Kandy Esala Perahera festival begins in Sri Lanka

The annual Kandy Esala Perahera, a major religious and cultural festival in Sri Lanka, is scheduled to take place from August 18 to 28. The historic procession pays homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, which is enshrined at the Sri Dalada Maligawa.

To manage the large influx of devotees and tourists, police have implemented extensive security and traffic arrangements in Kandy. The festival includes a series of elephant processions, beginning with the Kumbal Perahera. Authorities have established checkpoints, roadblocks, and vehicle inspections, while designating specific routes for heavy and light vehicles to mitigate congestion in the city center.

The festival holds deep cultural significance, serving as a ritual enactment of Buddhist history and the renunciation of Prince Siddhartha.