Kandy Perahera Seats

The Kandy Esala Perahera fills the streets of Kandy for eleven nights each August, and the whole city turns out to watch it. A reserved seat is the difference between glimpsing the procession over a crowd and actually seeing it — the whip-crackers and flag bearers, the Kandyan dancers and drummers, and the caparisoned tuskers carrying the casket of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

What you are booking here is one seat, on one named vantage point, on one specific night. Choose the Perahera night first; the viewing locations available on that night then appear in the second dropdown, followed by how many seats you need. The map above shows exactly where each location sits and which route the procession takes that night.

Where you will be sitting

Every location is a private, ticket-only vantage point on the published route — a hotel gallery, an upper-floor balcony, a shop corridor or a walled car park — not a spot on the public pavement. They differ in how high you sit, how close the procession passes and whether food is included.

D.S. Senanayake Veediya — the classic frontage

The broad street the procession follows for much of its route, and the busiest stretch to watch from.

• Queens Hotel Viewing Gallery — the colonial hotel's raised gallery facing the street, the best-known reserved vantage point in Kandy.
• Queens Hotel Corridor — seating along the hotel's street-level corridor.
• Near by Queens Hotel — reserved seating on the same stretch just outside the hotel; the most affordable way to watch from this frontage.
• Java Coffee Lounge (20 D.S. Senanayake Veediya) — balcony seating sold row by row: 1F Balcony (1st Row), 1F Balcony (2nd Row) and 2F Balcony (1st Row). All three include a dinner or meal pack, coffee and water.
• Midland Deli (No. 5 D.S. Senanayake Veediya) — Ground Floor seating, which includes a dinner pack and water, or the 2F Balcony looking down on the procession.
• Pizza Hut Rooftop — open rooftop seating with two large pizzas and soft drinks included. Sold in groups: minimum four seats.

Colombo Street

• Radh Hotel Corridor (30 Colombo Street) — covered corridor seating at street level.
• Estate Supply Building (Ground Floor) (100 Colombo Street) — ground-floor seating directly on the route.

Sri Dalada Veediya

• Delight Building (No. 24 Sri Dalada Veediya) — three tiers in one building: Ground Floor at street level, 1F Balcony above it, and the 3F Private Balcony, a small enclosed balcony high over the street.

Yatinuwara Street

• Kandy City Hotel Corridor (37 Yatinuwara Street) — corridor seating along the hotel frontage.
• Methodist Church Car Park — seating in the church's walled car park, set back from the crowd.

E.L. Senanayake Veediya (Kotugodella)

• Casamara Hotel Car Porch (12 E.L. Senanayake Veediya) — covered seating in the hotel's car porch on the later stretch of the route.

Which nights

The festival builds through five Kumbal Peraheras (18–22 August 2026), five increasingly grand Randoli Peraheras (23–27 August), and closes with the Dahawal Perahera — the Day Procession — on 28 August. Not every location is sold every night, and the procession does not take the same route twice: the Kumbal and early Randoli nights concentrate on the streets around the Temple, while the Final Randoli and the Day Procession cover a longer circuit. Use the date tabs on the map to see each night's route, its start time and the locations offered on it.

2026 start times

Each Perahera steps off at an auspicious time set by the Sri Dalada Maligawa. The published 2026 schedule is:

Those are the times the procession starts, not the time to arrive. Be seated well before — the streets around the Temple close to traffic and the crowds build for hours beforehand — and note that the procession can take an hour or more to reach any given point on the route.

Good to know

• Your seat is reserved at the location you select; seat numbers within it are allocated by the venue.
• Your arrival time is confirmed with your booking. Auspicious times can be revised by the Maligawa at short notice.
• Where food is included it is noted on the option itself; everything else is seating only.
• Every guest is covered by a public liability insurance policy.
• Routes can be changed at short notice for security reasons. If that happens we seat you on the route announced by the Sri Dalada Maligawa.
• All sales are final — seats are paid in full at reservation and are not refundable.