Kandyan Dance & Fire Walking
Ves dancers, a wall of drums and a fire-walking finale — the living tradition behind the Esala Perahera.
Kandyan dance is not a folk revival staged for visitors; it is a court tradition with a continuous lineage, and the same dancers and drummers you watch in the evening are the ones who perform in the Esala Perahera procession each July.
An hour-long performance moves through the main forms — the Ves dance with its distinctive silver headdress, the pantheru with hand drums, masked Kolam characters and a section of pure geta bera drumming that is worth the ticket on its own. It ends outside in the courtyard with fire-eating and a fire-walking finale across a bed of coals. Shows run nightly in Kandy at around 5pm and are an easy add-on to a day in the city.
What’s included
- Ves dancers in traditional silver headdress
- Geta bera drumming at full volume
- Masked Kolam and pantheru sequences
- Fire-eating and fire-walking finale
- Nightly performances, roughly one hour
- The same troupes that dance in the Esala Perahera
Add Kandyan Dance & Fire Walking to your trip
Tell us roughly when you are in the country and we will check availability, arrange the transport to get you there and fold it into the rest of your itinerary.
- A reply within 24 hoursUsually the same working day.
- Fits around your plansWe work it into the days you already have.
- Nothing to pay nowNo card details to check availability.
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