ACTIVITIES & EXPERIENCES
Discover the wonders of Sri Lanka
During your stay at Welikande, you get to embark on a daily activity to explore Sri Lankan culture and bring you closer to nature.
Every activity is organised and prepared for on your behalf, so you can enjoy an experience free of the responsibility of coordinating your adventure!
All the experiences we have created are around our local community. To meet and greet, to learn from them, and smile with them. This is also to create work within this small area, giving them the possibility to work with us together to give you a great time.
How does it work?
Every evening at dinner we provide 2-3 activities to choose from for the next day.
If there is something specific you have a keen interest in doing, let us know and we can make sure you have a chance to do it during your time with us.
GUIDED TOURS
Drink in the culture
We work very closely with local guides to provide a seamless tour. From start to finish, everything is taken care of - your transport, your lunch and your guide.
Cultural Tour
With one of our expert local guides, be escorted via tuktuk to a tea factory to learn all about the industrial process of making the tea we enjoy every day.
Followed by a visit to a local waterfall to take a dip in the natural pool.
Travel to the nearby village to try local cuisine and visit a Buddhist temple.
A whistle stop tour of all that resides deep in the Knuckles Mountains in heart of this beautiful country.
Village Tour
The Village Tour is similar in its essence to our Cultural Tour that we offer, but on a slightly smaller scale.
On this activity you'll be transported by tuktuk to the local village to explore, try the Sri Lankan street food and shop in the local markets.
There is also a chance to take part in local crafts, with local tradesmen and women- the village blacksmith and potter
You'll also get the chance to explore and swim in a waterfall with natural pool and visit a Buddhist temple.
Kandy Tour
Kandy is both an administrative and religious city. Home to Sri Lanka’s famous Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. Kandy Lake is an artificial creation by one of the past rulers and today, it is a scenic centrepiece of the town.
There are many places you can visit on the tour for example The Tooth Temple or The Royal Botanical Gardens, Kandy View Point, Dalada, and many great places to shop and eat.
Please note The Kandy tour includes Tooth Temple or the Botanical Gardens not both.
NATURE
Explore the Knuckles Mountains
Immerse yourself in the serene beauty of Sri Lanka with our nature-inspired retreat activities, designed to reconnect you with the earth and rejuvenate your soul.
Heeloya Trek
You will find yourself in the company of one of our state-licensed tour guides for a beautiful trek in the Heeloya National Park.
The guides will tell you all about the different herbs and spices that grow around and are used in the food we serve.
The trek is a great experience to profoundly connect with the elements of nature, as taken from the ancient teachings within Buddhism. You hike through rice paddies, tea plantations, pine forests, and past villagers’ homes to get a sense of the landscape and culture.
We eat lunch at a waterfall, where you have the opportunity to take a refreshing swim before we head back to Welikande.
Waterfall Tour
By tuk-tuk, you will drive through the Tea plantations to 5 waterfalls followed by a short walk to the waterfall for a refreshing swim if you wish.
There will be a picnic provided and a visit to a local tea shop for hot tea and Short eats.
Along the way, there are fantastic views and chances to meet the Tea-picking crews they have to pick 20kg of fresh tea leaves a day. Its a tough life but they love to stop for a photo.
GET CREATIVE
Develop a new skill to take home
A retreat is the perfect opportunity to try something new or to deepen your understanding of something you're already passionate about!
Mandala Painting
We have created a lovely peaceful art room that you are welcome to use at any time during your stay.
Mandala painting is an ancient art form that takes the form of meditation and centering we are very privileged to have a fantastic art teacher to guide you through the process.
You are very welcome to take home your wooden disc with you or it will hang with the others in reception.
Yoga Immersion
Created to give you a deeper understanding and experience of the 8 limbs of yoga, how the practice is a part of a lifestyle and how this has a positive influence on our well-being.
The teacher will provide you with answers to any questions you might have and how you could continue integrating yoga as a lifestyle after leaving Welikande Estate.
Cooking Class
A trip to Sri Lanka would be incomplete without an introduction to Sri Lankan cooking. We start the day with a Tuk Tuk ride then a short walk into the rice paddies where we meet up with a local female cook who with her families help have recreated from mud and wood 2 authentic Rice paddy houses.
Simply the best cookery class in the Knuckles Mountains.
On this day you get to make your own lunch in an outdoor kitchen with a view of mountains and rice paddy fields. Most of the ingredients like jackfruit, green leaves, coconuts, and other fruits and vegetables will be harvested directly on the property before cooking. Enjoy lunch sitting cross-legged on the first floor.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Discover more about our daily retreat schedule here