A link to reset your password has been sent to your email

 

Change language & currency

Language

Currency

The listing is fully booked, get notified when dates are available

We’ll only ever send you one email notification and will never spam you

Similar available listings
We've found similar listings that are available to book for the dates you've chosen

Healing Yoga Flow Holiday in Sri Lanka

There is no aspiration in Ulpotha to be anything other than what it is - a lovely, playful but honoring folly. The founders and villagers welcome you to enjoy Ulpotha in this spirit. Though Ulpotha has come to be known as an eco-friendly, vegetarian yoga retreat center that offers Ayurveda, the founders would like to emphasize that it was not established to be anything in particular. The yoga, Ayurveda, and eco sensibilities are not central to its ethos - Ulpotha is there to be enjoyed as one wishes, and taken for what it is: an enchanting place that sprinkles its magic dust on those who pass through.

Meet the instructors

Samanta
Read more

Highlights

  • 14 days of practice
  • 2 yoga classes per day
  • Massage and meditation sessions
  • Daily healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner
  • 14 nights accommodation
  • Transportation

Skill level

  • Beginner
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced

Yoga styles


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

Accommodation

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

You are accommodated in one of a number of tastefully decorated traditional wattle and daub huts sprinkled through Ulpotha, where living is by design a communal and shared experience in natures embrace. There are 11 charming guest huts in Ulpotha, 10 of which are for two guests and one for three. All of them are built using traditional wattle and daub with comfortable beds, excellent mosquito nets, cupboards, fresh water, towels, and offer a sarong to wear and take home.

The huts are of an open, airy design that facilitates the sense of being one with nature. Twice a year, each hut is hand-painted using different colored clays, where no designs are ever repeated. Much use has been made of clay, stone, wood, pottery, and fabrics that reflect traditional village practices and aesthetics. With one or two exceptions, Ulpotha adheres to the Sri Lankan village tradition of keeping toilet or loo spaces separate from living spaces. The enchanting showers are open to the stars and the toilets are modern.

All accommodations are on a sharing basis, which means that a solo traveler will be automatically allocated, in a spacious double hut (twin beds), with another like-minded guest of the same gender. Guests booking, and coming together, will be allocated in a double hut (double bed or twin beds if not a couple). Sharing with someone is more welcome than one might usually expect, though ultimately soothing to the ears, the unusual jungle noises can take some getting used to and its quite reassuring to have a companion sharing ones space. The guests will anyway find that they end up spending very little time in their hut, except, at night.

Program

Ulpotha's natural charms lend themselves readily to a deeply satisfying experience of yoga. If ever there was a place made for yoga, Ulpotha is it. Though Ulpotha was not planned at the outset as a Sri Lankan yoga center, yoga very quickly took its central place in the Ulpotha experience through a series of serendipitous events. Having done so, it is hard to imagine a place better suited to the practice of this ageless discipline. On your day of arrival, you will be collected from the airport by one of Ulpotha's excellent drivers and welcomed in Ulpotha with coconut juice, herbal tea, fruits, and healthy snacks.

The day begins with birdsong, as well as light tea and fruit before your dynamic morning class. Ulpotha invites leading teachers from around the world to come and share their gift of yoga with its guests. A variety of yoga styles are on offer to suit a wide range of preferences. Yoga is practiced in the yoga shala, which is essentially an open-sided hall that lets in nature's charms, from gentle breezes to bird songs.

On occasion, classes are conducted further afield: beneath the splaying branches of a banyan tree, or on top of Monkey Rock, or below the neighboring temple - or wherever else takes the collective fancy of those present. Many of the world's most respected yoga teachers come to Ulpotha. As the teachers change every fortnight, several types of yoga - usually Hatha, Vinyasa, yoga therapeutics, Iyengar, and Ashtanga - are available at different times in the season. Every morning, there is an optional yoga class in a large, open-sided building with a palm leaf roof, or in the cool dappled shade of a banyan tree.

Teachers who come to Ulpotha are very experienced and are open to teaching many levels of students within a class. Some may also guide dawn walks in the beautifully wooded surrounding hills for those who wish. As Ulpotha attracts high-quality yoga instructors, some guests come mainly for the yoga classes. But since Ulpotha was never intended to be primarily a yoga center, there is no pressure to attend classes and life does not hinge on classes of any kind. So you will not feel an outsider if yoga is not for you.

This is a place to unwind, be gentle with yourself, live close to nature, and simply be; or if you feel energetic, a wonderful place to exercise and rejuvenate. After breakfast, choose an Ayurveda detox package and enjoy the oil applications and herbal baths and steams under the supervision of a resident doctor, or simply go for a swim or relax on a swing bed. Lunch is served in the Ambalama, where you can enjoy a delicious array of veggie dishes, juices, and teas while chatting with fellow guests.

In the afternoon, have a massage with one of Ulpotha's outstanding international therapists, take a bike ride and visit the local village, roam the hills, visit the neighboring Buddhist temple, boat on the lake, or simply relax. Afternoon classes held at sunset are restorative and include meditation and pranayama. Enjoy a sumptuous candlelit veggie dinner, borrow a book from the library, or chat with the owners. Head up to the lake and dance under the moonlight.

For your information, the holiday cost includes two daily yoga classes of one and a half to two hours per day: one class in the morning around 07:30 a.m. and the second class in the evening around 05:00 p.m. Please note that the yoga starts on the first Sunday evening and finishes after class on the final Saturday night to allow guests to check out by 10:00 a.m. on the final Sunday. There is no yoga, on the afternoon of the half-day excursion trip (week one) nor on the day of the excursion trip of week two.

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

An excursion is organised once a week during the afternoon. Participation is optional and external costs are not included, though transportation is. There is no yoga on excursion afternoons.

Instructors

Samanta Duggal

Retreat location

The holiday will take place in Sri Lanka. Ulpotha is located in the heart of Sri Lanka by a lakeside at the foot of the Galgiriyawa mountains - off the beaten track. It has been a retreat site for thousands of years and remains a perfect place for a yoga holiday in the heart of Sri Lanka. The first thing that was done when Ulpotha was re-inhabited was to address the aridity of the land that had resulted from the years it had been reduced to a monoculture coconut plantation prior to its abandonment.

This was done through the management of planting patterns, as well as the building of ponds and bunds, all of which were designed to increase the soil's water retention capacity and protect its fertility. Ulpotha then later on transformed into the self-sustaining, bio-diverse organic farm it is today; one where the practice of farming is holistic and includes paying respect to the land and its resources as well as to the deities protecting it.

It is a beautiful and peaceful hideaway, open to guests for part of the year. You may go to Ulpotha to experience yoga holidays and Ayurveda retreats and the warm, generous, and gentle hospitality the people of Sri Lanka love to offer. Ulpotha is only open for half the year, generally from June to August and November to March. The rest of the year Ulpotha reverts to its primary role as a traditional rice-growing village.

Ulpotha is blessed with surroundings that are uncommonly beautiful and serene. The abundant bird and animal life reinforce its timeless beauty. If you take away the pretty stupa on the mountain, one would be looking at a scene that has remained unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years. The sense of deep calm and peace is the essence of Ulpotha and the gift it shares with those who visit.

Distances

  • Anuradhapura - 90 minutes
  • Kurunegala - 1 hour
  • Kandy - 2 hours
  • Sigiriya - 2 hours
  • Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) - 3 hours
  • Colombo - 4 hours

Unique features

Activities

  • Cooking classes
  • Cycling
  • Hiking
  • Massage
  • Sauna
  • Spa
  • Steam room

General

  • Dining area
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Garden
  • Hammock
  • Kitchen
  • Yoga shala

Services

  • Free bicycle
  • Laundry
  • Library
  • Wedding

This Yoga Retreat is vegetarian-friendly

Click to see more vegetarian-friendly Yoga Retreats

Food

Ulpotha will be providing tasty vegetarian meals and snacks. 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 from Ulpotha's gardens. 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 cannot do without (coffee, a gin tonic, chocolate, and the like), Ulpotha suggests you bring it with you. As Ulpotha has no electricity (by design), all food is cooked fresh for each meal on open fires.  Breakfast is served from approximately 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 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. Meals that will be eaten outside of the facility are to be paid for additionally.

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)

Ayurveda treatments and VIP massages

Book a traditional Ayurveda detox package in the ayurveda treatment center (supplementary fee).

Book an extra massage with one of the expert visiting international therapists

Visit the tailor

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

Spa treatments

One massage per week from one of the visiting therapists is included in the price. The western massage treatments range from Thai, deep tissue massage, aromatherapy to Hawaiian massage. They are done by fully qualified massage therapists from around the world. Massage styles change from month to month, as Ulpotha uses different massage experts each month.

So, if you yearn for a particular type of massage, it is wise to ask when it is available before booking your holiday. Ulpotha also has an exciting program of Ayurveda treatments and, by the very definition of holistic, possesses the ideal climate and environment for the practice of this deeply therapeutic and traditional art.

What's included

  • Yoga classes twice daily
  • 1 massage session per week
  • 14 nights accommodation
  • All meals, snacks, and drinks
  • Transport for one excursion (half day) per week to nearby cultural heritage sites
  • All taxes
  • Use of bicycles, hot water bathing area, and laundry service

What's not included

  • Travel costs to and from Ulpotha
  • Insurance
  • Ayurveda treatments
  • Excursions
  • Entrance fees to cultural sites
  • Outside meals
  • Any additional massages (80 USD per hour)

How to get there

Recommended Airports

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB). Transfer to and from this airport is available upon request. The cost per vehicle (maximum of two people) is 90 USD for one person and 100 USD for two people, each way from and to the airport. Please email Ulpotha should you wish to be collected or dropped off at a location in Sri Lanka other than the airport and need to know the cost.

If your arrival flight is prior to your starting date at Ulpotha or late at night (close to midnight or thereabout or in the very early hours of the morning), Ulpotha kindly requests you to check into a hotel close to the airport and they will have you picked up after your breakfast (9:00 to 10:00 a.m.) and bring you to Ulpotha during lunchtime. In such a case, please inform Ulpotha of your hotel details once you have made the booking.

So the best way to proceed is for you to book a flight that lands on Sunday morning in the airport, (a three-hour drive from Ulpotha). They can arrange airport pick-ups from 4:30 a.m. Ulpotha will arrange for a driver to collect you at the airport or hotel near the airport and will return you to the airport or drop you at your next destination after your stay with them.

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.
Don't miss out! Join our mailing list to get inspiration, tips & special offers sent directly to your inbox.
Served by www:8000

Logging out

of Tripaneer websites