We left Passikudah this morning and travelled back along the road to Habarana and Sigiriya before heading south towards Kandy. We were lucky enough to see a wild male peacock displaying his magnificent tail to three or four hens nearby.
As we neared Kandy we began to come through areas advertising spice gardens and stopped at one near Matale. We were shown the various spices that grow in Sri Lanka, some on trees, some on vines and some that's rooting are used like ginger and turmeric. The spice gardens make many different oils using the spices. These are used for various ailments. While at the gardens we were given an arm and leg massage with some oil, it was quite pleasant.
As we neared Kandy the traffic thickened and even though it was only 2pm we were often stationary. Our hotel, The Richmond House was on a steep, narrow, winding road. It is perched on top of a hill overlooking Kandy and has lovely views.
After a few hours to settle in we went back into Kandy to see a cultural dance program. It included lots of drumming and acrobatics as well as colourful costumes. It even included some fire walkers at the end.
We walked from there to the Tooth Temple - a Buddhist temple where one of Buddha's teeth is housed inside a chamber. Every August they have a festival where they take it out so that people are able to see it. The temple is on the edge of a lake.
We had dinner at the Muslim Hotel, a recommendation, before returning to our hotel. The food was delicious and really cheap.