The Kandyan Kingdom is the last independent state in Sri Lanka. Kandy was originally known as Senkadagala pura after a hermit named Senkada who lived there. Sinhalese people call it “Mahanuwara” meaning the "Great City”. But the name Kandy was derived from the Word Kanda, which means mountain. Due to its geographical location Kandy was not an easy target for the foreign invaders who gained control of coastal areas of the island.

In 1592 Kandy became the capital city of the last remaining independent kingdoms in the island after the coastal regions had been conquered by the Portuguese. Several invasions by the Portuguese and the Dutch (16th, 17th and 18th centuries) and later by the British (most notably in 1803) were repelled.

Kandyan culture was able to foster and maintain its own social structure, mode of living, Art & Architecture. The kings of Kandy ensured the safety and sovereignty of the hill capital and it’s great culture until the British finally captured the city in 1815. The last king of the Kingdom, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was captured and taken as a royal prisoner by the British to Vellore Fort in southern India along with all claimants to the throne.

As the capital, Kandy became home to the tooth relic of the Buddha which symbolizes a 4th-century tradition that is linked to the Sinhalese monarchy, since the protector of the relic is the ruler of the land. Thus the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Tooth were placed in close proximity to each other.  It was last of a series of temples built in the places where the relic, the actual palladium of the Sinhalese monarchy, was brought following the various relocations of the capital city.

Often called the hill capital, Kandy is famous in the world map for the Kandy Esala Perehara .A cultural pageant held every year. The 10 days of Perehara which usually falls in August ends on the Full moon Poya day in the same month.

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