June 2004

Hip & Hot – The Insider’s Guide to the Best Chill-out Spots

Ulpotha, nestling at the foot of the Galgiriyawa Mountains, occupies one of the most beautiful spots on Sri Lanka and offers a spectacular freshwater tank in which to swim. With enormous foresight, Giles Scott and his local partner, Viren Perera, have turned an abandoned village into a true paradise.

Guests, who come for a minimum of two weeks, sleep in wattle-and-daub huts without electricity and eat traditionally prepared food. There are excellent teachers for those who are attracted to yoga, but there is no pressure to join classes. Guests range from burnt-out City execs to partied-out Notting Hill trustafarians to writers seeking solace, but all share a desire for more holistic pursuits than simply frying themselves on a beach. Although, after a few days of relaxing in such harmonious surroundings, evenings invariably end in spontaneous party mode.