Ayurveda & Bodywork

Ayurveda

If authentic traditional Ayurveda is what you are looking for, you have come to the right place. At Ulpotha, we offer an Ayurveda experience that is out of this world. Surrounded as it is by nature’s beauty and a sense of peace that can best be described as ethereal, you are afforded the perfect environment for a truly holistic treatment.

A basic Ayurveda Panchakarma treatment lasts three weeks and requires a stay of at least 48 hours before treatment for those arriving from overseas. Our resident doctor (see below), Dr Srilal, is specialised in treating Arthritis, a condition that typically requires at least four weeks of treatment. If you would like to receive treatment for this, or other ailments, from digestion and sleep to emotional temperament and skin disorders, please inform Pri, who takes our bookings, so that she can discuss and/or pass on your details to Dr Srilal, who can suggest the ideal length of stay and treatment. Pri can be reached on WhatsApp (see link at the bottom right of this page) or email (bookings@ulpotha.com). Please note that Ayurveda is available at an additional cost to your stay.

What You Can Expect

All our Ayurveda treatments, regardless of the personalised elements stemming from a personal consultation, contain preparatory and elimination therapies.

Preparatory Therapies

These are the ones everyone likes and most Ayurveda is known for – gentle massages, oil applications, steam baths, saunas, and herbal baths.

Elimination Therapies

These consist of what is more commonly known as Panchakarma, the five specialised elimination therapies: inhalation, purgation, emesis (vomiting), enemas, and blood-letting. In traditional village-based Ayurveda (as opposed to hospital-based Ayurveda), elimination therapies focus on inhalation and purgation. The latter three elimination therapies are not prescribed or performed in Ulpotha. Nor are they necessary given Ulpotha's holistic consistency.

Panchakarma Treatments

• Samadhiya (Profound) – 21 days - $1,500
• Mokshaya (Redemption)– 28 days - $2,000

A taste of Ayurveda

If you don't have three weeks, you can explore a shorter programme of Ayurveda treatments during your yoga retreat in a setting that truly supports whole-person healing. The climate, the pace, the connection to nature — everything here helps you settle, soften and receive the benefits of this time-honoured practice.

If an Ayurveda treatment is short in length, say less than the 7-day Sanasuma programme, you will only have time for preparatory treatments that may include inhalation as an elimination therapy.

If you have time for a longer treatment, then you can also undergo purgation. However, the consultation is critical to determine which elimination therapies are required.

For treatments that are 10 days or less, you will receive treatments every day, each consisting of roughly one to two hours. Longer treatments will include rest days.

Ayurveda Treatments

• Santhushti (Happiness) – 3 days - $250
• Ashinsanaya (Benediction) – 5 days - $375
• Sanasuma (Satisfaction) – 7 days - $500
• Namskaraya (Salutation) – 10 days - $750
• Aswesilla (Solace) – 14 days - $1,000
  

(The costs above are in addition to that of your stay; please select which treatment you would like on our booking form).

Please note that we recommend a 3-day treatment for a yoga retreat of one week and a 7-day treatment for a two-week stay. If possible, these can be pushed to a maximum of 5 days and 10 days provided you are willing to compromise if necessary on your excursions, yoga sessions and/or complimentary massages. It would be best to discuss this with us when making your booking.

Our Resident Doctor, Dr. Srilal

Dr. Srilal Mudunkothge, an acclaimed Ayurveda practitioner of this ancient, holistic medical art, is our resident doctor.

Dr. Mudunkothge obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery and is registered as a general and specialist doctor with the Ayurvedic Medical Council of Sri Lanka. His specialisations are psychiatric ailments as well as arthritis. Therapeutic programmes for the treatment of Arthritis are available on request.

Apart from being a practicing Ayurveda doctor with over two decades of experience, he is a qualified allopathic pharmacist registered with the Sri Lanka Medical Council.

Free Village Clinic

An Ayurveda clinic was established in August 2005 to provide free Ayurvedic treatments to local villagers. The clinic is funded entirely by the revenue generated from guests' treatments.

This initiative, which includes free Ayurveda medicines, harks back to the traditional way Ayurveda was dispensed, where patients rarely paid in cash for the care they received. Instead, they would make a symbolic offering of betel leaves to the Ayurveda doctor at the time of consultation and offer their services in kind.

As of the middle of 2025, the clinic had received over 65,750 visits from more than 21,500 patients.

Read more about Ayurveda in Ulpotha

Bodywork

In addition to Ayurvedic treatments, one or two visiting massage therapists are available on demand throughout your stay. Massages can be arranged directly with the therapists at an extra cost. The therapists are experienced and intuitive and cover a range of disciplines. You can see which therapists and a description of their massage styles under each retreat. They work with warm oils, gentle pressure and slow, grounded movements that help your body unwind after long flights, deeper yoga sessions or a day exploring the lake.

You take your treatment in a quiet, open-air space where you hear the soft rustle of leaves and the sounds of village life drifting in the background. It feels simple and deeply calming.