8 Day Barefoot Luxury Yoga Holiday in Ulpotha, Sri Lanka
Luxury Yoga Holiday in Sri Lanka
Ulpotha is about experiencing a relaxed and contented lifestyle. Its practice is based on the appreciation and need for leisure and pleasure, whether in work or play, and the need for adequate rest if a life is to be well-lived. Step away from the usual holiday routine and take yourself on a unique exploration of yoga and meditation. The traditional lifestyle experienced in Ulpotha provides all the ingredients necessary for a balanced existence, and the closeness of nature combines to offer you the yoga retreat of a lifetime.
Meet the instructors
Highlights
- Yoga sessions twice daily
- Restorative meditation and pranayama
- Weekly rejuvenating massages
- Explore local cultural heritage sites
- Delicious breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks
- Daily scrumptious vegetarian meals
- 7 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Yoga styles
8 days with instruction in English
Accommodation
Facilities
- Sauna
- Steam room
- Dining area
- Environmentally friendly
- Garden
- Meditation garden
- Yoga shala
- Free bicycle
- Laundry
- Library
- Wedding
- Outdoor shower
Guests 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 nature's 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, freshwater, and 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, and 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/loo spaces separate from living spaces. The enchanting showers are open to the stars, and the toilets are modern.
All Ulpotha 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 visiting together will be allocated in a double hut (double bed - if it's a couple or twin beds).
Sharing with someone is more welcome than one might usually expect, although ultimately soothing to the ears, the unusual jungle noises can take some getting used to, and it's quite reassuring to have a companion sharing one's space. The guests will, anyway, you find that they end up spending very little time in their hut, except at night.
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, and 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 tea and go to the evening yoga session, which sometimes takes place out of the yoga shala, under the trees, or up 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.
To benefit fully from what Ulpotha has to offer, it is recommended that you visit for a full two weeks. Please note that 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
- There are different instructors available
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
Mika de Brito
Mika teaches regular group and private classes in Paris and holds retreats around the world. Mika started yoga at age 21 with Baptiste Marceau, one of France's foremost Ashtanga teachers, who was later to become a good friend and mentor. Mika was a musician at that time, though yoga had such a pull for him that he left Paris a year and a half later to concentrate on teaching. In 2002, he met a swami in India who offered to teach him Tantric yoga. For the next three years, he traveled between Paris and Rishikesh in India.
James DeMaria
One of Ibiza's top yoga teachers, James DeMaria has been teaching yoga to adults and kids for over 20 years. After a varied and international performance career, James began studying Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga. Using a choreographic background to break down the fluidity of postures, breath, and movement, he combines elements of dance, Pilates, and release technique to create a balanced style to suit all levels. Classes include breathing techniques and mudras to help circulation and the distribution of prana (life force) throughout your being, relaxation, and meditation techniques.
Molly Harragin
Having discovered yoga in Bali in 2007, Molly went on to further her studies through intensive trainings in India and Australia. After practicing various styles, including Ashtanga, Sivananda, and even Laughing yoga, she came across Jivamukti yoga when she moved to London. It is here that she found her yogic home, attracted to a system that managed to translate the ancient yogic teachings into a modern day setting.
Samanta Duggal
Samanta is one of Mumbai's leading yoga teachers. She unites expertise in yoga, Thai massage, and vedic chanting to help you rediscover your storehouse of energy. Her integrated teaching method offers benefits of Sivananda, Iyengar, and Vinyasa yoga styles, deep relaxation, and detox therapies.
Rob Hess
Rob’s Teaching has evolved and has come a long way from where he began practicing in Cleveland Ohio to his days teaching in Washington DC to now living in Ventura and owning a studio (Jai Rhythm) with his business partner Colin Brightfield. What drew him to the practice of yoga was the physical part but after years of study and devotion it’s the spiritual part of the practice that feeds his soul. And through this amazing journey he found his home in the prana flow community with his teacher Shiva Rea.
Alex Onfroy
Alex is one of Paris' most loved and respected yoga instructors and a lifelong student of Iyengar. For the last 25 years, Alex's passion has been to master the teachings of BKS Iyengar under the guidance of Faeq Biria in Paris. It was Faiq and Corine Biria who first encouraged and inspired him to begin teaching 12 years ago. Alex has since grown a large following in a some of Paris' top yoga studios, in addition to teaching privately and in the business sector. He is a regular assistant to Iyengar instructor Corine Biria during her therapeutic classes at the Iyengar Centre in Paris.
Michael Larsen
Based in Oslo, Norway, Michael Larsen is a top level Senior Teacher of Master Duncan Wong and has been holding space for Yogic exploration full time since 2011 at several yoga studios, privately and to corporate clients. His teaching style encompasses Martial Arts, the purification of ashtanga vinyasa and the healing touch of massage. His classes are creative, fun and informative, and focus on grounding the nervous system to optimize movement and posture and ensure that the physical practice brings students into deep relaxation for savasana, in order to permit them to go deeper in meditation.
Georgia Marnham
Georgia Marnham is a qualified Iyengar yoga teacher with broad experience, having practiced Iyengar yoga for more than 25 years, and lived and taught in Australia, England, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Brazil, and now Portugal where she is currently based. She has Junior Intermediate level 3 qualifications and has studied with senior Iyengar teachers from many countries and on several occasions studied at the RMYI in Pune, India with BKS Iyengar, his daughter, Geeta, and son, Prashant.
Michael Barnes
Mick is a 1000hr teacher based in Sydney. 200hr Samadhi, 300hr Jivamukti, 500hr Jivamukti mentor and advanced cert Jivamukti teacher. Registered with both Yoga Australia and Yoga Alliance. Born and residing in Sydney, Australia, Mick has co-owned and operated different schools (Jivamukti Sydney, Samadhi Yoga Newtown) over his 12 years of teaching.
Lila Cristine
Lila is a leading Kundalini yoga, stress relief yoga, and Yin yoga teacher and therapist based in Copenhagen. She also offers relaxation and sound therapy as well as mindfulness with healing. She holds urban retreats in Copenhagen and weekend retreats in nature in Denmark and leads longer yoga trips to India and Brazil.
Eilin Dalby
Eilin has studied a variety of yoga styles and has been teaching since late 2011. She is currently working full time as product manager and yoga instructor at HiYoga - the biggest yoga centre in Scandinavia. She is the lead teacher of HiYoga’s 200 hours Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training.
Florentina Lam Clark
London-based Florentina’s training stems from the Hatha and Vinyasa Flow traditions. She has been teaching regular classes at TriYoga and other studios around London for the last 10 years and teaches retreats in Egypt, Morocco, France and the UK.
Philippa Asher
From London, Philippa Asher is one of a few Ashtanga yoga practitioners in the world (and the only British woman), to be cCertified by Sri K Pattabhi Jois, to teach the Ashtanga yoga method in his tradition. She has learned the Primary, Intermediate, Advanced A and Advanced B Series directly from Pattabhi Jois and Sharath (at the Krishna Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India) and shares the Ashtanga yoga system internationally.
Retreat location
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 before 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.
This Yoga Retreat is vegetarian-friendly
Click to see more vegetarian-friendly Yoga Retreats
Food
During this retreat, you will be provided with daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Snacks and drinks will also be provided. 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), they suggest you bring it with you. As the retreat center has no electricity, all food is cooked fresh for each meal on open fires.
Breakfast is served from approximately 07:00 to 11:00 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.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Tea
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Organic
Things to do (optional)
Ayurveda treatments
Book a traditional Ayurveda detox package in the Ayurveda treatment center (supplementary fee).
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 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 around 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 outfits.
Spa treatments
In this yoga retreat, you will have 1 one-hour massage session. Additional Ayurvedic treatments or massages are available at an additional price (with the therapist's 80 USD per hour)
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 therapies is available at Ulpotha through the seasons, though the ones on offer at any particular time depend on the therapists visiting Ulpotha at a given time (stays range anywhere from a month to three months). There are always two therapists present.
Please keep in mind that, if you are undergoing an Ayurveda program, the doctor may advise you not to have any massage therapies that may interfere with your treatment. Please note that all treatments are fully clothed. Wear your comfortable, loose clothing (your yoga clothes are perfect) bring a long-sleeved top and socks if you have them.
What's included
- 7 nights of accommodation
- A yoga-friendly breakfast and two sumptuous vegetarian meals, plus snacks, juices, and teas
- Yoga classes twice daily
- Indulge in a free massage from one of their visiting therapists
- Transport for 1 excursion to nearby cultural heritage sites (entrance fees not included)
What's not included
- Any additional massages guests may wish to book with the therapists (80 USD per hour)
- Ayurveda treatments
- Entrance fees to cultural sites
- Insurance
- Outside meals
- Travel costs to and from Ulpotha
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Transfer available for additional US$ 100 per person
Bandaranaike International Airport
96 km away from your destination
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB). Transfer to and from this airport is available upon request. 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, 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.
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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