Kandy tops world’s calmest city list

Kandy has emerged as the world’s calmest city getaway for holidaymakers seeking to escape crowds, bright lights and urban overstimulation, topping an index covering 972 cities worldwide.

Colombo was ranked 64th, placing it among the calmest seven percent of cities surveyed and ahead of popular regional destinations such as Phuket and Bali, according to research by cabin-stay company Tiny Away.

The company’s Overstimulation Index assessed cities against nine environmental factors — population density, night-time brightness, PM2.5 air pollution, green space, urban heat, built-up land, humidity, summer heat and winter cold.

The first four factors carried the greatest weight, while the three climate-related measures accounted for only nine percent of the overall score.

Kandy recorded a score of just 0.1, placing it at the calmest extreme of the index, while Colombo scored 6.6.

The hill capital recorded the highest vegetation cover among all 972 cities, at about 73 percent. Its night-time brightness was the eighth lowest in the study and less than one-fifth that of Colombo.

Only about 11.5 percent of the areas where Kandy residents live were classified as built-up — roughly one-third of the corresponding figure for Tokyo.

Kandy also stood out for its unusual urban temperature pattern. Between June and August, the city centre was 1.5°C cooler at night than the surrounding rural area.

This contrasts with the urban heat island effect recorded in Colombo, where the city centre was 0.8°C warmer than its surroundings, and Tokyo, where the difference was 2.6°C.

Tiny Away attributed Kandy’s exceptionally low overstimulation score mainly to its extensive vegetation, limited built-up land and relatively low levels of night-time light.

The company, however, cautioned that the satellite-derived vegetation data should be interpreted as a relative measure rather than a precise assessment of ground conditions.

Kandy, a UNESCO World Heritage city and a major stop on Sri Lanka’s cultural tourism circuit, therefore emerged as the standout destination for travellers seeking a quieter urban getaway.