If you can, try and attend the Kandy Perhara in August, this annual festival since the 15th century is one of the most colorful events in the Sri Lankan calendar.
For two weeks the city is steeped in traditional rituals, torch bearers, whip crackers, elephants lit up like temples and sihala music. A nightlong ceremony held to honor the God Kohomba has great attraction for a visitor with men and women dressed in silver belts, beaded breastplates, jangling anklets dancing to the beat of drummers. The festival culminates in a procession to the Tooth relic.
Another important festival, the Duruthu Perhara, held in Colombo in January marks Buddha's visit.
The National Day is celebrated with parades, dances and national games.
The Sri Lankan New Year in March/April sees elephant races, coconut games and pillow fights(!!)
Vesak in May, is a sacred full-moon festival commemorating the birth, death and enlightenment of Buddha.
The Hindu Vel festival (July/August) in Colombo, where the ceremonial chariot of Skanda, the God of War, is hauled between two temples; and the predominantly Hindu Kataragama festival (July/August) in Kataragama, where devotees put themselves through the whole gamut of ritual masochism.
The museums in Lanka are not really the greatest. They might be worth seeing but maybe not worth going to see. Lack of funds might be the reason with admission charges being rather cheap!
From the varied assortment of maritime museums in Galle, dutch period museums, the Ratnapura museum detailing the process of gem-mining, a museum dedicated to the life of past prime minister Bandaranaike, etc, worth dropping into are the National museums in Colombo, Kandy and the archeological museum in Anuradhapura.
The Colombo museum houses artefacts from all over the island and its culturalheritage. There is Puppetry and Children's section as well as a library with 5 lac books and ancient palm leaf manuscripts.
The Kandy museum building itself is of archeological significance. The collection within is from the Kandyan period.
Also of interest is the Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Art Museum, which is built around the author's former residence and includes an extensive exhibition of all things folk that is very well interpreted.
Picture Courtesy: www.flickr.com
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