Kandy is Sri Lanka's last royal capital and the cultural heart of the island, set in the central highlands around a beautiful artificial lake. The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) houses Buddhism's most venerated object — a tooth of the Buddha — and its nightly puja ceremony draws thousands of devotees. The city is also the starting point for visits to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, and numerous ancient temples in the surrounding hills.