Skip to Content

The British Garrison Cemetery in Kandy, Sri Lanka

This post may contain affiliate links.

The British Garrison Cemetery is a place of interest in Kandy Sri Lanka. It’s well worth visiting if you have time to explore Kandy on foot during your vacation in Sri Lanka. This post is about the cemetery, its location, history, and opening hours.

The British Garrison Cemetery, Kandy Sri Lanka.

Sorry it’s taken me so long to write this post.

I promised I’d write it because I wanted to share this place with you, it’s a “free thing to do in Kandy“, I already mentioned it briefy in that post, but I wanted to tell you a little more about the British Cemetery in Kandy.

It was a special experience visiting the cemetery, a glimpse into the past brought to life by a young guide. His name was Harsha, I wrote it down.

Kandy Sri Lanka British Cemetary

The Garrison Cemetery in Kandy

The British Garrison Cemetary is on the far side of Kandy Lake, past the Temple of the Tooth and a short walk up the hill.

The Garrison Cemetery Kandy, photos
The opening times foor the Garrisoon Cemetery, 8 am to 6 pm, admission was by donation at the time of our visit.

This simple plot of land is the final resting place of many men, women, and children from Colonial days. They died between 1822 and 1870. (This is when the cemetery closed, relatives of those already buried there were still admitted after that date.)

Life was hard back then, few of these Europeans had long lifespans or even made it to retirement.

British graves hostoric Kandy Sri Lanka
Names on the gravestones, Viner, Mathew, Wilson, Banner, I wonder if they have relatives alive today?

As we wandered around the tombs, reading inscriptions and checking dates, Harsha, previously busy sweeping, approached us and started telling us more about the cemetery.

Not only could he make out the words, many obscured by time, but he had memorised the inscriptions and dates of every one of the 195 headstones, tablets, obelisks and columns in the graveyard.

An impressive feat, and one worthy of a tip and a donation.

Famous British Garrison Cemetery Kandy Sri Lanka

Among the inscriptions, we found snapshots of life in those days. Young men killed by wild elephants and in horse-related accidents, women and children brought down by fever, a sad number of infants who never saw their first birthdays.

We took many photos of the cemetery and enjoyed our visit. If you have some free time in Kandy this garrison cemetery is well worth a visit, it’s easy to walk to and is located just past the Temple of the Tooth.

The cemetery is preserved by volunteers and maintenance costs are covered by the UK Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It’s not a big ticket attraction, but if you’re in Kandy it’s well worth a stroll around the lake to find this little piece of Sri Lanka’s colonial past.

If you'd like to hire a car during your stay, use this car rental comparison tool to find the best deal!

We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.

Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!

Buddhika Athukorala

Thursday 29th of April 2021

I admired British rulers works, they are neat and deciplined. You have done tremendous works to our country, thank you

Cara

Tuesday 20th of January 2015

Hi Alyson,

We just left Kandy this morning after 5 smashing days there. We went to the cemetery yesterday morning and about half way round, we were approached by Harsha. I told him I'd read about him on your blog and showed it to him on my phone, he was over the moon :-). I took a picture of him for you. Will email it to you now. We're just 2 weeks in to a 7 month round the world adventure. Your blog was a huge inspiration, thanks! Cara

alyson@worldtravelfamily

Tuesday 20th of January 2015

Oh that's wonderful, thanks!!!

Ryan Biddulph

Wednesday 14th of January 2015

Amazing that Harsha memorized all of that information! Quite stunning really. Being killed by wild elephants I garner is not a fun way to go. My girlfriend visited Kandy 2 years ago; I just chilled in Colombo during the same time. Loved Sri Lanka. Gritty, fun and a pretty spot.

Thanks so much for sharing the neat story and fascinating pictures with us!

Ryan

alyson@worldtravelfamily

Wednesday 14th of January 2015

Isn't it Ryan, he was really nice too, typical of Sri Lankans, gorgeous people. I have a photo here of him and his address to send it to, but of course, we don't have a printer, I really must send it.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please check and double-check all the information we give you locally as times, places, dates, and services do, as we found, change often. Restrictions and closures may apply.