Sri Lanka Kandy Esala Perahara

The Kandy Esala Perahera is a renowned Sri Lankan religious festival held annually in the hill-capital of Kandy, coinciding with July/August. The festival consists of five separate Peraheras, each with its own significance. The first Perahera is led by the Dalada Maligawa Perahera, while the second is dedicated to Natha, a deity of Kandy believed to be Buddha-in-waiting. The third Perahera is dedicated to Sri Lanka's Guardian Vishnu, a Hindu god representing the crossover betvween Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. The fourth and fifth Peraheras are dedicated to the shrines of war and victory Katharagama and the goddess of chastity Pattini. The festival attracts religious devotees and tourists to Kandy's narrow hill-streets. Heralded by thousands of Kandyan drummers, a host of majestic elephants, adorned in elaborately embroidered cloaks, are led by the
brilliantly caparisoned Maligawa Tusker. Decorated from trunk to toe, he carries a huge canopy that shelters, a replica of the cask containing the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Lord Buddha.❤🙏