Kandy, the last royal capital of the ancient kings of Sri Lanka, occupies a natural amphitheatre of misty green hills surrounding a glittering lake, and it remains the spiritual and cultural heart of the Sinhalese nation. The city’s supreme treasure is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which enshrines what is venerated as the tooth of the Lord Buddha, carried to the island in the 4th century AD and concealed within a princess’s hair. The ornately gilded temple draws pilgrims from across the Buddhist world and is one of Asia’s most significant sacred sites. Beyond the temple, the Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya, 147 acres of trees, orchid houses, and a bamboo avenue tall enough to form a cathedral, provide a leafy afternoon counterpoint. End the day with a Kandyan cultural show: acrobatic fire-walkers, rhythmic Kandyan drumming, and the elaborate costumes of the traditional Ves dance performed before a mesmerised audience.