Good For You

Ulpotha is a luxury yoga retreat with a twist. You'll find no designer yoga bags or Stella McCartney-inspired yoga wear here. Instead, what you'll discover is that comfort can be found in the most basic of settings.

That's not to say the location isn't stunning. Ulpotha has been a pilgrimage site for thousands of years and today remains an oasis of tranquillity in the heart of Sri Lanka. Nestled between low-lying mountains and emerald green paddy fields, Ulpotha is both a working village and holistic retreat.

Accommodation is in mud-brick homes in the jungle without electricity or hot running water and showers come in the form of a waterfall. In the grounds stand a tree house, a lotus ringed lake complete with island and hut, and a number of beautiful yoga spaces.

The emphasis here is on restoration; visitors can revive their weary minds and bodies and locals are being taught how to re-establish an ageless agricultural way of life.

It's certainly not for everyone, but those who do stay here absolutely love it.

Good For Sri Lanka

Ulpotha is the creation of three idealists; the late Sri Lankan visionary Tennekoon; a Sri Lankan-born investment banker, Viren Perera, and Giles Scott, a British former property developer, who "came to Sri Lanka to rediscover my soul".

The original vision was to create an organic community where Tennekoon could experiment with traditional agriculture and Perera and Scott could visit for a weekend retreat. It wasn't long, however, before word got out and friends began asking if they could stay.

Now open part of the year to paying guests, Ulpotha still functions as working farm with an emphasis on bio-diverse organic agriculture, where residents mingle freely with visitors.

All revenues from holidaying guests are spent supporting the local community and Ulpotha also operates and supplies a free Ayurvedic clinic treating over 100 local villagers a week.

Rooms

Food

Features & Facilities

• Yoga & Pilates
• Lake for swimming
• Ayurvedic treatments
• Massage

Local Info & Activities

The emphasis here is very much on wellbeing and the main activities on offer are yoga and ayurvedic treatments. But if you're not a yoga fanatic then there are ample opportunities for guided walks in the surrounding woodlands and hills or you can head out into the village or swim in the lotus-ringed lake.

Guests can also get involved in dispensing traditional medicines to villagers as part of Ulpotha's free ayurveda treatment program.

Yoga

Many of the UK's most respected yoga teachers come to Ulpotha. As the teachers usually change every fortnight several types of yoga - usually Hatha, Sivananda, Iyengar and Astanga - are available at different times in the season. Every morning there's a yoga class in a large, open-sided building with a palm leaf roof, or in the cool dappled shade of a banyan tree. Classes continue throughout the day so you can chose which ones you'd like to attend. Some teachers teach one class a day, others two and some run separate classes for yoga students of different standards. Many also guide early morning walks in the beautifully wooded surrounding hills.

As Ulpotha attracts some world-class yoga instructors some guests go mainly for the yoga classes. But it isn't primarily a yoga centre, there's no pressure to attend classes and life doesn't hinge on classes of any kind. So you won't feel an outsider if yoga isn't for you. This is a place to unwind, be gentle with yourself, live close to nature and simply be, rather than a place to exercise and strive.

Ayurveda

At Ulpotha you will find treatments are based on the ancient Vedic wisdom found in local village medicine. Ayurveda is a traditional form of Sri Lankan medicine, which uses steam baths and oil treatments infused with herbs to soothe, calm and heal. The region around Ulpotha is the oldest continually inhabited area of Sri Lanka, and it retains much of the ancient healing wisdom of the sages. The special herbs used for the traditional steam bath, or infused into warm oil treatments, which mesmerise, sooth and calm, have been valued in this area for thousands of years.

All the yoga, massage and native village treatments are included in the cost of your holiday. Full Ayurvedic packages ranging from one week to four week treatments are also available at an additional cost subject to a free consultation with our Ayurvedic doctor.

Massage

The western massage treatments range from Thai or deep tissue massage, or aromatherapy, to Shiatsu. They are done by fully qualified massage therapists from Europe and massage styles change from month to month, as Ulpotha uses different massage experts each month. All the massage therapies and treatments in Ulpotha are free and each guest is guaranteed at least 2 massages during their two-week stay and sometimes more depending on how full the group is. Please note though that if you are undergoing an Ayurveda programme the doctor may advise you not to have any Western massage therapies that may interfere with your treatment.

INSIDER TIPS

What to Bring

You really don't need to bring much with you to Ulpotha. Unless you plan on travelling elsewhere then there's no need to bring smart clothes with you. Ulpotha gives each guest a sarong upon arrival and people tend to live in these. Women will need something to cover their arms when visiting temples and it's worth bringing good walking shoes for exploring the surrounding scenery.

Some essentials are: a good torch (flashlight), a spare bulb and plenty of batteries, at least one bath towel, sunscreen, bathing costume and insect repellent, binoculars if you like to watch birds, and appropriate medication. There are also some good books at Ulpotha to borrow if you want to travel light.

When to Go

Ulpotha only takes guests for 8 weeks in June-July and for another 14 weeks from November to March. The weather varies little and groups are timed to coincide with the end of the rainy season. More of the owners' friends come at Christmas - so it's very lively, and there may be more children. That could make it less restful than usual, but it's very popular, so you need to book Christmas early.

It's recommended that guests stay for two weeks (bookings run Sunday to Sunday).

Who Goes

The clientele is around 80 per cent female, mostly in their 30s and 40s and travelling solo.

Recommended Injections

Recommended injections are Tetanus and Polio boosters, Hepatitis A and Typhoid. Ulpotha is not a known malarial zone so unless you plan on travelling elsewhere where malaria is prevalent then Malaria tablets are not absolutely necessary. It's best talking to your doctor before travelling.

Sustainability

There is no electricity or hot running water at Ulpotha, making it very Green in terms of carbon emissions.

Ulpotha is the creation of three idealists; the late Sri Lankan visionary Tennekoon; a Sri Lankan-born investment banker, Viren Perera, and Giles Scott, a British former property developer, who "came to Sri Lanka to rediscover my soul".

The original vision was to create an organic community where Tennekoon could experiment with traditional agriculture and Perera and Scott could visit for a weekend retreat. It wasn't long, however, before word got out and friends began asking if they could stay.

The focus at Ulpotha has been on restoration - through practise - of a traditional agricultural lifestyle, bio-diverse organic farming and reforestation. The long term goal is to promote these values throughout the watershed Ulpotha is at the head of, while continuing to practise an unhurried lifestyle.

Opening Ulpotha to visitors has allowed visitors to share in this unique place while creating a means of generating some of the financial resources needed to sustain the community.

Farming

The first thing that was done when Ulpotha was re-inhabited was to address the aridity of the land that had resulted from the years Ulpotha had been reduced to a mono-culture coconut plantation prior to its abandonment. This was done through the management of planting patterns as well as the building of ponds and bunds, all which were designed to increase the soil's water retention capacity and protect its fertility.

A wide variety of fast growing timber and fruit trees were planted to provide shade as well as to generate future income. Similarly, a wide range of vegetables were planted along with now rare varieties of high nutrient rice. Before the introduction of fertiliser-dependant hybrids, there were over four hundred different varieties of rice grown in the country, each with different nutrient values and characteristics. Now only a handful of rice strains are commonly grown - all of which are hybrids.

Crops at Ulpotha are protected from bugs and pests using traditional and biological methods. These start with the choosing of auspicious times for planting and the making and keeping of ritual vows to the spirits of the land. Biological means, such as the use of powdered neem seeds, dried makra leaves, crushed coconut shavings, sap from the jak fruit, cactus milk, branches of the kaduru tree, bamboo leaves and riverbed sand, are all employed when required and appropriate to deal with any infestations.

Ploughing and threshing are carried out using buffalo, as the use of tractors is avoided. The latter tend to break through the crust in paddy fields that retain water, resulting in the need for far greater amounts of irrigation. They also tend to dig up the soil too deeply, bringing less fertile soil to the surface to the detriment of the crops. Buffalo, on the other hand, do not cause these difficulties and do not produce air and noise pollution, while they do produce useful fertiliser and nourishing milk.

Water

Within Ulpotha, water retention has been an overriding and successfully achieved objective. Immediately outside Ulpotha the founders embarked - at the request of the neighbouring village farmers - on a four-phase project to rehabilitate the system of tanks serving Ulpotha and the surrounding villages. These tanks, as man-made lakes are called locally (from the Portuguese word tanque) store and carry waters from the catchment area in the foothills of the Galgiriyawa mountain range above Ulpotha to the watershed below.

The arrangement of tanks at Ulpotha is typical in that it comprises a mountain tank, a forest tank, an erosion and silt control tank and a main storage tank. The mountain tank has no irrigation channels running from it and is used to provide water for chena (jungle, or slash and burn) cultivation. The purpose of the forest tank is to provide water to wild animals - in the observance of the traditional principle that man should share nature's bounty with all living creatures. The erosion and silt control tank is, as its name suggests, used to control erosion and capture silt before it enters the main storage tank. It was designed in a manner that facilitated easy cleaning. The main storage tank is the tank whose waters are used for the irrigation of crops and from which irrigation channels run.

Before embarking on the recent repair work it was agreed that the founders of Ulpotha would fund the rehabilitation work, while the villagers dependent on the tanks' waters would provide the labour required. In the first phase, carried out in April 1997, the erosion and silt control tank was rebuilt. In the second phase, completed in November 1998, the weir was modified and reconstructed. In the third and final phase, which was completed in October 1999, the main bund of the storage tank was strengthened, the tank was de-silted and the bund separating the forest and main storage tank was restored. In addition to the rehabilitation work above, the overall capacity of the tank was increased in 2004 when, together with an Australian aid funded project and the villagers of the area, we widened and raised the main bund and dam.

Getting There

Ulpotha is located in the heart of Sri Lanka by a lakeside at the foot of the Galgiriyawa mountains. It is roughly one hour's drive north from Kurunagala or two hours drive north-west from Kandy.

Colombo airport is the nearest airport for Ulpotha. Designated group flights (flights that coincide with the beginning and end of each fortnightly yoga session) tend to fly from the UK. Transfers to Ulpotha are included for visitors on these flights. The journey takes about three hours.

If you are not on this flight, or arrange to be collected from the airport at this time, transfers will be arranged separately through Ulpotha. The cost is about £35 which is paid directly to the driver in Rupees (6000Rs).

Visit our Transport section for flights, hybrid car rentals and train bookings.

Rates & Bookings

Prices are in Pounds Sterling (£) and are per person per week on a full board, twin sharing basis for singles and double-bedded basis for couples, and inclusive of excursions, yoga, massage and any other local treatments apart from the specialised Ayurvedic treatments.

• UK£650.00 p/per p/week
• Single room supplement £250.00 p/per p/week

Christmas/New Year period £800 per person per week

Rates are inclusive of airport transfers (for designated group arrival/departure times - see Getting There).

Christmas/New Year period £800 per person per week

Rates do not include flights and supplementary Ayurveda programmes.

Accommodation is on a twin-shared basis. There are a limited number of double-bedded huts for couples which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ulpotha does not accept responsibility or liability for cancellations, delays, changes or losses caused by acts of God, war, threat of war, closure of airports, civil strife, natural disasters, accidents or any other events beyond or within our control; guests' injuries, illnesses, medical or psychiatric conditions developed during or subsequent to the holiday; loss of/or damage to personal property of guests.

Children are welcome and can stay at Ulpotha for free if they share a bed with an adult.

Children that require a separate bed will be charged at full price, regardless of their age.

booking & cancellation policy

A 30% deposit is required to confirm the reservation.

Full payment of the balance due must be made 8 weeks before departure. Failure to do so may result the cancellation of the booking.

Cancellations: if a replacement booking is secured for a late cancellation by the person making the cancellation all monies paid will be returned, save the deposit (equal to 30% of the cost of the holiday), regardless of when the cancellation is made. However, if a replacement is not found, the following charges will be applied.

*Up to 56 days before departure, loss of deposit

* 55 - 28 days before departure, 60% of total price

* 27 days or less before departure, 100% of total price

Want to avoid cancellation fees? Visit our Insurance section for information on travel insurance.