Overview

If you love nature, then you will love Galapita, a superb eco-retreat in Sri Lanka’s south-east. Even if you are not a fan of the great outdoors, you may come to warm to the idea after a visit to this restful and special place. Galapita – literally “rock upon a rock” - is located on top of the banks of the Menik Ganga (“river of gems”).
 
Galapita is located in a unique position in the country to offer all kinds of experiences. Yala National Park is but a stone’s throw away, the Buddha statues of Wellawaya are within 30km and the shrine revered by all religions, Kataragama, is a short 25km journey away. However, if you don’t wish to explore any of these it doesn’t matter. There’s plenty at Galapita to stimulate your mind – bird-watching, panning for gems, walks in the gardens, paddles in the river. Conversely, if you are looking for complete relaxation then this also is the place. The massage and yoga are the newest features at Galapita.  
 
Dining
Food follows the simple theme, yet it is delicious, traditional, home-cooked Sri Lankan fare at its best. Lunch is rice and curry. The focus is on vegetarian, though meat-eaters who cannot do without may make a special request. Organic vegetables are grown on-site and the rice is harvested from Galapita. There’s some of the yummiest curd you’ll ever eat made from pure buffalo’s milk. Dinner maybe straight-from-the-pan thosai (a thin pancake made of lightly-fermented rice flour) with coconut sambol and potato hodi (very mild white curry), while breakfast of fresh fruit with roti (flat bread) and seeni sambol (a sweet curry made with dried tuna fish) will set you on a delectable course for the day - all eaten in the dining pavilion overlooking the river.
 
Rooms
Series of pavilions with mud floors and thatched roofs comprise the accommodation and facilities of Galapita. There are no walls, for they would constrict the connection with the outside. There is a sense of shade and cool with trees all around and the araliya (frangipani) surrounding you at every turn, flourishing in the trees, delicately floating in concrete containers, placed on the crisp sheets of the bed.
 
The three sleeping pavilions can accommodate from two to six people. A comfortable mattress complete with mosquito net is laid out on the raised platform of the pavilion where you will go to sleep to the sounds of the river below you. There is one ‘honeymoon’ pavilion located further down the river, away from the rest of the complex for greater privacy. The newly-built villa is the masterpiece of Galapita. With space for six guests, it is located on the opposite side of the complex and impresses before you get anywhere near it. It’s a two-storey mud-brick and clay building with thatched roof and a splash of green from the freshly planted rice paddy at the entrance.
 
(Content Source : Travel Sri Lanka Magazine)
(Image Source   : srilankaholidayresorts.com)