Where to stay in Kandy

The compact heart of Kandy wraps around the lake the last king built in 1807, with the golden-roofed Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic on its northern shore and the railway station a short walk west. Staying here puts the temple, the markets, the museums and the evening cultural shows on foot, and the trains to the hill country at hand, though the central streets are congested and noisy, and lake-view rooms come at a premium.

The forested slopes rising south and east of the lake, around Rajapihilla Mawatha and the roads towards the Bahirawakanda Buddha, are dotted with guesthouses and boutique hotels enjoying sweeping views over the town, the temple and the hills beyond. Cooler, greener and much quieter than the centre, they are ideal for a restful, scenic stay, at the cost of a steep walk or a short tuk-tuk ride down to the temple and restaurants.

The leafy suburb five or six kilometres west of the centre, home to the vast Royal Botanical Gardens, the university and the Mahaweli river as it loops around the town. A calmer, greener and often better-value base with roomier guesthouses and garden hotels, well placed for the botanical gardens and the road out towards the hill country, though you rely on tuk-tuks, buses or a hire car to reach the temple and the centre.

The residential hills climbing south-east of the lake, where quiet lanes wind past homes, small tea plots and viewpoints towards guesthouses and villas with a genuinely local feel. Peaceful and scenic, with good-value rooms and cooler air, it suits those after calm and a slower pace over convenience, the trade-off being a ten-to-fifteen-minute tuk-tuk ride down to the temple, the trains and the restaurants of the centre.