Low Carbon Footprint Sri Lanka Holidays
Nature is stumbling. There’s no denying it.
With 1 billion animals believed to have perished in the horrific bush fires across Australia, and the Amazon experiencing one of the worst wildfire seasons; our planet is truly at a tipping point. Travel and Tourism has a big impact on nature and responsible, sustainable travel can no longer be a tagline. It needs to be at the core of an itinerary. Ayu in the Wild has curated two low carbon trips combining the best things to do in Sri Lanka with bush-walks to see wildlife on foot, farm-to-table food moments, soft mountain treks and activities that make a sustainable impact on people and this beautiful little biodiversity hot spot in Asia.
Our two holidays below (scroll down to the end for details) can be tailor made to take you on journeys where, by day life meanders by on low carbon activities and by night there’s a hot shower, deliciously personalized meals and your head rests on the most comfortable beds.
Stories Under the Palmyrah Tree and The Rewilding Experience: are two curated responsible Sri Lanka Holiday ideas where you don’t even miss a beat on the best things to do on our island. Enjoy the privilege of a private walk in natural surrounds, take a guided cycle ride through cultural sites, be spoiled by the exclusivity of a camp that leaves no trace on the environment and reconnect with the wilderness in a different way to the usual safari drives.
How to Combine Luxury and Low Carbon Tailor Made Holidays in Sri Lanka
Designing bespoke responsible holidays that combine luxury travel with the right green credentials has always been at the heart of what we do at Ayu in the Wild Holidays Sri Lanka. It’s the kind of travel we love to do ourselves.
Holidays that reconnect with nature and promote sensitive travel doesn’t mean you can’t stay in the most beautiful hotels across the island. It means making a personal choice about how your holiday impacts the environment in Sri Lanka, its people and animals, and finding the right balance throughout your visit. No domestic flights are used on each of our itineraries below. Did you know that short flights are more harmful to the climate than the long-haul flight that gets you to Sri Lanka? Planes use most fuel during take-off, climbing to an altitude and landing than when cruising, so those short domestic flights that cut down travel time are a big no! As responsible Travel Curators, Ayu in the Wild has now curated trip ideas carefully thought through to reducing carbon across each element of a Sri Lanka itinerary. There’s luxury in authentic, private moments by day and luxury in every sense of the word at night - the right balance can be tailor made for you.
Read on for low carbon holiday travel advice in Sri Lanka, that hurts the environment less.
Truly low carbon holidays do more than use refillable water bottles and swapping a short journey by car with a train ride. Yes, those steps are part of each Ayu in the Wild Sri Lanka holiday itinerary and they matter, but, low carbon tourism can be - must be, so much more, especially in such a small, richly biodiverse island like Sri Lanka where people and animals compete for food and space. A big focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions have influenced every little activity we have designed into this list of lovely holiday ideas that can be tailor made across Sri Lanka.
How does an Itinerary with Ayu in the Wild Holidays Respect People and Places
You don’t need to compromise on luxury to be a responsible traveler. Itineraries that respect the local environment and the people that live there; experiences that help sustain livelihoods; purpose driven policies that support local communities by using community-based, licensed and registered guides, safari jeeps that provide a livelihood to local families; training locals, born and bred in Sri Lanka to become experience hosts; and training safari guides to respect wildlife and engage guests with deep insights into animal behavior; these have always been at the core of an Ayu in the Wild Sri Lanka holiday.
Source: Ayu in the Wild Holidays, Sri Lanka
Low Carbon Travel Guide to Sri Lanka
Two Itineraries Curated by Ayu in the Wild
ITINERARY FOR NORTH SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS
Stories Under the Palmyrah Tree
We love this title. It takes us back to when Sri Lanka was simple, uncluttered and very slow.
Today, in the far north of Sri Lanka is a beautiful, friendly culture where rural people live off the sun burnt red soil dotted with these Palmyrah trees, city people cling to a fascinating heritage amidst urbanization and life is lived vibrantly. This is a Sri Lanka holiday where you immerse in a discovery of the island's Northern Regions and Jaffna through the eyes of the locals and ends with a Wellness Holiday at Santani. To reduce your carbon footprint even more, lovely eco-lodge stays can be offered as an alternate to these luxury boutique accommodation included below.
Image© Nazly Ahmed
Itinerary:
• Days 1 to 3:
An overnight in the Wallawwa Airport Hotel (a single use plastic aware hotel with a Spa offering 100 percent chemical free Ophir spa products that infuse the antioxidants of the island’s famed Ceylon tea, and a restaurant with low food miles as many fruits, vegetables and herbs are plucked from an extensive kitchen garden). On day 2 enjoy the slow drive to Anuradhapura to explore Sri Lanka's first Royal Kingdom at Sunset on a cycle ride (staying at the stunning Ulagalla Resort – we love the villas with private pools built without disturbing the ecological balance of a lush 58 acre gardens and its organic paddy field). Take a privately guided walk at sunrise in Mihintale for epic views and stories of the birth of Buddhism in Sri Lanka or enjoy zero carbon kayaking and solitude. Experience a simple tech-free morning with a hard-working rural family on our curated Jungle Farmer's farm-to-table experience. If a safari beckons, we can keep the mileage low by combining these activities and a private safari tour in Wilpattu National park with the best community-based jeeps and guides.
• Days 4-6:
A slow train ride to Jaffna through landscapes that change from rice paddies to Palmyrah trees. The in depth adventure filled exploration of the Jaffna Peninsula (staying at Fox Resorts - a beautiful boutique property that pays homage to Sri Lanka's best artistes such as George Keyt, Ivan Peiris and George Bevan) includes learning the art of true Jaffna style cooking, meeting women entrepreneurs, learning art and craft with the differently-able, walks through local markets and fishing villages, a look into traditional Folk Dance and exploring the rural heartlands of the Peninsular. A yacht can take you to the islands off Jaffna. Explore the lake lined route to bird rich Mannar and extend your slow travel holiday.
• Days 7 -8:
Let rustling leaves and flowing water rejuvenate you (stay at Kalundewa Retreat). Cycle to the Dambulla Cave Temple. Enjoy a unique combination of poetry-mindfulness meditation and music in the company of two award winning Sri Lankan female artists - a poet, whose love of literature and meditation equals her love of good, slow food; and an acclaimed flautist who will accompany the poetry, in an incredibly beautiful al fresco setting. Explore rice paddies and bird life on a 25 to 35Km cycle ride ( 2 ½ hours on flat terrain) with insights into rural village life. Summit the Sigiriya Lion Rock at sunrise. Help plant some essential trees on a farm as part of our Sustainable Sri Lanka Travel initiative - Tree For A Purpose and visit our pioneering community outreach project Classrooms in the Wild.
• Days 9-14:
Your low carbon eco holiday in Sri Lanka ends with a healing Wellness Stay in Santani where you can design your daily Ayurveda, detox and cleansing, yoga and relaxation therapies with professional consultations.
Contact us for a Sri Lanka tailor made holiday that includes these low carbon travel ideas.
ITINERARY FOR EAST SRI LANKA HOLIDAYS
The Rewilding Experience
This Sri Lanka holiday takes you on an unusual route to the East and is perfect for small groups and family holidays. It’s about ditching those iPads, enjoying the gush of a waterfall, and a back to basics re-connection with nature, with your friends and family. Wake up to epic views. Luxuriate in the freedom and privacy of bush-walks and glamping. Track smaller wildlife - and some big ones too, on foot. Learn from guides who value wildlife conservation and educating younger guests and the young at heart. Here’s a perfect summer family holiday in Sri Lanka ideal if you are traveling with kids between 5-16 although we can curate it for younger and older kids and multi-gen families too. Age restrictions apply at some bush-camps and many are booked up months ahead for the August family holiday season.
Itinerary:
• Days 1-5:
On arrival you will stay a night in a Colombo City hotel to stock up any items you might need for your secluded bush-camp stays. Time permitting on day 1, there will be a guided Colombo history and street-food walk, that gives you a glimpse of how life in Sri Lanka has been influenced by the Portuguese, Dutch and British invaders, taste street food and fruits you’ve never seen before, observe the "everyday lives of everyday Sri Lankans" and visit a family-owned bakery for a wood-fired oven treat. Dinner will be at a carbon neutral venue. The rest of your stay will be split between one or both bush walks camps where your daily itinerary has no set times. Its glamping at its best – but far away from everything and anyone. It’s all about getting lost in nature, elephants, non-intrusive exploring on foot. Your stay at Ahaspokuna, is about exploring the stunning mountains on walks, being spoilt by the ever attentive team, and unwinding in the bush baths or star beds. Glamping at the Tree Tops Jungle Lodge is about nature walks, river-bathing in the wild, bush treks in the wilderness where during the dry season elephants roam, and experiencing the sights and sounds of wilderness at night with only hurricane lamps. Age restrictions apply at some bush camps and they are not recommended for the mobility impaired.
• Days 6-7:
Exciting private semi-luxury camping in the heart of Kumana wildlife park in the east where you have the ultimate luxury of a camp and a safari team to yourself. This is one of the most environmentally friendly wildlife tented camps in Sri Lanka that does not intrude on the environment. The tents are set up just before you arrive - when you leave, the camp leaves with you. Large stand up tents, equipped with beds; separate camping styled toilet tents, separate shower tents with water on an overhead shower and fabulous meals under the stars. With unlimited safari drives in a very game rich park famous for leopard, bear and more and beautiful settings in the heart of a national park - this is Sri Lanka's most authentic wildlife experience. For smaller kids there’s safari diaries, painting and creating animal casts. For older kids, there’s wildlife profiling and walks with an Ayu in the Wild Naturalist to learn bushcraft. The journey also includes a Forest Hermitage Trek which takes a unique look at how Buddhist monks meditated and survived in caves in the wilderness from centuries ago.
• Days 8-9:
Explore one of the most beautiful regions of Sri Lanka - Uva - where, based from one of Sri Lanka’s most stunning agro-luxury hotels Jetwing Kaduruketha you will explore rice paddies and waterfalls, spend time with Mountain Farmers either up in the summit, or on the foothills (if you don’t want to trek up for an hour), and minimize your carbon footprint with Ayu in the Wild’s Trees For A Purpose project.
• Days 10-12:
Unwind at the gorgeous Nine Skies in Ella or Thotalagala Bungalow, Haputale. Unravel some adventures on a Ceylon Tea trek and a unique sunrise tea tour (pre-breakfast) exploring the sights, aromas and sounds of a factory in the throes of manufacturing that perfect cup of Ceylon Tea. Explore further afield in remote Liptons Seat for jaw dropping scenery.
• This Sri Lanka holiday can also connect with the lovely beaches of the east coast and the famous train ride from Ella to Nuwara Eliya.
Contact us for a Sri Lanka tailor made holiday that includes these low carbon travel ideas.
We believe the future of tourism in Sri Lanka rests, not in higher visitor arrivals, but in aggressively pursuing that difficult balance between conserving biodiversity, respecting animals and engaging with people.
For the best tailor made low carbon footprint holidays to Sri Lanka - Email: info@ayuinthewild.com
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Whatsapp us on +94 77 248 1100