Esala Perahera in Kandy what to expect and how to get a seat

The Esala Perahera (around July/August on the lunar calendar) is one of Asias great festivals, honouring the sacred tooth relic with ten nights of processions building from small to the spectacular Randoli Perahera finale: dozens of caparisoned elephants, fire dancers, whip-crackers, and Kandyan drummers winding through the city. Streets fill hours before the procession passes. Two ways to see it: (1) buy a RESERVED seat from a hotel, restaurant or roadside stand on the procession route, prices range from a few thousand rupees for a plastic chair to many times that for a balcony, book a few days ahead for the final nights. (2) Stand free on the pavement, arrive 3 to 4 hours early. Etiquette: dress modestly, do not turn your back to the tooth relic casket, do not use flash on the elephants, and applaud at the end, not during.