Yep, that’s a snake. Picture: Jenny Hewett
OVER the past few years, yoga holidays have become synonymous with luxury. Fluffy throne-like beds, temperature-controlled rooms and infinity pools are part and parcel.
But Ulpotha, an eco-retreat in the heart of Sri Lanka, is not for the faint-hearted nor the perpetually pampered.
It’s 8am on a Monday morning and the mighty jungle has woken. Obliviously, monkeys shake the trees overhead with an arrogance that only animals and adolescents can get away with. Meanwhile, below them, in pursuit of a concept that’s entirely human, we’re deeply entrenched in the mindfulness of sun salutation. Well, we were.
An unnerving thud on the yoga shala floor has suddenly rid all composure from our instructor, James. There’s a collective gasp. A snake and a gecko are entwined in battle only inches from our feet, narrowly missing the heads of the front row yogis as they wrestled gallantly from the thatched roof above.
Into the wild. Picture: Jenny Hewett
“Call a villager”, somebody shouts, eager for a local hero to intervene, as the gecko makes a break for safety. The small snake slithers frantically towards a stack of yoga mats, before one of my fellow retreaters assists it over a wall. Conflict resolved.
It’s daily encounters like these that are signature of what makes this sprawling 4.8ha wellness retreat unique. Located three-and-a-half hours drive from Colombo, at the foot of the Galgiriwiya Mountains, it doesn’t get more remote than this.
Arriving for the retreat. Picture: Jenny Hewett
Huge spiders surprise you from dark spaces, tiny frogs slosh around in the toilet, snakes slither up trees and across paths and monkeys make bolshie attempts to snatch food from the lunch spread.
Bicycles are available to explore the vast surrounds, but we’re advised not to stay out past 5pm due to roaming elephant herds. No biggie.
Indeed, what may seem like a nightmare for some is another’s idea of paradise. If you like to get down and dirty with nature, Ulpotha is the place to do it.
You’re right in the middle of nature, all right. Picture: Jenny Hewett
Almost totally off the grid and free of modern comforts, including electricity, air conditioning, plastic, hot water or internet (warn your family first), the philosophy here is one of almost total self-sustainability. Every little detail offers a natural approach to living, with all meals cooked over an open fire pit from produce grown organically on the premises.
The kitchen. Picture: Jenny Hewett
Each evening as darkness descends, the flutter of a traditional flute trickles through the grounds, our cue that dinner is coming. Driven by ferocious appetites, we swarm to the main house fresh from evening yoga to feast on a healthy buffet of salad, curries, coconut sambal, pappadums, wild rice and fresh fruit, eaten on clay plates.
There’s a holistic emphasis on everything here from the alternative therapies to the meals, which are created with aqurveda’s balancing principles in mind.
Monkeying around. Picture: Jenny Hewett
The in-house ayurvedic specialist, Dr Srilal, invites each guest for a free consultation, but treatments are extra and numbers often outweigh availability, so book early. Aqurveda packages range from five days to 28 days and start from around $400, with proceeds funding an outside aqurveda clinic providing free medical care to locals.
Forget pampering as you know it, this is real back to basics stuff. One moment, I’m inhaling herbal oil through my nose, the next I’m covered in turmeric paste, lying in a steam basket as fire flickers below my feet.
A time for reflection. Picture: Jenny Hewett
If you’re idea of luxury is camping, Ulpotha is palatial. Bathrooms are shared and have modern toilets, which mostly flush. The open-air mud-huts are equipped with personal safes, kerosene lanterns and baskets to store your clothes.
Little more than a mattress and mosquito net sit between you and where the wild things are. Each morning, I awake to a verdurous scene splayed out before me, a field of piercing grass softly swaying in the sun.
Yep, you’re in the jungle all right. Picture: Jenny Hewett
That’s close enough for me, but for the more intrepid, there are two novelty stays you can brave during the retreat. Balancing on stilts out in the water, the lake house is accessible only by rowboat, and it’s up to you to get there.
The accommodation. Picture: Jenny Hewett
There’s also a tiny tree house perched roughly three or four stories off the ground, with access via a steep ladder. Taking into account how dark it gets and the somewhat perilous access to both, they’re more ideal for couples rather than solo travellers.
The tree house. Picture: Jenny Hewett
If you ever do need assistance, whether that be with a creepy-crawly or night-time navigational issues, there’s always someone around. The bevy of local villagers who live and work here are the single most crucial part in the Ulpotha puzzle. Each tends to a different aspect of the retreat, whether it be chasing away monkeys, lighting the lanterns or cutting open coconuts for morning refreshments.
Having spent much of my life in climates that require year-round AC, being too hot is one of my greatest first-world fears. But with a private lake to swim in during the day and temperatures dropping over night, the only thing that manages to irk me is a snoring neighbour (ear plugs are essential).
Meditation time. Picture: Jenny Hewett
From cold showers under the canopy of the jungle to hikes up to Monkey Rock for group meditation, Ulpotha can be life-changing. But the squeamish need not apply.
It’s an adventure. Picture: Jenny Hewett
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