BEST OF SRI LANKA: With Kandy Perahera Festival

Post-tour extension: 3-Day Maldives Interlude

Sri Lanka made it on the New York Times list of “52 Places to go in 2016!”  This island nation certainly ranks amongst the world’s most beautiful countries, with exquisite monuments, stunning coastline, and quaint fishing villages.  Sri Lanka will captivate you with its 5th century rock fortress, green scrub jungles, idyllic tea estates, Dutch style port cities, eclectic boutique hotels, and the freshest seafood!  Sri Lanka’s has it all!  From tropical fauna to UNESCO World Heritage monuments!  View some of the Asia’s finest Buddhist art as you learn about the island’s history.

This tour offers the highlights of Sri Lanka, in addition to a very special visit in the fall to the Perahera Festival in Kandy.  The Kandy Perahera is the most stunning of Sri Lanka’s festivals, and one of Asia’s most colorful religious pageants, with a splendid procession of ornamented elephants!

Recent clients have commented that their time there was too short, and they would return in a heartbeat! Experience the tropical fauna, view UNESCO World Heritage monuments and see some of Asia’s finest Buddhist art. Learn about the island’s history and enjoy Sri Lankan hospitality while staying in luxurious ‘huts’ or tea plantation bungalows now a world-class resort with butler service and freshly brewed tea.

NAWAM PERAHERA FESTIVAL: Perahera means procession. Colorful pageantry showcases the spiritual roots and diverse artistic styles of the Kandiyan and Sabaragamu cultures with flag and torch bearers and hundreds of parading monks. Masked dancers show off true acrobatics in their traditional dances. By rising full moonlight the Gangarama Temple is the most attractive Buddist temple in Colombo. Considered a scholarly art and relic museum, the Nawam Perahera is the main tusker event in which the main relic casket is carried in a grand finale of dozens of illuminated caparisoned elephants.

KANDY PERAHERA FESTIVAL: This festival is two processions celebrated together. The first is a call to the Gods for good favor and the blessing of rain. The second is a celebration of the Relic of the Tooth; the revered canine tooth of the Buddha retrieved from his funeral pyre in Kushinagar, India and brought to Sri Lanka, and ultimately to Kandy in the 4th century. Common belief at the time was that whoever possessed the tooth relic had a divine right to rule the land. This festival has run annually since the 5th century. The pageantry of flag bearers, public and religious officials on illuminated caparisoned elephants, with dancers – some on stilts and spinning fire, horns, drummers, and lance bearers bring reverence to the grand occasion when the canopied, illuminated multi tusker retinue arrive mid parade with the golden casket carrying the Relic of the Tooth. This annual event brings Buddhist pilgrims from far and wide as well as the locals, and visitors alike to view this grand spectacle.

Destinations

Sri Lanka:  Colombo * Sigiriya * Kandy * Central Highlands * Yala * Galle

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