Kandy Lake

Across Kandy Lake is seen Ulpange, and Temple of the Tooth.
A stroll around Kandy Lake could be a very absorbing activity that probably can be done under one hour. A nature's remedy to heal oneself with Earthy, Watery and Airy elements to sooth one's inner self. One can see the Kandyan Architecture being used in the Decorative Wall created by the Architect of the project, Master craftsman Mulachariya Devendra.The last King of Sri Lanka, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe commanded in getting this lake constructed between years 1807 and 1812

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Kandy Lake built over 200 years in a valley surrounded by hills has added the city of Kandy a picaresque sight anyone gets attracted to. The lake and the nearby trees entice birds to frequent the environment, and bird watchers have recorded roughly a hundred different species of birds as a result.

Major Davie, an English Army officer who was imprisoned by the King in 1803, is credited with helping the King decide to dam up the lake's northern and western edges in order to turn the "Tigol Vela" paddy field into a lake.

Kandy lake was constructed by the last king of Sri Lanka, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe is over 200 years old. Construction period of the Lake dates back to 1810-1812 though project preparation and stonework material arrangement could have started on an earlier date (around 1907) . The water retaining sections of Dams had been created with stone blocks that would have required being prepared prior to actual construction of the Lake. Imprisoned British Army Officer Major Davie is credited with foreseeing the opportunity to have an artificial lake created here

The ornate wall constructed on the edge of a section of the lake's perimeter that runs from Ulpange (Queens' Bathing Pavilion) to Bisokotuwa (Water Spill area) of the Kandy Lake had been completed only partially by the time the Kandyan Kingdom was taken over by the British . In 1817, it had been constructed up to present Queens Hotel main entrance according to the landscape painting of Lt.William Lyttleton. The decorative wall is often wrongly identified as 'Walakulu Bamma'(Cloud Drift Wall) but the correct name of it is ' Diyareli Bamma' (Water Swell Wall). Professor Anuradha Seneviratna (1938-2009), a prominent Sri Lankan researcher and expert on Kandyan history, archaeology, and architecture, quotes this in his much praised book titled "Kandy" ( Central Cultural Fund – 1983 ). “The ornamental wall round the lake was designed to resemble a wave- swell and is therefore called Diyareli bemma as opposed to the Walakulu bemma or cloud-drift found in the Dalada Maligawa parapets.”

The continuous walking path built right up to the lake's edge is one of Kandy Lake's most distinctive features. The 2.72-kilometer-long path around the lake's perimeter runs parallel to the path for roughly one-third of that distance, and the major Talatuoya-Kandy road runs the remaining distance. There are lounging areas (tiled concrete chairs) along the walk where one may unwind while watching the soft ripples in the water caused by the breeze and many other natural wonders one is fortunate to see at leisure in the middle of a bustling city environment.

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The distance from the Joy Boat House to the east end of the lake is one Kilometer when sailing by boat. The 19 hectares or 47 acres of surface water make up the entire Lake. The trail that circles the lake's edge for the entire length is 2.7 kilometers long.The elevation of the lake is 1700 feet above MSL.

In order to prevent human activity from endangering the species in that habitat, Kandy Lake and the surrounding area are considered a protected ecosystem. Many visitors to the lake feed the plentiful shoals of fish with the rice pop corn that the merchants sell. Few varieties of duck had recently moved in, adding some glitz to the lake's surroundings. Nearly a hundred different varieties of birds have been spotted by bird watchers due to the lake and the surrounding trees' ability to draw avians to the area. The following bird species are among the most obvious to spot along Lake Round Path.

Kandy Lake

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