Habarana Lodge
My last stop in Sri Lanka was Habarana Lodge by Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts. Situated in the centre the Sri Lankan forest, this five star resort offers a bit of everything; relaxation, adventure, luxury, amazing food and first class service. Again I was left wishing I had just a little more time in this place but was still very happy to experience all that I did. If you love to being at one with nature, Habarana Londge is a place you’ve got to experience.
Situated in 37 wooded acres of what was once a chena cultivation, Habarana Lodge is the perfect place to unwind and enjoy nature’s beauty. They have taken great care to run the place in an eco friendly manner that is quite impressive. The vegetables and fruit along with many of the spices used in the hotel’s restaurants are all grown on the grounds.
They make their own compost that is used locally but households and businesses. The place is sanctuary for over 138 species of exotic birds. You may enjoy strolling through the many trails or simply finding a hammock or tree house to watch the day go by. There are even wild monkeys! I’ll be telling you all about the Habanara experience in a future post.
We were flown to Habarana by Cinnamon Air which was a fun and memorable experience but that was just the beginning of my day. I had about an hour to check into my room and then it was time to go on safari!
Our guide was impressively knowledgeable about all of the wildlife we encountered which made the experience even better. Every few minutes or so, he’d yell to the driver to stop so he could show us a wild bird or some other small wild animal. I have no idea how he spotted them as it usually took me a few minutes to see his finds. He had a very trained eye for such things. I was there to see the wild elephants though but was warned that with the vegetation being so dense we may not see any.
In fact, for the first half hour or so we didn’t but luckily that all changed. We saw hundreds of the things and it never got old. To be so close to a wild elephant in its natural habitat was something I want to experience again and again.
Personally I enjoyed bumping around in the jeep on the dirt roads, standing with camera in hand hoping to spot another group of elephants. It was far more exciting than I ever dreamed it would be.
First of many sightings. Two babies.
The mark on it’s side is a gunshot from a poacher or some other idiot.
We managed to get right up close to the animals.
Dinner time.
Watching the elephants in their natural habitat was something I could have done for hours.
Protecting a baby elephant. You can’t see it in this photo.
This one decided to charge our jeep suddenly. A bit scary. We got out of there fast.
Selfie Time.
After all that excitement, it was time to go back to the lodge and have a swim, a few beers and another amazing Sri Lankan dinner. If you ever find yourself in Sri Lanka, I couldn’t recommend a day out on safari enough. I think I must have taken a hundred photos which I would show you but I think you have to be there.
Disclaimer: I was a guest of Cinnamon Hotels. This was all on them and I can’t thank them enough. I was flown from Heathrow to Colombo and back by my friends at SriLankan Airlines. I have flown with a lot of airlines over the years but they just seem to get it better than most.