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Yoga Retreat in Sri Lanka

One of Ibiza's top yoga teachers, James De Maria has been teaching yoga to adults and kids for over 20 years. Using a choreographic background to break down the fluidity between postures, breath and movement, James combines elements of dance, Pilates, and Release Technique to create a balanced style to suit all levels.

Meet the instructors

James, Boris, & Eva
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Highlights

  • 2 daily yoga classes taught by James De Maria
  • Indulge in a free massage/week from one of their visiting therapists
  • Transport for 1 excursion (half or full day) per week
  • A yoga-friendly breakfast and two sumptuous vegetarian meals
  • Snacks, juices, and teas
  • 14 nights accommodation

Skill level

  • Beginner
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced

Yoga styles


13 days with instruction
Group size: Maximum of 20 participants
Airport transfer available:
Bandaranaike International Airport (US$ 100 per person)
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Accommodation

Check-in Time:
12:00
Check-out Time:
10:30

Accommodation in Ulpotha is in elegantly crafted traditional wattle and daub huts open to nature. Each bed is equipped with an excellent mosquito net. The huts can sleep either two or three people, so accommodation is on a shared basis.

All the huts at Ulpotha are allocated on a twin share basis. There are places for a maximum of 23 paying guests at any time and no single huts are available. All accommodations have shared showers and toilets, which are for the most part not en-suite.

Program

Naturally, this is your holiday and none of the activities in Ulpotha are mandatory. However, to reap the full benefit of your stay you are encouraged to do both the yoga and if you wish, also try one of the Ayurveda detox programs.

Mornings begin with a light tea and snack, your yoga class, breakfast, and then you are free to either have a massage, treat yourself to an Ayurveda detox swim in the lake, or simply relax in a swing bed.

Lunch is served at noon when it is time to catch up with your fellow travelers and play a game of chess or backgammon. After lunch, you are free to do as you please - go on a bike ride, explore the lakes by boat, read in a swing bed, sunbathe, snooze, etc.

Before the sun goes down, grab a snack and a tea, and go to the evening yoga session, which sometimes takes place out of the yoga shala, under the trees, or up on a mountain. Dinner is served after the evening yoga session, and then you are free to linger and chat or head back to your hut for a full night's rest.

In order to benefit fully from what Ulpotha has to offer, it is recommended that you visit for a full two weeks. Please note the period over Christmas and New Year is a time for celebration at Ulpotha. For those of you looking for a quiet holiday, it is suggested you avoid this period.

A typical day

  • 07:00 - 07:30 Tea and fruit
  • 07:30 - 09:00 Yoga
  • 09:00 - 09:30 Breakfast
  • 09:45 - 12:30 Massages, Ayurveda, swimming, or relaxing
  • 12:30 - 13:30 Lunch
  • 14:00 - 16:00 Massages, Ayurveda, swimming, or relaxing
  • 16:00 - 17:00 Tea and snacks
  • 17:00 - 18:30 Yoga, meditation, or sunset walks
  • 19:00 - 20:00 Dinner

Included excursions

  • Transport included for 1 excursion (half day) per week to nearby cultural heritage sites (entrance fees not included).

Instructors

James DeMaria

Boris Gonzalez

Eva Thomas

Retreat location

Ulpotha is run as a self-sustained village, where the vast majority of staff are from immediately surrounding local villages and who live in and largely run Ulpotha themselves.

Ulpotha regularly invests in services and amenities for the local community (rebuilding and maintaining the reservoir that is central to local agriculture, creation of a free Ayurveda clinic for the surrounding villages, donations to the local hospitals and temples, all of which are done in the lowest profile way possible - ie. without acknowledgments, notices, quid pro quo demands, plaques, etc).

The Ayurvedic treatment center within Ulpotha, which serves paying guests, is used to fund the year-round free clinic for the surrounding villages. Only local products and services are made available to guests.

Eco village

Only natural materials are used in the construction of guest and villagers' accommodation, the Ayurvedic treatment center, and free clinic (wattle and daub huts with palm roofing).

Much use has been made of clay, stone, wood, pottery, and fabrics that reflect traditional village practices and aesthetics. Ulpotha protects the native vegetation within the property (by replanting thousands of local species of trees, replanting of heritage strains of rice, vegetables, rare medicinal plants, etc.)

Ulpotha only uses organic farming practices that follow the lunar cycle and use no mechanical means. All crops are hand planted and harvested, while the fields are plowed and the rice is threshed by buffalo.

They protect the local wildlife by ensuring that their natural habitat is in the least possible way altered and that poachers and hunters are kept away. The local environment is also protected by maintaining the lake and sluice and natural water flows. No cars are allowed within Ulpotha and guests are encouraged to use bicycles when exploring the surrounding areas.

By design there is no electricity in Ulpotha and life is lived by the rhythm of the day. Paths and accommodation are lit by lamps and lanterns. A small solar power panel provides electricity for recharging handheld devices.

Food is cooked on open fires and there are no fridges (which were deemed by one of Ulpotha's founders as simply being a means of eating un-fresh food). Water comes from spring-fed wells and guests are encouraged to use it sparingly.

Sewage is treated onsite and no raw sewage is released directly into the environment. Waste is separated and sorted and recyclables (metals and glass) are removed. Guests are encouraged not to bring plastic waste onsite, or to take back what they might bring to their home country when they leave.

Social policies

Before their arrival, guests are given an introduction as to what to expect through information provided via the website and a guest information pack.

Once in Ulpotha, guests are encouraged to learn more about the local culture and customs through immersion and interaction with the local villagers.

Guest participation is encouraged in local ceremonies and traditional gatherings while keeping them informed of locally acceptable behavior and appropriate dress code.

Guests are encouraged to visit social projects within the community (such as the free clinic) or in surrounding villages (schools for handicapped children, etc.) and to support such projects.

Ulpotha regularly holds meetings with and seeks feedback from local community leaders. Ulpotha is run by a committee of villagers with help from one of the owners, himself a local.

Distances

  • Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) - 3 hours minutes
  • Colombo - 4 hours
  • Kandy - 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Kurunagala - 1 hour 30 minutes

Features

Activities

  • Cycling
  • Massage
  • Spa
  • Swimming

General

  • Beach nearby
  • Dining area
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Garden
  • Lake
  • Meditation garden
  • Yoga shala

Services

  • Free bicycle
  • Laundry
  • Mosquito net

This Yoga Retreat is vegetarian-friendly

Click to see more vegetarian-friendly Yoga Retreats

Food

The food at Ulpotha is simply delicious and very healthy. It is almost entirely vegan, naturally wheat-free, with an abundance of fresh vegetables, organic red rice, and tropical fruit freshly picked largely from Ulpotha's gardens. A visit to Ulpotha is a good opportunity to detoxify your system without fuss.

Special diets cannot be catered for but it is fairly easy to pick and choose, depending on your taste, from the many dishes served at each meal. If there is anything that you feel that you simply can't do without (coffee, a gin tonic, chocolate, and the like) - Ulpotha suggests you bring it with you. As they have no electricity, all food is cooked fresh for each meal on open fires.

Breakfast is served from approximately 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and consists of herbal teas, fresh fruit, fresh coconut water, herbal rice porridge, and a Sri Lankan breakfast cake.

Lunch served around midday is the main meal of the day and consists of a wide array of Sri Lankan vegetarian dishes, salads, Ulpotha heritage rice, fruits, curd, juice, and herbal tea.

Dinner is served after dusk and consists of an array of salads, Sri Lankan vegetarian dishes, juice, fruit, and herbal tea.

Following popular demand, Ulpotha has published a cookbook of some of the most favorite recipes of dishes served at Ulpotha - "A Kitchen in Paradise".

The following meals are included:

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Snacks
  • Drinks

The following drinks are included:

  • Water
  • Tea
  • Detox juices

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Gluten Free
  • Organic
  • Lactose Free
  • Ayurvedic
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

Things to do (optional)

Walking and cycling

Cycle around to the local villages and nearby lakes, and take guided walks to the hilltop temple or Uncle Willie's Rock.

Swimming and rafting

Swim in the silky smooth waters of the Ulpotha Lake, or take a raft or canoe through the backwaters for the best birdwatching spots.

Reading

Relax in a swing bed with a book from the well-stocked library.

Cooking

Visit the kitchen and kitchen garden and learn some recipes from the delicious Sri Lankan cuisine.

Wildlife

Stroll round Ulpotha's large grounds with your camera or binoculars to catch surprising wildlife.

Meet the villagers

Chat with one of the lovely villagers and learn more about their relaxed and unhurried lifestyle.

Visit the tailor

Order a custom-made cool cotton shirt or pants from the tailor, or design your own outfits.

Spa treatments

Ayurveda treatments

Book a traditional Ayurveda detox package in the Ayurveda treatment center.

The resident Ayurveda doctor provides training in Ayurvedic massage and therapies for the treatment center staff, who are also from either within Ulpotha or from neighboring villages. Nearly all the food consumed in Ulpotha is grown on-site. In addition to growing rice, fruits, vegetables, and timber trees, they have recently started growing medicinal plants and trees used for making Ayurvedic medicines. Ulpotha sources many of its other supplies and building materials from the immediate locality. Similarly, all the Ayurvedic medicines used in the treatment center are made locally.

Ayurvedic treatments or massages are available at an additional price. You can pre-book an Ayurveda package of either five days, a week, 10 or 12 days, or two, three, or four weeks. Prices range from 300 USD to 1,600 USD. Treatments will typically last for about two hours each day and can be scheduled either in the morning or in the afternoon.

The rest of the day will be free for you to hang out and do other things, including yoga. A wide variety of additional therapies are available at Ulpotha through the seasons, though the ones on offer at any particular time depend on the therapists visiting Ulpotha at any given time. There are normally two international therapists present.

What's included

  • 14 nights accommodation
  • A yoga-friendly breakfast and two sumptuous vegetarian meals, plus snacks, juices, and teas
  • Yoga classes twice daily
  • Indulge in a free massage/week from one of their visiting therapists
  • Transport for 1 excursion (half or full day) per week to nearby cultural heritage sites (entrance fees not included)

What's not included

  • Any additional massages guests may wish to book with the therapists
  • Ayurveda treatments
  • Entrance fees to cultural sites
  • Insurance
  • Outside meals
  • Travel costs to and from Ulpotha

How to get there

Recommended Airports

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Sri Lanka's primary international airport, Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) (also known as Katunayake International Airport, Negombo International Airport and Colombo International Airport), which is an hour North of the main city of Colombo and three hours to the Southwest of Ulpotha.

Direct flights with Sri Lankan Airlines take about 10 hours from Europe. Please be aware that departure from Europe tends to be the day before arrival and start of the holiday due to time difference and journey time.

Ulpotha will meet you at the airport and return you to the airport after your holiday. The cost per vehicle (maximum of two people) is 100 USD for one person and 115 USD for two people, each way. The transfer cost should be paid upon arrival in Ulpotha. Please inquire should you wish to be collected or dropped off at a location in Sri Lanka other than the airport.

Airport: Bandaranaike International Airport Airport transfer available: Bandaranaike International Airport (US$ 100 per person) Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.

Cancellation Policy

  • A reservation requires a deposit of 100% of the total price.
  • The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
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