How many days does the Perahera festival last?

The public street festival runs for 11 days, with ten back-to-back nights of growing processions, and it finishes with one final daytime parade.

Even though the crowd sees 11 days, the whole ritual window is closer to 15 days. It starts with the private Kap Situwima ceremony held inside the shrines, and then the schedule shifts. After that, you get the five nights of the Kumbal Perahera; next comes the five grand nights of the Randoli Perahera, and in the end, it closes with the Dahawal Perahera, meaning the Day Procession.