Tekanda Lodge

The lodge sits on a 4-hectare estate split into three: one-third left wild and replanted with rainforest trees, one-third growing tea, pepper, cinnamon and coconut, one-third a kitchen garden, fruit orchard and botanical garden. The owners run the Tekanda Foundation with the Foundation of Goodness: its Gamata Athak centre offers free education, vocational training and sports to over 400 women and children every week, including the Tekanda Girls Cricket Academy.

4 en-suite Lodge Rooms are arranged around a courtyard, each with a queen bed, a private verandah and a sitting area. The 2 Cabanas sit slightly apart from the main lodge. Cabana Kale has a four-poster king and built-in daybeds for 2 more guests. Cabana Kumbura looks north over rice terraces to the jungle hills.

Meals are served at the communal table on the main verandah or, on request, on a private deck or in your own room. The kitchen runs to a daily set menu of Sri Lankan cooking built around what the estate produces and what nearby farmers bring in. An emerald infinity pool overlooks the jungle, and a yoga deck is open at sunrise and sunset.

On a hill above Kathaluwa, 10 minutes by tuk-tuk from Kabalana Beach and the surf points around Ahangama. Galle Fort and the Coastal Line train are about 30 minutes by road. Koggala Lake sits to the west, with morning boat trips for birds and the chance of seeing crocodiles in their habitat.