Stay Friday for Dahawal 2:18 PM or leave: less crush than Final, still worth staying Friday
Landed later than planned. Dahawal Perahera is listed 2:18 PM on Friday 28 Aug. Festival ends after that. Less crush than Final, still worth staying Friday. Sit tonight from a bad angle or save the legs for a later night.
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3 Answers from travellers
Do not treat 2:18 PM as a starter pistol. On Dahawal Perahera they were still lining up at the temple end twenty-plus minutes later last year and the year before. Bring water, a cheap poncho, and a meeting pin that is not in the crush. Dahawal is the day procession at 2:18 PM, not a night replay. Kinder for kids and elders, harsher sun. No Saturday Kandy restart after it. Shoes you can stand in, not the pretty pair.
We day-tripped from Peradeniya, tuk to the last drop, walked to DS Senanayake Veediya corner. Fine for Final Randoli. I would not do that for Final — the walk back with a sleeping toddler was the actual problem. Leave a margin for the walk back.
Drone: I would not. Even if nobody hands you a printed ban, flying over elephants and a relic casket is how you become the story. Phone from DS Senanayake Veediya corner is enough. Bags change the trade — dump them.
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