The Hill Country
Overview
Although the European colonisers arrived on the island in the year 1505, it was not until the year 1818 that the Kandyan Kingdom capitulated to an outside force. The British Rule brought the Singhala Kingdom in the South and Southwest, the Tamil Kingdom in the North and East, and the Kandyan Kingdom in the Central Region of the island, under one administration called Ceylon.
Due to its difficult terrain, the ancient Kingdom of Kandy was able to hold off the advancement of the earlier European colonisers. As a result, the city and the surrounding areas were able to preserve their unique customs, culture, and arts.
The Kandyan Sinhalese have a different dress sense and speak the language with a slightly different dialect to their cousins in the lower part of the island. The cooking style also differs slightly. Niranjala (our Peacock Tours co-founder) would come under the category of a “Kandyan Singhalese”.
Tea plantations cover almost the entire hill country like a thick green carpet, thanks to the “Indentured” (another form of slavery) Tamil labour force brought over from Tamil Nadu in South India to clear the rainforest to give way for tea. Even today the working and living conditions for the tea plantation workers are a lot to be desired. This Tamil labour force is not to be confused with the indigenous Tamils living on the island for millenniums, who are nevertheless their cousins.
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic, a tooth of the Buddha. It’s kept in a gold casket shaped like a dagoba (stupa). During puja (offerings or prayers), the heavily guarded room housing the tooth is open to devotees and tourists, but you don’t actually get to see the tooth.
As well as the revered main temple, the complex includes a series of smaller temples, shrines, and museums. In addition to freelance guides who are there for a small fee, there are free audio guides are available at the ticket office. The temple complex can get crowded as it receives many worshippers and tourists.
