (which targeted churches and hotels, not Buddhist temples), security at the Temple of the Tooth is rigorous — bag check, metal detector, and the occasional police patrol. This is normal; the temple has been through much worse threats in its history (it was bombed in 1998 during the civil war).
Kandy: more than the temple
The Temple of the Tooth is the reason most people visit Kandy, but the city rewards an extra half-day:
Kandy Lake: the ornamental lake (built by the last Kandyan king in 1807) reflects the temple complex from the western shore. The lakeside walk is pleasant at any time; especially so at 5:30pm as the temple and palace buildings catch the evening light.
Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens (7 km from Kandy): one of the finest botanical gardens in Asia, with a famous avenue of palms, a bamboo grove, and a 350-year-old Java fig tree that covers an entire field. Half-day; entry ~$15 USD.
Ambuluwawa Tower: the spiral tower complex 15 km from Kandy — see our dedicated Ambuluwawa Tower guide.
Kandyan cultural show: traditional drumming, dancing, and fire-walking performances at three theatres nightly. See our Kandy cultural show guide for honest venue comparisons.
Kandy cultural full-day tour including all major templesGetting there and where to base yourself
Kandy is roughly 3 hours by road from Colombo (further with airport traffic) and about 2.5 hours by train from Colombo Fort — see the Sri Lanka train network overview if you’re arriving by rail rather than by car. Most travellers use Kandy as their gateway to the hill country, boarding the Kandy-Ella scenic train the following morning.
If you’re building a wider itinerary, the temple pairs naturally with either direction: north into the Cultural Triangle for Sigiriya and Dambulla, or south into the tea country. Our guide comparing Cultural Triangle vs hill country as a first stop is worth reading before you fix your route. For a fuller day around Kandy itself, the day trips from Kandy guide covers Peradeniya, Ambuluwawa, and the surrounding tea estates in more detail than we can here.
Because this is an active place of worship, a few points of etiquette matter beyond the basic dress code — covered in full in our temple etiquette guide: don’t point your feet at Buddha images or monks, don’t turn your back to the shrine for a photo, and keep voices low inside the inner temple even when it’s crowded. Visitors curious about the broader religious context will find our introduction to Buddhism in Sri Lanka useful background before or after the visit. The temple is also part of the Sacred City of Kandy, one of the country’s UNESCO World Heritage sites.
FAQ
Can you see the actual tooth?
No — the tooth (if it exists in the form tradition describes) is enclosed within seven nested golden caskets, the innermost of which has not been publicly opened in modern times. What you see during puja is the outermost casket, displayed on an altar with flowers and incense. The inner caskets are occasionally weighed (annually) and the weight is verified as unchanged — this is how authenticity is maintained in the tradition.
Do you have to pay to enter the temple?
Foreign visitors pay approximately $10 USD. Sri Lankan citizens enter free. There are no separate charges for the puja ceremonies; your ticket covers everything including the palace museum.
Is the temple respectful of non-Buddhist visitors?
Yes — the temple is open to all regardless of religion. The wardens are experienced with foreign visitors and will direct you through the visit. The main request is dress code and removing shoes, which applies equally to everyone.
What’s the Esala Perahera?
The Esala Perahera is the annual 10-night festival held at the Temple of the Tooth in July-August, during which the replica of the tooth relic is carried through Kandy’s streets in a procession of decorated elephants, fire-walkers, dancers, and drummers. It is the largest religious festival in Sri Lanka and one of the largest in Asia. See our dedicated Esala Perahera festival guide.
How do I get to the Temple of the Tooth from the train station?
The Kandy railway station is about 1.5 km from the temple, on the opposite side of the lake. Walk along the lake road (20-25 minutes), or take a tuk-tuk (LKR 200-300). The temple is on the north shore of Kandy Lake, clearly signposted.
Which puja should I attend if I only have time for one?
The 9:30am Nanumura puja is the most reliable choice for a single visit — moderate crowds with a full ceremony, drumming, and the shrine doors opening. The 5:30am puja is quieter but requires an early start; the 6:30pm puja has the strongest atmosphere but the longest queue.
Can a guided tour help me skip the queue?
No — the queue to approach the inner shrine during puja is the same for everyone, guided or not. What a guide or organised tour does help with is timing (arriving before the queue builds), ticket logistics, and context you’d otherwise miss, such as during a Kandy cultural full-day tour.