{"id":11889,"date":"2017-12-18T17:35:32","date_gmt":"2017-12-18T17:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/?p=11889"},"modified":"2022-04-26T11:29:55","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T10:29:55","slug":"travel-tales-abode-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/travel-tales-abode-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel tales: Abode, Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our \u2018Travel Tales\u2019 series, we invite our travellers and colleagues to share their most memorable holiday experiences.\u00a0ETG travel consultants<\/a>\u00a0regularly visit their specialist destinations to ensure our advice is fresh, up-to-date and first-hand. This is how each hotel, experience and mode of transport we recommend has been road-tested and reviewed.\u00a0Here Sara shares her story about the\u00a0Abode<\/a>\u00a0in Sri Lanka\u2026.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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I\u2019d been at Experience Travel Group just a few months when I learnt about\u00a0Abode<\/a>, a responsibly managed, creative community tourism programme nestled in the heart of the Knuckles mountains. Abode is a unique, fantastic enterprise that supports a fringe community of just 6 people in central\u00a0Sri Lanka, Northeast of\u00a0Kandy<\/a>. It is an immersive trekking programme that splits your time between a remote village and the Abode mudhouse, the only residence located deep in the Knuckles biosphere. The intrepid remoteness and cultural engagement, as well as the simplicity of getting back to nature, appealed to me immediately. So when I got the opportunity to visit on my latest work trip to Sri Lanka, I seized it!<\/p>\n

Our adventure began at Matale, a busy commercial town, where\u00a0we met\u00a0Sid (aka\u00a0Sidanta), who works with fringe communities of the Knuckles Mountain Range to facilitate responsible tourism and support their subsistence lifestyle. We set off by car, climbing the hairpin roads through tea plantations, passing through cloud forest and different ecosystems as we ascended\u2013 the stunning red Mara flat canopy tree, firs and yea to name just a few. The scenery became ever more breathtaking as we drove for 2 hours before reaching a little village named Ratkinda, comprised of 4-5 small, brightly painted bungalows. We were introduced to Sid\u2019s adopted family, VJ (or Grandpa, as we called him), Grandma and their son Agir. Despite the language barrier, everyone was warm and welcoming; Sid translated excellently and we soon felt part of the family, sipping black tea with jaggery on rickety homemade stools on the verandah, all together, while Grandpa picked into his bag of tricks to chew on betel. The pace of life is slower here in the village.<\/p>\n

Later we headed through the fields to the river below for a swim. It was fresh and idyllic, and a little ticklish as fish nibbled our toes.<\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD OUR GUIDE TO SRI LANKA\u00a0\u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Grandma served us a delicious meal of chicken curry and the local spirit,\u00a0arak<\/em>, was offered\u00a0around. It was an intimate occasion: the 4 of us sitting by candlelight on the verandah listening to the sounds of the forest and the warm wind in the trees.\u00a0 To sleep, I had the guest bedroom and kept the window shutters open so a fresh wind blew through. I was glad of the arak soporific!<\/p>\n

The next morning our trekking party set off on our 2.5hr trek to Abode. Agir accompanied us with a turban of food goodies balanced on his head, Grandpa with his machete and broom \u2013 apparently to fashion some more furniture that Abode needed as well as to do some spring cleaning. The terrain was undulating, mostly under a canopy to keep out of the fierce sun, and there were a couple of steep inclines & ridges to tackle. Our reward was the scenery: rocky outcrops, wild uncultivated landscapes and, somewhere in the middle, Abode.<\/p>\n

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