ABOUT US
OUR STORY
“If you travel with knowledge you reach God’s Forest If you travel in ignorance you go astray.”
Traditional Village Saying
The story of Living Heritage Koslanda began more than 30 years ago when Manik Sandrasagra, a Sri Lankan film director and cultural visionary, dreamed of creating an oasis in “one of the most sacred and secret places on Planet Earth”.
Devoted to preserving Sri Lanka’s natural beauty and traditional heritage, Manik was a pioneer whose numerous projects sought to preserve the island’s traditions, while keeping them relevant in the modern world and protect its natural biodiversity.
Years before Facebook and other social media, Manik hoped to use the internet to bring together those who “delight in the faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident, the gift of serendipity and to replenish, to breathe, regenerate and heal”.
All of Manik’s passions and beliefs were brought together in Living Heritage Koslanda, which was designed in collaboration with renowned Sri Lankan architect Channa Daswatte and completed by his wife Lucy in 2012, four years after Manik s death.
SUSTAINABILITY
Here at Living Heritage Koslanda we encompass three main ideals of sustainability.
As our name suggests by creating a celebration of Sri Lankan traditional architecture for our guests to enjoy whilst preserving ancient skills within the surrounding craftsman community . Our buildings are made using sustainably sourced local timber, clay bricks, tiles and stone . The wisdom of ages providing cool, ambient , yet practical spaces for living and relaxing.
Symbiotic with this is the employment and training of local villagers of all ages and both genders enabling the youth to remain within their villages and women the ability to work and still look after their families . They form the backbone of our operation and together with the environment are the meaning for our existence.
Environmental protection and restoration through our extensive tree planting and bio diversity projects on our own 80 acres of secondary forest . It is our mission to broaden these activities beyond our boundaries to assist in combating the very real effects of global warming and environmental degradation.
THE FOREST
Living Heritage Koslanda sits in a grove in the beautiful forest aptly named ‘Devianga Kale’ – ‘God’s Forest – and is spread over seven hills from Adam’s Peak to Kataragama.
The site, known for its remarkable beauty and sacredness, also has a private waterfall and south flowing river, both of which are considered essential for healthy living. These were all important factors that led us to build Living Heritage Koslanda at this location.
The forest is also on the route elephants have used for centuries when they leave the plains below to go to the hills during the dry season. If you’re staying between June and August you may be lucky enough to catch sight of wild Asian elephants as they make their ascent through the ancient elephant corridor.
CLIMATE
Preserving and restoring the forest, which is known as a vital source of food, medicine and beauty treatments, was key to the vision for Living Heritage Koslanda, and a local ecologist, Dr Lokugam Hewage, has been working with us to map the flora and fauna of the forest and to train our staff to lead nature walks for our guests through this pristine natural reserve.
And it’s a wonderful place to explore. The forest is home to giant squirrels, chattering monkeys, butterflies flutter about in the dappled light. The estate is full of jackfruit trees that give Koslanda its name, organic pepper that we grow and dry for our guests as well as other native plants and an abundance of exotic birds that are beautiful to watch and fill the air with a chorus of their songs. All flourish due to our policy of never using pesticides.
HOW TO REACH US
Living Heritage Koslanda sits in a grove in the beautiful forest aptly named ‘Devianga Kale’ – ‘God’s Forest – and is spread over seven hills from Adam’s Peak to Kataragama.
The site, known for its remarkable beauty and sacredness, also has a private waterfall and south flowing river, both of which are considered essential for healthy living. These were all important factors that led us to build Living Heritage Koslanda at this location.
The forest is also on the route elephants have used for centuries when they leave the plains below to go to the hills during the dry season. If you’re staying between June and August you may be lucky enough to catch sight of wild Asian elephants as they make their ascent through the ancient elephant corridor.
