The Annual Esala Maha Festival of Kadudevola commences each year in accordance with Kandy tradition, with the ceremonial planting of the sacred Kap (Kap Situweema). This ritual marks the formal beginning of the festival and signifies divine permission and auspiciousness.

Following this, a sequence of traditional processions takes place, including Flower Processions, Kumbal Peraheras, and the Pavada Pita Perahera. Over a period of three days, the festival continues with the Gonpita Perahera, along with the Evening, Night, and Late-Night Street Processions, featuring elephants, traditional dancers, drummers, and ceremonial performers who bring the streets to life in reverence and celebration.

The grand ceremonial highlight of the festival is the Diya Kapeema (water-cutting ceremony), conducted in accordance with sacred custom at the Bulathgampatha boundary of the Kelani River. This ritual symbolises purification, renewal, and divine protection, and holds profound spiritual significance within the Esala Perahera tradition.

The Kadudevola Esala Maha Festival concludes with a series of important religious ceremonies, including the Annual Gammadu Devolmadu Ceremony, the Fire-Walking Ceremony, and the Garayak Shanthikarma (a ritual of appeasement and blessing). These concluding rites mark the completion of the festival and reaffirm the spiritual bond between the Devalaya, the devotees, and the divine.

The Esala Perahera not only represents deep religious devotion but also stands as a living cultural heritage event, uniting devotees, villagers, and visitors in collective reverence, tradition, and celebration.