KATARAGAMA PADA YATRA

Pada Yatra, the equivalent of Esala Perahera for the country's Hindu community, takes place at the same time. The Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devalaya Temple (Kataragama Temple) in the south of the island hosts Sri Lankan Tamil pilgrims who are completing a long march undertaken 52 days earlier from Jaffna in the north. The pilgrims, as well as the large crowd, come to admire the processions with its procession of elephants, dancers and musicians in a profusion of rhythms and colors. The festivities last two weeks.