OutboundHolidays - Travel the World!

Exotic theme dining at Ceylon Continental

Colombo’s exotic dining options will be spiced up further when the resurgent Ceylon Continental launches a theme night dinner promotion from Thursday 6 May, to provide gourmets with piquant new menus that the hotel says will spark fresh interest in five star dining.

Running from Thursday to Saturday every week at three of the finest restaurants and at the pool side of the country’s first five star property, these theme nights will offer an enticing range of Arabic, Sri Lankan, Indian and Western dishes in an ambience enhanced by the proximity of the Indian Ocean and the warmth of the hotel’s hospitality.

“With the roads now open the Ceylon Continental is once again easily accessible, and these theme nights are an opportunity to relive beautiful memories and relaxing moments with sumptuous dining and an unmatched atmosphere,” a Spokesperson for the hotel said.

Every Thursday from May 6 onwards will be Koftha, Kebab and Shawarma Night at the Café Emerald, serving perennial favourites such as hommous, muthable and thaboulah, alongside mutton balls with mint and red onion, chicken and onion koftha, vegetable koftha with cashew and raisins, vegetable and homemade cheese koftha, king fish koftha with saffron, mixed sea food kebab, Bentota prawn kebab, negombo crab kebab, chicken garlic sausage kebab, marinated chicken breast kebab, cuttle fish kebab, deviled beef kebab, mutton kebab, reef and turf kebab and chicken shawarma with garlic paste and Arabic bread. A special feature will be action stations that allow diners to select their own kebabs and koftha.

Sea Food Night every Friday will see the Café Emerald presenting a mouth watering buffet line up of Blue Water Bentota prawn curry, prawn brochette on a spicy sweet salad, sea or lagoon crab stir fry, hot butter cuttlefish, sea food thermidor, crepes with crab meat and steamed mussels in wine sauce will satisfy even the most ardent sea food connoisseur, the hotel said.

For those who would prefer the fragrant delights of North India, the Ceylon Continental’s Tandoor Restaurant will host Authentic North Indian Night every Friday, offering a spread of Moghal dishes in buffet style.

Saturdays have been reserved for an all time favourite Sri Lankan theme: Hopper Night by the pool, with an eclectic mix of savoury hoppers, tandoori hoppers, spicy omelet hoppers, egg hoppers, plain hoppers and jaggery hoppers, with accompaniments such as lunu miris, vegetable, seafood and meat curries to be followed by wattalappan, fruit salad and for the first time in Sri Lanka, ice cream kottu.

These theme night dinners are priced at Rs. 1,100 nett for Hopper Night, and Rs. 1550 nett per person for Indian Night, Seafood Night or Koftha, Kebab and Shawarma Night, the hotel said.

The Ceylon Continental Hotel is now owned and managed by the Hayleys Group.

–

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka lures back Japanese surfers

(LBO) – Some of the world’s top surfers will take part in a Japanese surfing championship that returns to Sri Lanka this month after a five-year break following the end of the island’s ethnic war.

The Japan Pro Surfing Association’s (JPSA) annual competition will be held during March 19-23 at Hikkaduwa, a beach resort on the south-west coast.

The JPSA Pro Surf 2010 is being jointly organised by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier.

Sri Lanka is the only country outside Japan where JPSA ranking events are held, Sri Lanka Airlines said in a statement.

The island attracts more than 800 Japanese surfers annually, both to Hikkaduwa and to Arugam Bay on the southeast coast.

The JPSA, Japan’s regulatory body for surfing which is a member of the global body Association of Surfing Professionals, had chosen the island for its event, starting in 2001.

But after five years, the island’s intensifying civil war saw it being shifted elsewhere.

The 30-year ethnic war ended in May 2009, resulting in an immediate upturn in tourist arrivals with many hotels fully booked during the main season which coincides with winter in the northern hemisphere.

“The return of Japanese Pro Surf to the resort of Hikkaduwa after a five-year absence is a major milestone for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, which has been enjoying an extraordinary period of growth over the last nine months,” the statement said.

Achala Jagoda, Minister of Tourism, said they want to encourage off-season travelers and sports enthusiasts to visit the country.

Nishantha Wickremasinghe, chairman of SriLankan Airlines, which has three flights a week between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Colombo, said Sri Lanka has long been a favourite destination of Japanese tourists.

“The number of tourists from Japan has been increasing rapidly following the end of the war nearly a year ago.”

This year’s surf competition will see eight world ranked surfers among the contestants battling it out for the three-million-rupee prize money.

–

Sri Lanka

Is Sri Lanka really the small miracle?

(By Kumar Senaratne) – Travelling to tourist destinations in most countries, anyone can get extremely bored due to the long distances that have to be passed in between locations. Where there are no air links, there should be good roads and comfortable vehicles otherwise road travel becomes cumbersome and also uninteresting. Monotonous landscapes, somewhat similar cityscapes for hours and hours do add frustration instead of the thrills of travel one expects. The destination may offer high attraction and could be unique, but the fact of the matter is, journeys are arduous to get there! Sleep is the best form of temporary solace one could find to pass these big gaps.

For that matter what Sri Lanka offers has no easy comparison. It is undoubtedly the small miracle on earth! One can go on any of the highways or main roads or on any road anywhere in Sri Lanka, the frequent change of landscape is god given for the traveller. Whether for the motorist or for the cyclist isn’t the charm of the land invigorating?

There are few countries that offers such a high density of tourist attractions in a smaller area. Leave aside hidden gems off the beaten track, Sri Lanka is one country that offers an attraction at least before the next 25th mile post, magically embedded in its landscapes. Advantageously, Sri Lanka is a country that can be easily be seen without air travel.

Mention the word Sri Lanka to any westerner and watch the expressions change to an awe-inspiring delight. For those who have been there, “Oh it’s a beautiful country!” and for those who have heard about it, “It is one place I want to be!”

Sri Lanka’s smallness makes it the ideal size location for the holiday seeker. Especially for the majority of world’s working population who has annually about 2 to 3 weeks holiday from work, Sri Lanka fits in well to be explored fully as against many destinations that will take a longer duration to cover simply due to the extra time that has to be spent on the road between attractions. In Sri Lanka one can easily tailor make their holidays with a right balance as per their time availability with a combination with beach, countryside, archaeology, nature, culture or even adventure to their best fit than most other destinations.

Sri Lanka tourism’s marketing campaign, “Sri Lanka-Small Miracle”, that has been quashed after much research and investment would have done wonders to entice the magical figure targeted of 2.5 million tourist arrivals in 2016. The slogan matters to the buyer and not to the seller. Sadly in this case vice versa. However much the seller wants to have his way to boast about his product or service it should have the ability to capture the mind of the buyer who decides. Before any other product information is looked at, it is the slogan that hooks the buyer for further exploration of more information.

The surprising statement the then tourism minister has given following the reasons for withdrawal of this campaign is not worth reproducing due to its ludicrous nature. He tends to compare the greatness of our ancient irrigation system we have as well as the recent great-war victory over LTTE and sees unsuitability of the word small for the tourism promotion campaign. Sadly the Gentleman does not realize tourists don’t come to Sri Lanka for any of the above greatnesses which are truly great to we Sri Lankans, but for different reasons that appeal to them. Sri Lanka is the 117th small country by land mass in a list of 239 countries and 260 times smaller than the largest country in the world, Russia. Even during our great past this country has been always identified with similar descriptions. “Pearl of the Indian Ocean”, “The teardrop of the Indian Ocean” etc. and both these descriptions depict uniqueness in smallness.

One does not have to go much further, the description by Sri Lanka’s most honoured citizen, the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke gave sufficient justification for the ideal tagline rhymed by Sri Lanka Tourism. “The Island of Sri Lanka is a small universe; it contains as many variations of culture, scenery, and climate as some countries a dozen times its size . . . I find it hard to believe that there is any country which scores so highly in all departments – which has so many advantages and so few disadvantages.” Lovely beaches, beautiful landscapes, impressive ruins, a vibrant culture and charming people.

Bernard Goonetilleke, then chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has made this fitting description of this island at the official launch on 23rd June 2009, “Sri Lanka Small Miracle denotes the mysteries of Sri Lanka and how it holds so many different features in such a small geographical area. The positioning strategy was arrived at based on the key aspects of the destination – Diversity, Compactness, Authenticity and an Island which differentiate the destination from other competitors. Sri Lanka truly combines rich and diverse treasures so amazingly concentrated to provide the most pleasant diverse and authentic holiday experience no other Asian destination could so conveniently offer”.

Looking at Sri Lanka from outside, especially someone living in a larger country feels how sensible this marketing approach would have been. A few years back once again after wasting a large sum of money Sri Lanka Tourism had to drop a campaign due to a surprising product the agency presented at the end; a documentary film that was more culturally damaging on the lines of “Kama Sutra”.

Then it was “Land like no other” tagline that had emanated both positive and negative vibes but yet had a greater appeal. Sri Lanka: Small Miracle is the next effort Sri Lanka Tourism undertook with much enthusiasm, research and for obvious good reasons. Sri Lanka would have established a stronger presence among its competition for its benefit at the all important World Travel Mart in London in November and the recently concluded ITB with the new campaign.

Sri Lanka is once again without a proper marketing development program and is compelled to go ahead with the routine things that were done in the past like lack luster road shows and attending travel fairs having to compete with strong campaigns such as Malaysia’s, “Malaysia truly Asia”, Thailand’s, “Amazing Thailand”, India’s, “Incredible India”, Maldives, “Sunnyside of life”, Singapore’s “Uniquely Singapore” etc.

One could argue that Sri Lanka does not need a marketing campaign as the hotels have good bookings for winter, after the recent peace that was established after the war ended. However for the mid and the long term growth and with targets as previously mentioned to be achieved and tourism to be a strong contributor to the economy in a climate of uncertainty on GSP+ and obviously with more and more countries joining the competition, it is time Sri Lanka is branded right and without a delay.

The industry suffered long enough and waited for better times. Better times having arrived the industry should be allowed to take on the challenges ahead without political bungling this country is so famous for. The key industry should have an equally effective minister who knows the subject well than having apprentices being allowed to experiment!

If there is a marketing campaign to be introduced for the country’s cabinet, sure that has all the rights to claim to be the “Biggest Miracle.”

(The writer is a well-known hotel industry personality. He can be reached at kumarsenaratne@gmail.com).

–

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka tourist arrivals keep rising

An intensified marketing campaign from Sri Lanka Tourism and the peaceful environment in the country has contributed to large increases in tourist arrivals over the past few months. According to the latest statistics, tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka improved by 57.3% year on year in March 2010 to 52,352 while the first quarter cumulative arrivals for the year are up 50.3% to 160,409 compared to the same period last year.

Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Dileep Mudadeniya said the increase in the number of tourist arrivals can be attributed to the prevailing peace in the island and the aggressive promotional campaign launched by Sri Lanka Tourism since October 2009.

Speaking to the Business Times this week, he said the intensified marketing campaign on international networks such as CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera have increased arrivals from all markets, particularly the European and Indian markets. Surveys conducted on the impact of the campaign shows that it has influenced travellers to visit Sri Lanka, particularly since social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter were also involved.

Mr. Mudadeniya added that the challenge is now to continue growth. The SLTPB has had positive feedback from hoteliers around the island over the past few months. With the tourist off-season starting this month and going into June, the off-season strategy is to target non-traditional markets such as Spain, Netherlands, Malaysia China and the Middle East.

Statistics show there was a 95% increase in tourists from the United States and Canada to 3,417 in March 2010 compared to March 2009 while tourist arrivals from the Western European market which includes the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Norway and Spain amongst other countries increased by 48.6% to 21,979. Tourist arrivals from the Middle East increased by 138% to 2,928 in March 2010 while Indian tourist arrivals increased by 72.1% to 8,607 during the same period.

–

Sri Lanka

Lunawa lagoon is a bird watching paradise in Sri…

(by Dr. A.T.W. Guneratne) The newly dredged and cleaned Lunawa lagoon, which was an eyesore a few months back is now teeming with both local and migrant birds.

Few people outside Moratuwa are aware that there is a beautiful lagoon bordering Prince of Wales College and St. Sebastian’s College. It has already become a very popular place for people walking for leisure and exercise.

If one walks around the lagoon around 6 am – 6.30 am he is sure to see a large number of birds. Terns, Egrets, purple coots, Cormorants, Spot billed Pelicans, Purple and Grey Herons. Black-winged Stilts, Sand pipers and Brahaminy Kites are some of the birds seen. Unfortunately the lagoon is being polluted rapidly. The Moratuwa Municipality and other relevant authorities should attend to this without delay; otherwise this beautiful lagoon will be another garbage dump in the near future.

Officials of the wildlife Conservation Department should visit this lagoon and consider declaring it as a bird sanctuary.

Lunawa lagoon can be reached from the Galle Road. It is situated about half a mile towards the sea side from the Rawatawatte junction.

–

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka hotels preparing for tourist influx

With the end of a three-decades long war in May 2009 Sri Lanka is now seeing its tourism industry flourishing once again. Tourist arrivals have steadily increased since the end of the war and recent data from the Tourist Board showns that Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals jumped by 50.3 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 2009.

In March tourist arrivals reached 52,352, up by 53.7 percent from a 34,065 a year earlier.

The hotels in the country are in a race with time to provide more accommodation and facilities to the anticipated influx of tourists to the country. Leading hotels in the country are adding more rooms while refurbishing the old ones and struggling to find accommodation for the tourists who are mostly from Britain, Germany, France, India, Japan, and Mid-East.

Many hotels are investing in new furniture, bars, restaurants, swimming pools and extensions to cater to the tourists, hotel owners say.

The hotel and travel index on the Colombo Stock Exchange has almost tripled since the war’s end and the total number of hotel rooms is expected to grow from about 15,000 to 22,000.

The Tourism Board says it is hoping to attract 2.5 million visitors by 2016 and to earn 2 billion-dollar annual income from tourism by 2016.

–

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has a big 4 like Africa has…

(By Srilal Miththapala, eTN) Wildlife enthusiasts and tourists the world over are quite familiar with Africa’s “Big 5” the most sought after, highly visible, large, and sometimes dangerous wild animals.

These are – the African Lion (Panthera leo), the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana & Loxodonta cyclotis), Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Leopard (Panthera pardus), and African Black and White Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis & Ceratotherium simum). A trip to the African parks is not complete if all these five animals have not been sighted. This has given rise to the brand, “The Big 5 of Africa,” which has now become synonymous with Africa’s wild life and tourism over the years.

Lately, Sri Lanka also has been leveraging its wildlife attractions as value additions to Sri Lankan Tourism promotion. Today, “The Gathering” of elephants at Minneriya National Park from May to October each year, is fast becoming a “must see” on the tourism itinerary. Whale watching off the Mirissa coast is also a popular tourist attraction. The fact that one can see the two largest mammals on this Earth, the elephant and the whale in one and the same place, in Sri Lanka only, is another fact now being promoted.

In similar fashion, there is the possibility for the country to popularize and brand a group of animals that are quite exciting to view in the national parks of Sri Lanka.

They are the –
• Elephant ( Elephas maximus maximus)
• Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
• Leopard ( Panthera pardus kotiya)
• Sloth Bear ((Melursus ursinus inornatus)

Just like the African group of special interest animals, these Sri Lankan wild animals also have a certain allure, which makes a close sighting of them in the wild, always an exhilarating experience. Hence, there is no reason why Sri Lanka cannot brand these animals together as a “must see”- “Sri Lanka’s Big 4.”

SRI LANKA’S BIG 4 – THE ELEPHANT
The most popular and abundant of the four (relatively speaking, of course), the Sri Lankan elephant is a distinct subspecies from the mainland Asian elephants of India and Thailand. Although about 10,000 of these majestic creatures roamed most parts of our island at the turn of the century, only some 4,000 (Santiapillai & Jackson 1990) or closer to 5,000 now live in the wild today.

Its sheer size (it is the largest living land animal today in the world) and gentle demeanor have always made the elephant a much-loved wildlife icon the world over. However, it is today classified as an endangered species (IUCN Red List) with about 150-200 elephants dying each year in Sri Lanka primarily due to the “Human Elephant Conflict” (HEC).
Today the HEC situation has reached crisis proportions (there is an alarming increase of fatalities during the last few years with deaths exceeding 200 in a year) and urgently requires a coordinated national effort to solve this issue on a priority basis if we are to save the elephant from extinction in the near future.

Pocketed herds are found in fragmented habitats today. The major wildlife parks all boast of elephant populations, with Uda Walawe perhaps having the largest concentration of both resident and transient elephants.

More of concern is that a good proportion of the wild population range outside the boundaries of the national parks. Considerable research has been done on Sri Lankan elephants and their behavioral patterns, by the likes of Eisenberg and Rudran in the past and more recently by Santiapillai, Prithiviraj Fernando, and a host of others.

Hence there is no shortage of local expertise but what is required is a national focus on the problem.

Of the Big 4, the elephant is the easiest to see, and already there are several established “elephant sighting safaris” available in most of the wildlife parks.

BLUE WHALE
Blue whales are possibly the largest animals that ever lived on Earth growing up to some 33 meters long, weighing up to some 150-180 metric tons. They live individually or in very small pods or groups and frequently swim in pairs.

In Sri Lanka, whale watching was first mooted in the 1980s following the documentation of whale sightings (blue whales and sperm whales) in Trincomalee. Subsequent security restrictions put paid to these initiatives. Today, whale watching has been popularized and the preferred take off spot is Mirissa, deep down south.

It is believed that while some of the blue whales off Dondra Head/Mirissa could be resident whales, others could be migratory ones crossing over to the Arabian Sea from the Bay of Bengal, during January, and then returning back in April (Anderson. C). Whales, and particularly dolphins, are also sighted in the Kalpitiya area on the west coast.

THE LEOPARD
Leopards are the top predators in Sri Lanka and are found in all types of forests: from thorn scrub and dry deciduous forests, to lowland rain forests and montane forests.

Leopards are large cats on average, weighing 37-90 kg for males and 28-60 kg for females. Until 1996, the leopard in Sri Lanka was considered the same as the Indian sub species, but research in 1996 by Dr. Sriyanie Miththapala led to it being classified as a separate sub species.

The mid 1990s saw an increased interest in the island’s top carnivore: Rukshan Jayawardene and Gehan de S. Wijeyeratne have focused on photographing the leopard in Yala Block I, and Jehan Kumara and Dr. Ravi Samarasingha’s BBC documentary “The Leopards of Yala” put the leopard on the map.

While Perera, Kumara, and Samarasingha focused on identifying individual leopards, Andrew Kittle and Anjali Watson began to study the population, behaviour and ecology of leopards in Yala Block I. Kittle and Watson’s study was extended to other parts of the island and showed that leopards were not only in national parks but living at the edge, as well as outside protected areas.

Kittle and Watson’s study revealed that leopard density in Yala Block I is very high, which is why it is relatively easy to see a leopard in Yala. The Wilpattu National Park was also famed for its leopard population. All wildlife enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting their first forays into the park after its recent re-opening to ascertain the status of the leopard there.
Leopards are affected by habitat loss and poaching and are now listed as a threatened species by IUCN (2007).

SLOTH BEAR
The Sri Lankan Sloth Bear is the only species of bear found in Sri Lanka and, like the elephant, is a distinct subspecies to the Indian species. The wild population is little as 1,000 in many isolated areas, although it is only classified as “vulnerable” (IUCN Red List). Destruction of dry-zone natural forest is its main threat. It is found relatively abundantly in the Yala and Wasgomuwa National Park. It was also distributed well in the Wilpattu National Park, where the current status, like in the case of all the animals in Wilpattu, has to be now freshly ascertained with the opening of the park after so many years.

Very little research has been done on Sri Lankan sloth bears. Among some of the main findings from a survey done during one of the few research studies, (Ratnayeke. S et al. 2005) was that sloth bear distribution is closely tied to remaining monsoon forests (also called open forest because of the relatively open canopy) of the dry lowlands in the northeast and southeastern parts of the island. The sloth bear will be perhaps the most elusive of the Big 4 and some organized efforts will have to put in place to popularize the sighting of this very interesting animal on regular game drives in the National Parks.

TIMELY BRANDING
With tourism in Sri Lanka growing in leaps and bounds today (January 2010 arrivals were up 32 percent compared to January 2009) it is important that we do not just sit back and rest on our laurels. What we are seeing is a pent-up demand for the destination, which was effectively “closed” to the tourist world for many years. We need to spruce up our act, add value, refurbish, and upgrade our product offering, and above all, create new niches to expand our markets from the “sun, sand, and sea” segment, if we are going to sustain this momentum.

In this context, Sri Lanka’s Big 4 is, therefore, a timely and useful branding initiative to popularize Sri Lanka’s natural wonders to the world.

–

Sri Lanka

Emirates promotes Sri Lanka as popular destination

Emirates Tours UK is featuring Sri Lanka as one of 14 popular destinations in an exclusive luxury holidays brochure produced for Emirates airline’s customers in the UK.

Emirates tour operators’ catalogue titled Exceptional 2010 brochure has devoted eight pages to Sri Lanka, describing the island as ‘a land bursting with colour, energy and history.’

The section provides a description of Sri Lanka’s many attractions, historic sites, cultural heritage, wildlife, hill country and beaches, and features 10 hotel properties located in the Cultural Triangle, the hill country and the western and southern coasts.

It offers a wide choice of customized tour packages as well as an eight-day tour labeled ‘Essential Sri Lanka’ and a 15-day tour titled ‘Sri Lanka in Style.’

Emirates Area Manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Chandana de Silva said, “The latest Emirates Tours UK catalogue is a perfect example of how Emirates promotes travel to Sri Lanka to high-end travellers, and is a representation of the continuing commitment of the airline to this destination.”

Other destinations in the UK catalogue are Dubai, Oman, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, India, China Australia, and New Zealand.

Besides the eight-page section in the Emirates Tours UK catalogue, Sri Lanka is also featured prominently in the Emirates Holidays World of Choice global catalogue for 2009-10, with another eight-page section.

These features in the Emirates Tours catalogue shows the eagerness of airlines such as Emirates to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination, and in doing so reap the rewards of a long-term sustainable tourism market in southern Asia.

–

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka tourism is set to boom

Sri Lanka is starting to look like her old self. Now recovering from the 2004 tsunami and resolving a decades-long conflict, the country is now welcoming record numbers of visitors.

The latest generation of savvy travellers have been quick to pick up on Sri Lanka’s affordable beach and culture combination. Last month alone, tourism arrivals surged to a record high of 48 per cent* ahead of the previous year The British have voted cleverly; with a hike of 68 per cent in Brit visitors during Feb 2010 compared to Feb 2009. I say cleverly because it’s probebly best to go now and avoid the crowds later. Even the Colombo stock market responded positively last week to the new mood of anticipated hotel bed sell outs, with record high gains spurred on by hotel share rises.

Not slow to bolster their hotel sector, Sri Lanka is awash with a range of accommodation, from new luxury beachfront resorts to authentic wellness retreats buried deep in the jungle. Pricewise, Sri Lanka can’t be beaten; with packages starting at £499 for a week, half board including flights. Hoteliers are keeping up the pound stretching offers; but get them while they last at an incredible £30 per night beachfront bungalows, on full board basis with ayurvedic treatments.

All three of the countrys fantastic wildlife parks have been opened once again providing the traveller with bite sized safaris packed with exotic wildlife. Wilpattu – the largest nature reserve in Sri Lanka – has reopened to the public, located 176 km north of the capital Colombo.

Preserved for three decades (no tourists) this is the crowd free moment to spot leopards, shy Ceylon sloth bears, crocodiles and cobras at a fraction of the cost of other destinations – less than £20 per day entry or £60 for a family of four.

In the southeast, Yala national park (which boasts the world’s largest consentration of leopards in the wild) is on the nature and bird lovers hotlist as the place to encounter leopards in a morning drive. Rich in wildlife, Yala is teeming with leopards, elephants, deer, monkeys, wild boar and python. Based in revamped eco lodges within the park, visitors are blanketed in Sri Lanka’s rare and colourful birdlife. Parrots, kingfisher and painted storks, to name but a few.

Also in the southeast, Uda Walawe Park has great grassland drives, to get up close and personal with elephants, water buffalo and jackals. What are you waiting for?
–

Sri Lanka

Join the Alchemy yoga retreat in Sri Lanka!

The Camden based yoga centre Alchemy is taking yoga to the next level and holding a yoga retreat in sunny Sri Lanka. But this is promised to be much more than your average yoga retreat. It’s the Spiritual Warrior Kundalini Yoga Retreat, so not only is it unusual in that it is based on Kundalini yoga, but the aim of the retreat is to find the ‘spiritual warrior’ in you – in order to help you get the most out of your life.

The Spiritual Warrior Yoga Training is a method of interactive self-inquiry which utilizes powerful techniques of Kundalini yoga. The programme will consist of eight modules designed to help you understand your inner belief systems and help you overcome any negative thought patterns which prevent you from reaching your full potential.

The retreat is being held at the beautiful Talalla Beach Retreat. It has a large open-sided yoga pavilion set in tranquil surroundings, a spa offering Ayurvedic treatments, and a 20-metre spring-water swimming pool. All rooms have their own private balcony or verandas and is located close to the beautiful Talalla Beach, so your spare time can be spent wandering in this tranquil Indian Ocean setting.

The retreat is being led by two of the UK’s leading Kundalini Yoga teachers, Amir Jaan and Simon Andriesz (co-founder and director) so you will be in expert hands. Each day starts with an optional early morning meditation, yoga practice and singing of mantras (Sadhana) and is then followed by the main yoga class mid morning. In the evening there’s a light yoga session followed by a deep meditation to consolidate the day’s practice, and then optional gatherings.

As if this wasn’t enough the week culminates in the incredible experience of climbing Adam’s Peak. It’s a popular pilgrimage destination and sacred to some of the world’s major religions. After a long hike up, you’ll set up camp and sleep until sunrise for spectacular views. Whilst the climb isn’t mandatory the idea is that the weeks yoga practice will have helped you find the strength to achieve it, and with such spectacular views it would be a shame to miss it!

So if you’re looking for more than your average yoga retreat then this could very well be the one for you.

To book a place, or for more information, call Alchemy on 020 7267 6188, or visit www.alchemythecentre.co.uk

–