Kandy - මහනුවර is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the central province. it was known as the last capital of the ancient king's era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau. which crosses an area of filled with tropical plantations.

 

One of the most notable places, when you hear Kandy, is the Temple of the tooth also known as Sri Dalada Maligawa. Which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. The relic has played an important role in local politics from the ancient time, it has been known whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the county. Due to the wonderful architecture and immeasurable respect, this complex is fully filled with tourists and locals all the time.

 

Another reason to visit Kandy is the weather. Since Kandy is surrounded by hills, the weather is soothing compared to Colombo. This is where the important role of ginger tea start playing. Most of the locals are used to drink ginger tea with rottie. Surprisingly it gives you amazing joy and most of all its delicious.  

 

There are some local drinks just like ginger tea when you are on the way to Kandy. Such as Belimal tea, Ranawara tea, kothamalli tea and if you are lucky you will find some drink called Iramusu which has an amazing sweetness.

 

Things to do in Kandy

Visit tea factory

Sri Lanka is #4 in the world for tea production and luckily Kandy is home to some incredible tea fields and factories, so I strongly suggest to visit at least one of the factories. I personally suggest you visit Embilmeegama Tea Factory which was founded in 1940. I took a tour around the factory and get to know how the machines work and the whole process of tea creation.

Walk the lake

Since I'm more of a person who likes to take panoramas, I had a walk near to the Kandy Lake which was built in the year 1807 located in the center of the town. 

Street food

Kandy is filled with street food vendors and I suggest you try everything you can. Hot dogs to deserts they have everything!! Which is better than most of the commercially successful companies. And especially I want you to try "Isso wade” and "sarara bullathvita" as the locals here pronounce. 

 

Kandy to Digana

From Kandy to Digana there will be around 17km, the road will be narrow and far from the city, but still, the view is amazing. 

Based on the experience I had the town is very small compared to Kandy. I suggest you buy your needs from Kandy town if you are planning on staying in Digana.

 

Places to stay in Digana

 

Comparing to Kandy, Digana is less crowded. So it will be a bit hard to find someplace to stay. But I manage to find an amazing place for me which is near the Victoria Reservoir. I’ll start to describe the destination with a simple WOW! 

 

 

 

The villa is called Bamboo Villa. Which can accommodate around 10 people. And lately, I found there were dozens of villas just like this located around the Victoria golf club. I don't think I will be able to describe exactly the feeling that I felt when I was in there, but I'll try: D.  

Imagine you’re self-surrounded with hills and you are in the middle and you are isolated from the civilization which gives you a glimpse of freedom from every responsibility. 

If you are someone who enjoys nature and silence, I suggest you spend at least two days in Digana. 

 

Food

During my stay, I enjoyed meals that were provided by the caretakers in the villa. For breakfast, I received a Sri Lankan meal which was milk rice with lunumiris and jar of fresh fruit juice, for lunch, the caretakers asked me what I wanted. Since I'm so, Sri Lankan, I wanted to eat rice & curry: D. Everything was perfect I had nothing to say other than thanking the caretakers. For Dinner, I asked for some bites since I wanted to have a little bit of poison if you know what I mean. By enjoying the view of the fields I managed to have a wonderful meal and an amazing time. 

 

Other than relaxing your mind, body, and spirit you will be able to play some golf as well in soothing weather. Highly recommend you visit the Victoria golf club and have look around the fields.

 

Interesting facts about Bamboo villa

Since Bamboo villa had an amazing view and the architecture was bit different than most of the villas I visited, I was curious about the architect you design this villa. By making some calls and some research I found it was built by Geoffrey Bawa. A Sri Lankan architect and one of the most influential Asian architects of his generation. He is the principal force behind what is today known globally as "tropical modernism". Plus he was the one who designed the Sri Lankan Parliament.