Originally Posted by JohnAx
Well, I was momentarily excited by the all time greatest festival in the world, until I read this more detailed description.
http://www.lankalibrary.com/heritage/esala.htm
Somehow in all the comings and going of elephants and people the excitement failed to surface.
All the descriptions focus on all the religious symbolism, and one can get really bogged down. But to see it in person is to get caught up in a colorful, magical spectacle.
Here is a
travel agent's description.
What can I say, I like seeing
elephants all dressed up with twinkle lights on their cloths.
From the book
1000 Places to See Before You Die
The cultural stronghold of Kandy in Sri Lanka's lush hill country is well worth a visit any time of year, but visitors who arrive during Esala Perahera will experience one of Asia's greatest spectacles. (Then talks about the elephant who carries the replica of Buddha's tooth.) A bright white linen carpet is unfurled before him so that his feet do not touch the bare ground. He is preceeded by a slow-stopping parade of dozens of other elephants and a frenzied cast of thousands of Kandyan dancers and drummers.
You want to go the final night, as five temples combine their resources into one parade. During the day, it's great fun to go to the temple grounds where most of the elephants are quietly awaiting their role in the night's pageantry.
Also, go so Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage enroute. Be sure to be there when the elephants are taken to the river to bathe. You can get a comfortable seat in the restaurant by the river and sit sipping your cold drink or tea as you watch 50 or more elephants playing in the water. Magic.
On the day after the final perahera, you'll see elephants on the highway headed home. Some are walking; some are in trucks - that's also fascinating.
Kandy is a nice town, and you can get a very comfortable hotel room there. We liked
Mahaweli Reach, on the edge of town overlooking a river, will full facilities.
On the other hand, if you don't like elephants, Perahera is not for you.