The Temple of the Tooth (Dalada Maligawa) houses Sri Lanka’s most important Buddhist relic, a tooth of the Buddha said to have been snatched from his funeral pyre in 543 BC.
The tooth was smuggled into Ceylon in the 4th century AD hidden in the hair of a princess. Over the years it was moved from place to place before ending up in Kandy, while assuming more importance.
The present temple was constructed mainly by the Kandyan kings. The octagonal tower in the moat was built by Sri Wickrama Rajasinha, the last king.
The temple also houses an important collection of ola leaf manuscripts.
During the annual Esala Perahera the tooth is carried through the streets of Kandy on the back of a bejewelled elephant.