8 January

This morning we visited Sri Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan kings and is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple.
Apparently the tooth was removed after Buddha had been cremated and apparently there are three more teeth somewhere in the world (I just can't stop being ironic as it's difficult to believe that somebody's tooth can be of such importance, ok, it was Buddha, but aren't we all the same?).
It was a good experience to visit the temple although you can't see the tooth itself so I felt disappointed. The entrance fee is 1,500 rupees. And all this control before you get there, there are guards at the gates that check if you have appropriate clothes on and you have to leave your shoes in a storage. There are also local saree sellers outside ready to pounce on tourists that have been refused entry.
In the afternoon we went to a town called Peragenija. The town itself is not nice but it's famous for the botanical garden. In the pictures: in the Temple of the Tooth.