Fantastic journey through time to a completely different world. If you deal with the subject a bit and read more than half a sentence, you also know that the elephants are not “poor animals from the orphanage”. On the contrary, these are superstars in their country whose names are already known to young children. These proud animals are the center of the procession, like to show what they can do and are adored by everyone. Rarely experienced anything more impressive. We have a chair for 7,000 rupees. Definitely worth the money!

Impressive to look at , however , we found it far too long and too much of the same . It would be nice to watch 1.5 hours, but once you are there there is no way out and you are therefore obliged to complete 3.5 hours. For our children of 1.5 and 4, that was very long (and for us 🤣). In addition, they try to sell your seating tickets in advance that are really far too expensive. We eventually bought them on foot because you have to be inside before 5 “ and the parade only starts around 7:30. With the children we found 2.5 u in the giant crowd and heat wandering around not pleasant. We now got half the tickets ( 45 dollars per seat). I think it is best to book a hotel for a night in this street where you can see the parade from the balcony, for example. We also found the use of the elephants very distressing , legs tied to chains , fully decorated and ridden . This shouldn't be possible anymore

Fantastic spectacle! We were visiting with 2 small children and felt watching from the road impractical. We walked the final bit of the route at about 5pm. It’s very busy at the start but much better at the end. The sears at the queens hotel were extortionate (80000 for 4 people). I’d recommend nipping in to any restaurants near the end of the route, we managed to find a lovely restaurant and paid 30000 for 2 adults/2 children. Had a meal inside whilst waiting for the parade to start, and importantly toilet access! The parade came past about 9pm and we watched from the balcony. The parade is a real spectacle but long…..lasted about 3 hours! Once in a lifetime experience.

It had been a life long ambition to see this but I have very mixed feelings mainly because of the treatment of the elephants having read a number of articles where the welfare of the elephants is very concerning .They are chained up most of the times , have shackles to their feet and when not used for religious occasions have no freedom to roam . Yes they looked beautiful adorned in jewels but at what cost ? I do respect the religious symbolism but for me personally I just can’t reconcile the fact that these experiences must be so stressful for them . I also saw them before hand at Kandy temple during the day where it felt like a circus spectacle with people wanting photos taken with them . To add , the procession lasted 4 hours , with a 3 hour wait before hand as you have to be seated hours in advance so be warned!!

This is one of the most important religious festivals in Sri Lanka and being present in Kandy on the last night of the parade we were lucky enough to be able to attend. We see the best dancers, the best musicians, the best artists from all over the country handpicked. It is a parade that lasts several hours but it is worth attending once in a lifetime and seeing the fervor of the Buddhists. Certainly the sacred elephants of the temples are present: some do not look like angels, but the animal condition is increasingly taken into consideration in this country and caregivers arrive immediately in case of unease of an elephant: we witnessed this: an elephant who felt bad was taken out of the parade by the very caring and attentive veterinarians. It is certain that walking like this for hours must wear them out and stress them out. The parade is beautiful