“Well bathing” is listed as the main attraction under “Entertainment” on the website of Cinnamon Village, while another one is listed as “Campfires.” It gives the flavour of this unique – and almost unknown –resort, which is only one hour’s drive from Colombo yet a world away from the city’s clamour.
Arosha Jayasundera bought four acres of bare land close to the village of Kandana, near Horana and up the river from Kalutara, a dozen years ago. Her family and friends wondered why she should choose a place in the wilds to develop. But Arosha had resolved to create an opportunity for what she calls “earth living.”
Recognising that while modernisation centres around comfort, speed, noise, images and fast moving items, for peace of mind people need to experience a slow moving, healthy, green, sustainable and renewable environmen, she worked hard to turn the bare land into a forest of cinnamon and rubber with a pineapple grove, rolling lawns and water gardens.
What began as her hobby grew gradually into a back-to-nature retreat that has become popular with groups for workshops, training sessions and corporate programmes, in a down-to-earth atmosphere conducive to learning and contemplation. The Village is also open to individual guests in search of tranquillity and the essence of a wholesome rustic lifestyle.
While the accommodation is basic it is also comfortable, clean and bright. A cottage (Cinnamon Eco Lodge) has two bedrooms, each with a double bed on a cement base, a modern bathroom and a whole wall of cupboards, and a verandah overlooking the lawns and ponds. It adjoins a long pavilion complete with a kitchen for self-catering and a bathroom, a reading lounge at one end and a dainty Italian dining table at the other.
In the garden there is a private well secluded behind a circular hedge, a thatched kiosk constructed around a large rubber tree that has become a cherished spot for picnic lunches, and a wooden tree house. It seems the kind of place to inspire a writer or a painter, or to thrill an ornithologist or lepidopterist because of the birds and butterflies that call it home. The Bodhinagala bird sanctuary in the Ingiriya Forest Reserve is close by.
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| Cinnamon Village: A wholesome rustic life |
On another side of the garden there is a large communal well and two more cottages (Cinnamon Sticks and Cinnamon Hideaway) furnished with bunk beds, and open-to-the-sky bathrooms, that are popular with camping groups and participants in training courses. Seminars are held in an open-sided hall that was formerly a hut where mushrooms were grown and is now equipped with a whiteboard and desks for classroom style sessions.
The village ambience, away from traffic noise and fumes, and the natural surroundings, help guests staying at Cinnamon Village to relax and revitalise. They can go rambling or hiking in the surrounding countryside, bathe in rock pools in the Kalu Ganga, or simply sit and meditate.
The food served is a hearty rural treat that adds to the attractions of staying a few days at Cinnamon Village. While each meal is quintessentially Sri Lankan and subtly flavoured, ingredients are chosen carefully. Village and garden-grown organic herbs, spices and vegetables predominate, with fish or chicken on request. There are also self-catering facilities.
Getting to such a haven in the wilds can be part of an exotic adventure. For those with time on their hands, a flat-bottom boat can be chartered for a leisurely four hour cruise up river from Kalutara. By vehicle there is a road off to the right by a sign announcing Illambe division about 2km west of Horana on the A8 to Ratnapura.
Down that road there is a lane on the right after the Lotus Pre-School building which leads through paddy fields and forest to a shrine. There a left-turn onto a cement road brings visitors to a wooden gate. This is the entrance to this peaceful retreat where nature, healthy living and cosy comfort combine to revive even the most jaded spirit.
Cinnamon Village, Horana; reservations: 011 5109990; www.cinnamonvillage.com; group rates (bunk beds) from Rs. 2,500 full board per person per day; Eco Lodge from Rs10,000 full board per day per couple.
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