Nestling amidst the luxurious serenity of
Rangirigama in Sigiriya, where the soothing breeze, rustling leaves and
chirping birds make the loudest sounds, is a first-in-the world, unique
artificially created private nature reserve with a wetland system, spread over
twenty-four acres of extensive flatland with lakes, paddy fields, marshes and
forests, and the 8th wonder of the world- The Sigiriya Rock as its neighbour.
Jetwing Vil Uyana has
allowed for the first time in Sri
Lanka, for dwellings to be built over water.
Individual dwellings luxuriously appointed within, are located over lakes,
marshes, paddy fields and forests, which blend seamlessly into the rural
landscape.
I stumbled upon Vil Uyana quite by chance, when my husband Hiran and I were driving around Sigiriya while on holiday. Hiran knew of it but I didn’t. So we went to Vil Uyana.
I was transfixed by the sheer beauty of it.
Was I dreaming or was this real? I realized then, that just like Vil Uyana, there is so much undiscovered beauty in our country and places of historical
and cultural significance surrounding it, which most of us even in Sri Lanka were
not aware of. I felt duty bound as a journalist, to bring such places out into
the open, and to give our tourists a wider choice of places to visit.
My noble
veteran hotelier hubby nodded his head approvingly.
So quite naturally, Sigiriya was my first
choice for a new TV series on state television- Discover Sri
Lanka!
My TV crew and I spent nine days in Sigiriya.
We stayed at both Vil Uyana and Hotel Sigiriya, where we were treated like royalty
by the management and staff of both hotels, totally free of charge. This was
their contribution towards our effort, to put Sri
Lanka back on the map as a paradise island. Our first
stay of three days was at Vil Uyana.
I was generously housed at a Forest
Villa with its own private swimming pool and my crew of five, in two Marsh
Villas. We didn't feel like we were staying at a hotel, but our own private,
luxurious holiday hide-out in the Garden of Eden.
There are twenty-five individual dwellings at
Vil Uyana, some resting on stilts located in four distinct habitats - water,
marsh, paddy field and forests. These huge, luxurious dwellings connected by
wooden walkways, have timber flooring, ceilings of rattan and bamboo and sloping
roofs thatched with coconut palm.
Working on a television series is not the
glamorous job it appears to be. We work long, hard hours getting burnt in the
scorching heat,, with no time for regular meals and walking miles on end carrying
loads of TV equipment. At the end of the day, when day-light fades away, we set
up artificial lights and bat on until our aching bones say “No More”!
That’s when the luxurious hospitality
provided by our host hotel becomes a life-saver! My Forest Villa had two
stories. The entire upper floor was my huge bedroom with a luxurious king sized
bed and a private outdoor deck with a scenic view. On the ground floor I had my
own private swimming pool, an open dining area and a unique bathroom, one has to
see to believe.
All meals are ala carte, delicious and exclusive served in your villa, in a tree
house, by the pool, in the charming restaurant, or any other location you wish
to eat. No buffets meals at Vil Uyana and thank God for that, because we had no
energy left to walk up to the restaurant for our meals, therefore we had them
served in our Villas, by the charming and obliging staff of Vil Uyana.
I was amused to find that during the harvest
season, the village farmers carefully tend the paddy fields surrounding the Paddy
Field villas- they work with water buffaloes and not with tractors. According
to Hiran Cooray, Chairman Jetwing Hotels, some of the farmers in the area have
taken a cue from Vil Uyana, and abandoned their tractors for water buffaloes.
The wilderness surrounding the Forest
villas provide a natural habitat for numerous species of birds and
butterflies, and The Water villas located over lakes and ponds, have a
romantic ambiance, all of their own.
Vil Uyana means ‘a garden of ponds’ and is certainly
an ambitious and intriguing project, with splendid Eco credentials. It is more
a luxurious, rural holiday village than a hotel, which captures the ancient
heritage and natural wonders of our island nation, all in one place. It is also
envisaged, as a natural extension to the efforts of our ancient Sinhala kings, who developed and irrigated the area.
Vil Uyana is a sure winner in all aspect,s and
a compliment to Sri Lanka’s tourism industry!
(Scroll down for the pictorial)
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