Eco-Friendly Luxury in Sri Lanka

View of Kandy in Sri Lanka

When traveling to new places, it’s always a bit of a gamble to find accommodations that are amazing, yet reasonably priced – unless you are planning to stay in a chain hotel. I’m a bit of an adventurer, but I admit there are a couple of chain resorts that I love including the Four Seasons, The W Hotel, Anantara and a few other luxury lines. And while, I love these resorts, in truth I can’t always afford them (actually I rarely can afford them and can only justify staying if I can find a deal).

Then there are times when a boutique hotel is too tempting to resist, none of my standby places are located in the area I wanted to stay, or in the case of Sri Lanka, the country is just too interesting to risk being watered-down by a chain hotel. You want to stay in a place that is owned by someone who lives there.

So then the research begins. For me, it starts with Expedia just to get an idea on prices in the area and from there the search extends to AirBnB.com, Dwellable.com and homeaway.com. I then do extensive google searches to see what other bloggers recommend and what articles have been written about the area.

View of the grounds at the Bougainvillea - best eco-friendly resort in Sri Lanka (in my opinion)

I also have a folder on my computer full of links to cool places and bucket list ideas. It was in this folder that I had saved the information on the BV-retreat.com, aka Bougainvillea Retreat. (url http://www.bv-retreat.com)

The infinity pool at the Bougainvillea Retreat in Sri Lanka

This little gem of a place was written up in the CNN travel section on the best eco-friendly resorts in Sri Lanka. It’s located 30 minutes out of Kandy and is the last villa on one of the roads leading outside the city. It’s tranquil, gorgeous and exceeded all my expectations.

Relaxing poolside sofas at the resort.

Pi, the woman running the boutique resort is doing it on behalf of a friend and was so helpful. The only thing I knew about Sri Lanka when I booked the trip was Adam’s Peak was something I wanted to do and I knew from the blog posts I had read, that it was located somewhere around Kandy. What I didn’t know was that the airport is not located by Kandy. The airport is in Colombo and because the roads are so winding and busy, it’s a 3 to 4-hour drive from Colombo to Kandy. 

At first I thought, no problem, I’ll just rent a car, but Pi warned me that the roads aren’t really well marked, signage is an issue and people drive like crazy around the tight curves. Instead she offered the BV-Retreat’s driver for $70 a day. He would even meet us at the airport and drive us to the hotel so we wouldn’t have to worry about being stranded in a new country.

This turned out to be the best deal ever as the roads are a little crazy there.  I doubt I would have ever found the hotel from the airport. Plus, the driver took us to places we didn't know existed like the elephant orphanage, an herb farm and little temples in villages, etc.  He also did the talking for us as not everyone spoke English.

The living room with the view of the pool at the resort

The Bougainvillea has only 8 rooms and when my girlfriend and I arrived, we were the only people there – and had the house to ourselves. I also got it on a “stay two nights get the third night free” deal and this included a custom made gourmet breakfast. Not bad for $150 a night!

Our little table that they set for us each day.

Each day they would set up our little table for two. They only made enough food for the guests (us) and it wasn't like a restaurant where you could order. They gave a couple of choices in the morning and then would have it ready for us in time for dinner.  They always had a western and Sri Lankan option. I highly recommend trying the Sri Lankan option. Their food was so incredible and you won't find anything like it back home.

Another view of the pool

Also, you have to try their tea.  Sri Lanka is famous for their tea.  You'll see the fields all over the mountains. They brew it with real leaves (not bags) and they like it strong with milk.  I just like it strong so for me it was perfect. 

By the way, if you are thinking of retiring someplace, the owner told me this house with its infinity pool and amazing view was only $40,000. My only regret was not having more time just to sit and do nothing.  This place was so wonderful, you didn't want to leave.

Hiking Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka

Adam's Peak on a clear day -- not the day we went (Photo from Wiki)

My main reason for coming to Sri Lanka had nothing to do with elephants (they were an unexpected perk). My main reason was Adam’s Peak.

Me at the start of the 5,200 stairs wearing my $4 rain jacket (bonus!)

What? You’ve never heard of it? Well, me neither…until I did a Google search on “what to do in Sri Lanka.” And there is was. Adam’s Peak. This majestic mountain is full of history and was there waiting for me to climb.

 I mentioned it to my friend Christine in Houston and she was instantly up for the challenge. What’s amazing about Christine is that even though she nearly died from exhaustion on the crazy Grand Canyon hike I took her on, but she was totally into pushing her body to the limits again.

Usually these stairs would be packed with pilgrims - but not during rainy season.

But this time her sore muscles would be for a good cause. It would be for the myth…or myths that go along with the mountain.

Reclining Buddha -- what we wanted to do after climbing to the peak.

You see, Adam’s Peak has all these stories attached to it. The Buddhists believe the rock formation near the top of the mountain is the footprint of Buddha, in Hindu tradition it’s the footprint of Shiva and in Islamic and Christian tradition, it’s Adam’s footprint that’s way up there.

Well, we were going to leave our footprints up there too and do the pilgrimage to the top.

Entrance to Adam's Peak

The pilgrimage season is December until May with an average of 20,000 people climbing the 5,200 steps to the top each weekend. They usually start their climb at 2:30 am and end at the top just as the sun is rising at 6:30 am. The view is supposedly spectacular.

Only during the rainy season will you see these waterfalls. 

We were going in October, which is not pilgrimage season. The reason there are no pilgrims is that October is in the rainy season. In fact, we almost didn’t get to climb it as the rain had caused a landslide a few days earlier and part of the trail was closed.

 Thankfully, they were able to clear the area and reopen the trail the day of our planned hike.

Getting closer.

Climbing Adam’s Peak during the rainy season is interesting. First of all, it’s rainy (duh) – which also means it’s misty and cold. The stairs are also a little slippery.

Secondly, you will be the only crazy people hiking it in the rain. Instead of the thousands of pilgrims that hike it in the dry season, we saw maybe six other people in the four hours it took us to get to the top. Yes, that's right. We had the mountain to ourselves!

The only vendor that was open. 

One other thing you won’t find is vendors. Normally, there are little shopkeepers selling lights, food and beverages to keep you going along the way. There was only one open when we went – and we were so happy to see him. Really, really happy!

The Buddha near the top of the mountain

Finally, you may not see anything when you get to the top. Rain means clouds – and when you climb over 5000 steps up a mountain, you are pretty much in the clouds.

The temple at the top. As you can tell, I was way up in the clouds and could see nothing.

But it’s totally worth it. The scenery is beautiful on the way up and it is a challenging climb. And if you go with a good friend like I did, it makes for lasting memories and laughs about how hard it was and how sore you felt the day after.

On a clear day, you would see for miles, but I was in thick mist and drizzle…so this is what I saw at the top. Then it was time to climb the 5,200 steps back down.

It’s an adventure that's good for the body and the soul.



QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK ME ABOUT ADAM’S PEAK

1) How much does it cost?  
Climbing the mountain is free.  You can do it on your own, but we went with a guide, who was a friend of the person who owned the resort we stayed at (BV-Resort.com).  We were thankful as it was hard to find the entrance as we weren't familiar with area.  He also was the one who scouted the trail the day before to make sure the landslide had been cleared away.

2) Do you need to be in shape?
No, but it does help as it is 5,200 steps up and then 5,200 steps down.  However, it's a pilgrimage site so people of all ages do the climb.  Our guide says he's seen sons carrying their mother up the stairs so that she could complete it before she died.  It will take longer if you are out of shape and you may be sore the next day.

I trained for it as I like to be prepared and so did my girlfriend.  Our driver decided to join us last minute for the fun of it, but he looked really sore the next day.  Our guide was like a little mountain goat and bounded up the stairs -- wearing flip flops!!

Visit to the Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was a spontaneous trip. Basically, our plane was stopping there so my friend Christine and I  thought we should check it out. So glad we did as it’s an incredible country that was different from all the others I had been to so far.

Tourism is still relatively new in Sri Lanka so you have this unique mix of graciousness and wanting you to have a good time coupled with some uncomfortable hospitality as things aren’t quite what you are used to. Plus, some of the “attractions” are more makeshift than commercialized.

I sort of like it this way. You feel like it’s good people wanting to show you their country in a good way. You just have to be open to some of the randomness that will undoubtedly happen along the way, and if you are lucky, you will get to try some of the best curry ever  (It's not like Indian curry as they use different spices.  It's hot and sweet and just delicious).

The elephants aren't caged. The leaves make a natural fence. The elephants stay where there is food.

While there, you should probably check out the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. It's well organized and an interesting experience as the elephants aren’t caged. They naturally stop where they run out of vegetation – and the visitors aren’t foolish enough to chase after them. It’s great when respect for the animals is there as you don’t need fences to keep people safe – just common sense.

The orphanage is a combination of a nursery, breeding ground and sanctuary of wild Asian elephants living the area. It’s famous for having the largest herd of captive elephants in the world (they have over 100). It’s located northwest of Kegalle about halfway between Colombo and Kandy. You'll be able to feed the elephants, watch them take a bath and get some really good closeups.  

There are over 3,000 elephants living in the wild in Sri Lanka and what’s interesting is that the country is trying to figure out a way for elephants and humans to live together. As you can imagine, as civilization expands and takes over the jungle areas, the elephants are forced to be closer to the cities – and while I think they are adorable, they are destructive and eat a lot.

 So far no sustainable solution has been found, but I like that the government is trying to come up with something.