What to do and see in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka: The Best Events

Reviewed By 1LifeStand - Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Esala Perarhera runs for about 2 weeks in July/ Aug, and is one of the oldest and grandest of all Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka featuring dancers, jugglers, musicians, fire-breathers, and lavishly decorated elephants. ‘Perahera’ means a parade of musicians, dancers, singers, acrobats and various other performers accompanied by a large number of Tuskers and Elephants. The Esala Perahera is believed to be a fusion of two separate but interconnected "Peraheras" (Processions) – The Esala and Dalada. The Esala Perahera, which is thought to date back to the 3rd century BC, was a ritual enacted to request the gods for rainfall. The Dalada Perahera is believed to have begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka from India during the 4th century CE, eight hundred years after the passing away of Lord Buddha. The current Sacred Casket Bearering Tusker is "Nadungamuwa Raja" is an Indian tusker born c. 1953 in Mysore and is considered as the tallest tusker in Asia. Raja is one of the two elephant calves gifted by a Mysore Maharaja to the veteran native physician monk resided in Nilammahara Temple Piliyandala in appreciation of curing his relative's illness. It is best to read up about this procession before you watch it, so that you can appreciate it. We were there for the final Randoli Perehera on 26th of Aug 2018. We stayed at the Royal Bar and Hotel. I had already asked the manager of the hotel to book the seats (Rs. 4000 each for locals and Rs. 5000 for foreigners) for us, and we had to walk 2 min down the road to the small shop where our seats were set up. Most spectators who do not pay anything, take their place as early at 6AM on that day, and by 6PM it is quite hard to make your way through the crowd to get to your seats. And there is no getting out once seated! So, prepare to wait for 7hrs at the seat you are at. The Perahera commenced from the temple of the tooth at 8pm and it came to the area we were at by 9.30pm. The who parade was over by 12.30pm. Do not jeer at the elephants nor use flash lights when photographing. The night before one elephant had trampled an ember ad run amuck, and needed tranquilizer darts to sober him down. The parade was stopped in 2hrs as a result. Therefore IF one can get a seat on a 1st floor of a building it is the safest thing to do.