Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic hosts Karthika on 24 November
Published on 10/24/2026 at 17:52 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂĽller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSFestival and heritage setting
- The temple calendar places Karthika Festival at the shrine on 24 November 2026.
- Karthika Festival is one of the four principal festivals listed by the temple authorities.
- The Sacred City of Kandy joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988.
- King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha added the octagonal Pattirippuwa between 1798 and 1815.
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy is listed to host Karthika Festival on 24 November 2026. The date falls within the next visit window for travellers planning a cultural trip to Sri Lanka.
The temple’s official calendar names the festival as one of its four principal annual celebrations. The entry gives 24 November 2026 as Ill Poya Day, placing the event on a specific date rather than leaving visitors with only a seasonal reference.
Karthika Festival is listed for 24 November 2026
The official 2026 events calendar identifies Karthika Festival at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. It does not publish a detailed timetable, named performers or a separate admission arrangement for the day.
The festival is also described on the temple’s four-festival page as a November celebration involving a procession followed by oil lamps offered to the Sacred Tooth Relic after nightfall. That description gives the date a clear religious context while leaving the exact 2026 programme to the custodian’s announcements.
The Kandy shrine links royal history with Karthika
The temple stands in the former royal precinct beside Kandy Lake. The Central Cultural Fund records that the complex houses the Sacred Tooth Relic and forms part of the Sacred City of Kandy, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988.
The connection between the festival and the building’s history is unusually direct: the annual calendar is still organised around a relic that shaped the location of Sri Lanka’s royal capitals. The relic reached Kandy in 1595, while the present complex developed during the Kandyan Kingdom between 1592 and 1815.
King Vimaladharmasuriya I first established a two-storey shrine for the relic within the palace complex. Later rulers expanded the site, and King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha added the octagonal Pattirippuwa between 1798 and 1815. The pavilion remains one of the complex’s most recognisable architectural elements.
Why the November date matters for a Kandy visit
Karthika offers a different setting from the much larger Esala Perahera, which the official calendar places in August. The November listing is therefore relevant to visitors travelling outside the better-known procession season, although the 2026 entry does not promise the scale or schedule of that earlier festival.
The shrine remains a working place of Buddhist worship rather than a monument detached from religious life. The Central Cultural Fund describes daily Thewawa ceremonies and identifies hereditary custodians and temple officials as part of the continuing ritual tradition.
Visiting Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Karthika Festival takes place on 24 November 2026 at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy. The official listing names Ill Poya Day but provides no detailed timetable.
- The published festival description links the occasion to a procession and oil lamps offered to the Sacred Tooth Relic after nightfall. Any additional access instruction should be checked with the temple before travelling.
- The complex is in central Kandy beside Kandy Lake and within the former royal palace grounds. The shrine, the palace area and the lake form part of the Sacred City of Kandy.
- Visitors enter a living Buddhist place of worship. The heritage authority asks for respectful behaviour and clothing that covers the shoulders and knees, and shoes are removed inside the temple.
- Sinhala and Tamil are Sri Lanka’s official languages, and the national currency is the Sri Lankan rupee.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
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Frequently asked questions about Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
When does Karthika Festival take place at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic?
The temple calendar lists Karthika Festival for 24 November 2026, which is Ill Poya Day.
What is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic?
It is a Buddhist shrine in Kandy that houses the Sacred Tooth Relic and forms part of the Sacred City of Kandy, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1988.
Where is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and how do you get there?
The complex is in central Kandy beside Kandy Lake and within the former royal palace grounds. Local taxis, tuk-tuks and walking routes in central Kandy provide access to the temple area.
