Ulpotha
Embogama, Sri Lanka
Remote and enchanting eco village for yoga, ayurveda and digital detoxing
Ulpotha is a beautifully remote organic farm and eco village at the foot of the Galgiriyawa mountains in central Sri Lanka. It offers yoga holidays, with ayurveda treatments and programmes, and total relaxation in nature, for all levels. At its heart is a lake for bathing, while accommodation is in open adobe huts dotted among 22 acres of forest scattered with jungle flowers and teeming with monkeys, reptiles, birds and insects. This is a rare, true antidote to modern living.
our Reviewer Isabel Choat says:
‘There is no electricity so no phone or laptop to tempt you to check in online; and, with no electric lights, we soon get into the habit of waking at sunrise and going to bed as night falls’
Queen of Retreats says:
‘A mile from the nearest road and circled by mountains where monks still live in remote temples and caves, Ulpotha is a wonderful place for a total digital detox. This is all about the luxury of simplicity - sleeping in mud huts, eating locally grown food and immersing yourself in jungle beauty. Pack light, for storage is limited’
Experiences
Ulpotha recruits expert international yoga teachers to lead 14-night set-date retreats throughout their season, and there are two classes a day, with all levels of yogi welcome.
Book ad hoc ayurveda treatments, or undertake a full programme lasting from three days (for ‘Happiness’) right up to 28 days (for ‘Redemption’). You can come here just to do the ayurveda if you so choose. Many guests on the two-week yoga holiday do a 10-day ‘Salutation’ detoxification alongside their yoga sessions.
Between classes swim in the gorgeous lake, enjoy a sauna, steam room or herbal bath as part of your ayurveda treatment, relax with a book or go walking, climbing or bird watching in the nearby mountains.
Watching macaque and langur monkeys scramble from tree to tree becomes a daily delight. Chipmunks scamper around the outskirts of the main house. Choirs of frogs sing as you lie in bed. Buffalos roam the surrounding paddy fields. Sharp eyes will see lizards and the occasional snake.
If you want to explore further, there’s a weekly half-day excursion. Trips include an ancient rock fortress, the largest and best-preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka, the hilltop remains of a 13th century kingdom and a 40ft-high Buddha. There’s also a trip to the sleepy west coast beach, to go out in boats to see dolphins and whales.
Spaces
The silky-smooth, other-worldly tanque (lake) created more than 1,000 years ago is at the heart of the retreat, where you can swim among the water lilies, watch yellow butterflies dance and kingfishers and kites swoop from tree to tree.
Yoga usually takes place in the large and open yoga shala but sometimes you might trek to the hills for a sunset practice.
Ayurveda treatments take place in small thatched huts which include a shrine hut decorated with Buddhist iconography. There is also a sauna, steam room and herbal baths.
You’ll sleep in simple and stylish mud huts with roofs made of woven palm leaves. They’re slightly elevated from the ground but open to nature. All huts have twin beds, small built-in cupboards, and baskets for clothes, and colourful floor cushions.
You can also stay in a treehouse 40 ft above the ground and overlooking the lake, or in a remote hut on stilts in the lake, accessed by a rowing boat. Communal open-air showers are discreetly hidden by palm screens. Hot water is available at the ayurvedic centre.
Sustenance
Meals at Ulpotha are laid-back and sociable. Breakfast and snacks are served in the Kade Hut, while lunch and dinner are eaten in a beautiful Ambalama dining pavilion, where you can sprawl on giant cushions.
The organic food is fresh, sumptuous, lovingly prepared, and mainly vegan, although buffalo curd with treacle is served at lunch.
Breakfast includes local bananas, tasty Sri Lankan nibbles and soups, while lunches and suppers feature heritage red rice from the surrounding paddy fields with inventive salads and an array of lightly spiced Sri Lankan vegetable dishes.
Delicious local snacks and tambilis (king coconuts) are available, and drinks include fresh fruit juices (watermelon, tamarind and lime, wood apple, hibiscus flower) and ginger tea.
Ulpotha does not generally provide alcohol.
