sri lanka
ULPOTHA
Ulpotha has been called the "best yoga retreat in the world" by the Observer
Magazine and described as "the most beautiful spot in this whole complex
world that I am lucky enough to travel around" by the editor of Harpers &
Queen. Ulpotha is a traditional working village cradled on the one side by
low mountains and a lotus ringed lake, and on the other by emerald green
paddy fields. Ulpotha's focus, at present, is on the restoration of an ageless
agricultural way of life including bio-diverse organic farming and reforestation
of the land and its immediate surroundings. It is an oasis of tranquility in the
heart of Sri Lanka, a beautiful private hide-away open to guests for part of the
year; a place of total peace, where you can experience the warm, generous and
gentle hospitality which Sri Lankans love to offer. Some of the world's best yoga
instructors lead two-week retreats conducting yoga and meditation classes
morning and evening in the yoga shala or outdoors under the banyan tree.
The time in between is all yours: relax in a hammock or swim in the lake,
explore the surrounding villages on a bike ride, take a jungle walk up to the
temple, have a massage or Ayurvedic treatments and enjoy delicious organic
vegetarian Sri Lankan meals!
"The Ulpotha sanctuary has pushed the parameters of eco-tourism to its purest
extreme, creating a naturally regenerative environment where the conception
of time and space seems to be suspended in the flow of tradtional life, untainted
by the intrusive pressures of the twentieth century." National Geographic Traveller
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Amenities
- twice daily yoga classes
- ayurvedic clinic including traditional herbal steam bath
- massage therapy
- bikes for exploring the surrounding villages, dugouts for paddling in the lake, tree house, hammocks, lake hut or lake ambalama for seclusion or relaxation
- guided walks within Ulpotha and to the neighboring Temple and Free Village Clinic
- communal Ambalama for socialising and sharing meals
Price Guide
- US$1250 per person / per week includes accommodation in a shared hut, 3 tasty vegetarian meals per day plus snacks, all yoga and meditation classes, excursions and facilities, and one massage per week from visiting therapists
- specialised Ayurvedic programmes are available from one week to four week treatments at an additional cost
Accommodation Type
- at the centre of the village is the Walauwwa, the traditional manor house which has been carefully restored over the original floor plan. Built around a central stone courtyard with an ancient well, the outer walls are stained pale apricot with a dye made from soaking flower petals in water
- the adjoining communal ambalama where meals are shared, provides a covered sitting area with mats, cushions, and fine views towards the surrounding hills
- accommodation for a maximum of 19 guests is provided in the asanas, individual mud huts which are scattered around the sanctuary. The huts are built around a raised mud platform, open on three sides and covered with a pitched roof of cadjan, a thatch made from woven palm fronds
- meals are prepared in the murtange, the manor kitchen, cooked in clay pots over open fires
- all the produce is organic and grown within the sanctuary, the staple diet being based around a highly nutritious strain of red rice, supplemented by pulses, vegetables and a wide variety of fruits including banana, passion fruit, guava, bread fruit, wood apple, and papaya
Directions
- in the heart of Sri Lanka at the foot of the Galgiriyawa mountains - off the beaten track
- about 1 hours drive North from Kurunegala or 2 hours Northwest from Kandy, and 3 hours from the airport
- Ulpotha’s driver, Ajith, will pick you up from the airport or where ever you are on the island – best he takes you as it is so remote it’s not easy to find on your own
- Ulpotha is effectively a retreat and we discourage people from just popping in, so very few people in Sri Lanka know where it is!
Contact
Maria ChanmugamP: +61 (0)406 595033
E: maria@ulpotha.com
You will LOVE!
- the seclusion, peace and feeling at one with nature
- the delicious home grown organic meals cooked on open wood fires and shared in the ambalama
- the optional yoga classes, massage and ayurvedic treatments
- giving your body a break and a boost – and living a holistic approach to life and health according to the natural rhythms and ancient rituals of the land in way we have long forgotten in the West
You might NOT LIKE!
- Ulpotha is not intended to rank alongside conventional tourist destinations – it is not a hotel. Anyone who comes here comes as a guest of the village. The huts are functional and comfortable but simple and Spartan, using local materials throughout
- the swimming pool is not a blue tiled chlorinated basin but a freshwater lake fringed by flowering lilies with swimming below surging hills covered in giant boulders and thick vegetation. At the end of the rainy season when the lake is spilling over, the excess water creates a natural jacuzzi at one end of the bund
- by design there is no electricity, all the lighting being provided by candle flares and oil lamps. The luxury here is nature herself