Kandy Esala Perahera - The Greatest Pageant of Asia

Kandy Esala Perahera – Since 300 AD in Sri Lanka, this culturally significant festival has been celebrated on the full moon day in the Buddhist month of Esala. This occasion is equally popular among Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka where the festival is connected to invoking the gods to bless the farmers with rain to cultivate their crops, good health and fertility. Kandy Esala Perahera is one of the grandest festivals in Asia with colorful and multifaceted processions that feature traditional dancers, drummers, fire jugglers, whip crackers, torch bearers and its grandest and most notable guests - hundreds of elegantly decorated jumbo elephants. These magnificent elephants have always played a prominent role in Sri Lankan culture symbolizing abundance and fertility. To top it off, a dedicated handsomely decorated tusker elephant has the honor of parading the streets of Kandy leading the Perahara with a golden casket on his back containing the sacred tooth remains of Buddha that was brought to Sri Lanka after its salvation. The Diyawada na Nileme (the caretaker of the of the Temple of the Tooth) dessed in traditional Kandyan splendor walks behind the tusker. The modern Perahera dates back to the last King of Sri Lanka, Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747 to 1781) who paraded the sacred tooth of the Buddha so the common masses could venerate since the relic was considered the private property of the King. In 2012, the Kandy Perahera starts on the 19^th of July and ends with the Randoli Perahera (the grandest pageantry) on the 1^st of August followed by the water cutting ceremony and the day-time Perahara on the 2^nd of August. The Kandy Esala Perahera is a must see; contact www.newxplorer.com to book your journey to witness this amazing Kandy Esala Perahera.