Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic hosts Karthika on 24 November

The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy will host Karthika Festival on 24 November 2026, the final main festival listed for the year. The programme links a short perahera with oil lamps offered after nightfall.

The date falls within the current travel window for Sri Lanka and gives visitors a specific religious event connected directly with the temple. The official calendar identifies 24 November as Ill Poya Day.

Karthika Festival returns to Kandy on 24 November 2026

The temple operator lists Karthika Festival for Tuesday 24 November 2026 on its 2026 events calendar. The same calendar places the event among four principal annual festivals and identifies the venue as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

A regional events listing describes an evening perahera followed by oil lamps after nightfall. It also names the Diyawadana Nilame as organiser, while noting that the 2026 programme does not publish an hour-by-hour timetable. The official 2026 events calendar supplies the date, and the Karthika Festival details describe the programme.

Kandy temple festival sits within a UNESCO site

The festival takes place at a Buddhist pilgrimage site associated with the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha. The temple stands in the Sacred City of Kandy, whose royal and religious history gives the November observance a setting unlike a city-centre concert or commercial fair.

UNESCO says Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhala kings until British occupation in 1815. The World Heritage Centre also identifies the Temple of the Tooth Relic as part of the sacred city and a pilgrimage site. UNESCO inscribed the Sacred City of Kandy on the World Heritage List in 1988, a status that places the festival venue within a protected cultural context. The UNESCO site description confirms the connection between the temple and the wider heritage property.

The link between the date and the building is therefore direct: Karthika is not simply a city event in Kandy, but one of the temple calendar festivals held at the pilgrimage site itself.

Visiting Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Karthika Festival takes place at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy on 24 November 2026, with the listed programme centred on a perahera and oil lamps after nightfall.
• The 2026 calendar confirms the festival date and venue, but no detailed timetable is published, so the precise sequence and times should not be assumed.
• The temple is in Kandy, Sri Lanka, within the UNESCO-listed Sacred City of Kandy, which was inscribed in 1988.
• Visitors encounter a religious pilgrimage site rather than a commercial festival venue, and the event is connected with the Sacred Tooth Relic and Ill Poya Day.
• 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?

Karthika Festival takes place on 24 November 2026, which the official calendar identifies as Ill Poya Day.

What happens during Karthika Festival in Kandy?

The listed programme includes a perahera followed by oil lamps after nightfall. A detailed 2026 timetable has not been published.

Where is the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and how do you get there?

The temple is in Kandy, Sri Lanka, within the UNESCO-listed Sacred City of Kandy. The site is identified by UNESCO as a pilgrimage place associated with the sacred tooth relic.

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