Kataragama Perahera Festival

Kataragama Perahera Festival

Kataragama Perahera Festival
5
Write a review
What people are saying
Worth a Visit
Jun 2019
The Perahera festival is an interesting and colorful event. Pilgrims come from all over Sri Lanka to participate, and there are few foreign tourists. A temporary shopping bazaar pops up next to the temple, and people come to bathe and splash in the river. Mahouts can be seen scrubbing down their elephants. The big events are the processions that occur in some nights. They’re fascinating and colorful spectacles, with dancers, music and dressed up elephants. I’m not sure that the procession occurs every night, so check ahead of time. The procession lasts about 90 minutes and ends around 9:30pm. I stayed in Kataragama for 4 nights, which is too long. There’s not much to see here other than the festival and another temple, though you can take a safari to Yala or Bundala from Kataragama. The procession is essentially the same every night. I watched it 3 nights in a row (the last 3 nights of the festival), but one would have been enough. There’s a designated seating area for foreigners, which gives you a good view, and the organizers distribute water and snacks to the foreign tourists. Normally one of the festival staff will spot you and direct you to the right place. Very few foreigners attend this festival. The number sitting in the foreigners’ section ranged from 3 to about a dozen, depending on the night. Go get your pick of the best seats, try to arrive at the seating area by around 6:30pm. The principal entrance to and exit from the festival grounds is across a narrow bridge. If you dally after the procession, you’ll find a huge, hot, sweaty, smelly crowd backed up trying to squeeze onto the bridge. If you dash out as soon as the last elephant passes the foreigners’ seating area, your exit will be pretty smooth. The day after the festival there’s a “water cutting” ceremony that occurs very early in the morning (around 5:30am). The web sites describing the festival all mention the water cutting ceremony, but don’t tell you about the inconvenient hour. The hotel restaurants don’t serve alcohol during the festival.

Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.

5.0
34 reviews
Excellent
30
Very good
3
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
0

Matteo T
Genoa, Italy455 contributions
Jan 2018 • Friends
All religion are present wearing whites. It's not a tourist show. Most people arrive here by walking. It's like the compostela trail. Even during the war there was a cease fire to let pilgrams pass by unarmed.

If a God exist this is a proof that he/she would like all religious to live like this side by side... if it does not exist this is the way human kind should learn to coexist.
Written January 2, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dr. Dharshana Weerakoon
Gampaha, Sri Lanka511 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
Kataragama Perahera Festival is the best experience you can have in your life. We recently visited Kataragama.
Written November 21, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sajini J
Colombo, Sri Lanka16 contributions
Jul 2018 • Family
A must visit for everyone around the island, whether your a tourist or a local. The festivities take place every day from 13-28th July 2018 And is free of charge and open to all.

Ideal place to witness the cultural diversity and richness of Sri Lanka and the celebration of the union of the deity Murugan/Skanda (God of war) and his wife/consort local goddess Valli. This celebration includes a variety of displays including the flag hoisting on 13th July, firewalking ceremony on 24 July, final Maha Perehera on 27th July and Water Cutting ceremony on 28th July.

There’s free food for all devotees and attendees provided by dansalas at the kataragama dewala. All these celebrations begin daily from 6pm onwards.
Written July 3, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MikeJuliya
Colombo, Sri Lanka683 contributions
Aug 2020
Katharagama is very very important place to visit any month of the year, but specially in Peraehera.
Recommended to visit there and to get a historical, traditional and religious experiences.
Written February 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

InternationalAnnie
London, UK62 contributions
Dec 2017 • Family
Such a wonderful spectacular. Lots of amazing dancing and bands. Enhanced by beautiful elephants. I’m Definitely returning to see this amazing event another time with my family and friends.

Written December 13, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lizz69
De Kwakel, The Netherlands72 contributions
Jul 2018
This perahera is less known then the Kandyan one, but I think therefore nicer. It is mainly seen by the locals, no entrance fee.
Written June 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Silvana P
Gargnano, Italy17 contributions
Jan 2019
Kataragma is a very important religious location for its Festival, but also for the permanent existence of several sacred places of different religious rites. With the tuk tuk of Ravindra and his deep knowledge of places we visited them all effectively, partecipated to a significant evening puja ( worship) and even had a look at the second most important temple elephant in Sri Lanka, after Kandy.
We suggest to contact Ravindra at + 94 (0)770327228.
Written January 26, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

folker_lamote
Roeselare, Belgium237 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
The festival itself is a dazzling mix of music, dance, fire and pimped elephants. Impressive to see.
But al least equally amazing is to see how pilgrims are camping on the temple site, sleeping on the ground and bathing in the river.
Written August 19, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Louderthanbomb
Spring Lake, NJ81 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
Absolutely loved the experience! The lights, sounds, and people are great! A must see and don't miss while in Kataragama!

Please do some research and read up on Kataragama, it will make the festival that much more meaningful.
Written August 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

gloria z
Milan, Italy110 contributions
Jul 2016 • Couples
It has been one of the best experience in my life, very intensive and beautiful. Everything is surrounded by a magical, religious and spiritual atmosphere. The songs are lovely, the sound captures you; the evening performance lasts an hour and a half and it's captivating.
Hindu people are very nice, it was weird because in the afternoon we were the only Westerners in the park and people, especially kids, stared at us with curiosity.
We didn't plan to visit Kataragama, but we changed our schedule after talking with a guy we met at Adam's Peak . It was at the end the most interesting place we visited during our trip through Sri Lanka.
It is a little bit complicated to go there if you use public transport - which means bus - and also to go from Kataragama to Passekudah, but it worth it. From Kataragama it's also very easy to go to Yala (another entrance, not the one from Tissa) and avoid the terrible line I heard about.
There are also a lot of shops where you can buy gifts and souvenir - I bought some Shiva 's paintings, Ganesh's, trousers...

If you are looking for a niche city and for an intensive life experience, focused on a particular culture, Kataragama Perahera Festival is the place to go.
Written July 26, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 19
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Kataragama Perahera Festival - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Kataragama Perahera Festival Information

Excellent Reviews30
Very Good Reviews3
Kataragama Perahera Festival Photos61