The Esala Perahera as tradition and ceremony


Nights with streets full of devotees, pilgrims and tourists, fire-dancers, acrobats, drummers, beautifully adorned sacred elephants, choirs, music and a lot of mysticism. The Esala Perahera, or procession of the month of Esala, is the most colorful and biggest festival at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Kindy, Sri Lanka. The Esala Perahera, even though it is a perfect example of the harmonious blending of Buddhism and Hinduism, has its roots in the oldest Buddhist traditions of Sri Lanka, in fact, according to those same traditions the Temple and the festival take their name and origin in honor of the left canine tooth that was recovered by the Ascetic Arahat Khema, one of the two chief female disciples of Buddha, from Buddha’s funeral pyre after he was cremated in 543 before Christ. The tooth was then given to King Brahmadatta of Dantapura in the third century before Christ.

Since that moment the relic became a royal possession and was kept in the city of the modern Odisha in India. The Tooth Relic ended up in Sri Lanka after Princess Hemamala hid the tooth in the coils of her hair and, companied by Prince Dantha, took it to its ruler, the King Kirthi Sri Meghavarna, to protect it from the war that was being waged against King Guhaseeva. Ever since the Tooth Relic has been kept and guarded in Sri Lanka, it has been venerated with many ritual ceremonies.


The Esala Perahera, which is listed as UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the world's most renowned religious processions and one of the main reasons for visiting Sri Lanka. 

 It is held during ten days of July or August to honor the first teaching given by Buddha after he became the “enlighted one.” In order that you can witness this stunning, spiritual and cultural experience, make sure to get your Kandy Esala Perahera tickets with Lakpura LLC, the tour operator in Sri Lanka with 8 years of experience on how to get the most out of your trip to the magical island.

During each night of the festival, Lakpura offers you tickets from $63 to have the opportunity to watch thousands of years of tradition, religion and culture parade, celebrate and honor its roots. Don’t miss this magical experience! Be part of the thousands of people that journey to Kindy just to live this Buddhist festival and make sure to reserve your Kandy Esala seats!

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