Gal Oya Lodge

Style

Back-to-nature bungalows

Setting

Off-the-radar national park

You’re unlikely to have bedded down in a Sri Lankan national park before; change that with a trip to Gal Oya Lodge, whose boutique bungalows occupy a 20-acre private forest, home to expert rangers, white-bellied sea eagles and the occasional bathing elephant. The lodge has a mezzanine restaurant serving sambols, curries and western favourites; if the spices and heat have you feeling a little hot and steamy, cool down in the dazzling pool, set in the long grasses and backdropped by the mountains. Once you’ve soaked up the Lodge’s atmosphere, jungle rides, boat safaris and excursions with the Vedda tribe await.

Facilities

Rooms

10 bungalow suites.

Checkout

11am, but flexible, subject to availability (no charge applies). Earliest check-in, 2pm. Guests arriving early or departing late can use the luggage storage area, the restaurant and all the communal areas.

More Details

Rates usually include à la carte breakfast (Sri Lankan and Western options such as fresh fruit, Sri Lankan hoppers, a breakfast BLT, chilli baked eggs, and home-made granola with fresh buffalo curd). Full board includes nature walks. Safaris are extra.

Also

Don’t forget to call the hotel from the nearby town of Bibile (or anytime on the day of your arrival). Gal Oya Lodge doesn’t have any road signage and there’s no phone signal or Internet within half an hour of the lodge; if staff don’t know you’re coming, they won’t be able to dispatch someone to the main road to collect you for the last leg of the journey. You can contact the lodge on 0768424612 or 0555656670; alternatively, give staff your guide or driver’s phone number, so that they can liaise with them directly.

Laundry

Pet Friendly

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

At the Hotel

Private forest; expert rangers; guest lounge. In rooms: free bottled water, Island Spice bath products.

Our Favourite Rooms

There’s just one room type, and we think it’s rather lovely: a thatched wooden bungalow set in the forest, with floor-to-ceiling windows, a little living area and a four-poster bed shaded by a mosquito net. The outside bathroom is a highlight, thanks to its open-air layout, bamboo shower (with an elephant-shaped faucet), plus home-made soap and shampoo. The bungalows are connected by dusty sand pathways, which glow at night thanks to flickering lights set on tree stumps. Each one also has an outdoor terrace area with mountain-spying seats.

Poolside

Join the ruby-red dragonflies that shimmer above the striking outdoor swimming pool, nestled in the tall grasses and trees, with rugged mountains as its dramatic backdrop. It’s unheated, making it the perfect watering hole to cool down in.

Packing Tips

You’ll be very grateful for a safari hat. Organised types might want to bring binoculars – that way, you won’t have to keep borrowing the ranger’s.

Also

Gadget-addicts, it’s time to switch off: Gal Oya doesn’t have WiFi or telephone signal. The eco-conscious rooms don’t have air-conditioning; fans are used instead. (You can also cool off in the unheated pool.)

Children

Little Smiths are very welcome – if they’re under 12, they can stay for half the usual rate. Cots are free; extra beds for 12-year olds and under can be added to the bungalows for US$32 (B&B rate), or US$54 (full-board rate).

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

The restaurant has a communal feel, so you might easily make friends with other guests, but the tables are individual rather than shared. They’re all very similar; sit wherever you like.

Dress Code

Go easy on the khaki shorts, unless you want to be mistaken for staff (who also wear natty green polo shirts).

Hotel Restaurant

The restaurant, perched on the lodge’s mezzanine level, serves simple and delicious food: a mix of flavoursome local curries, sambol, roti and international dishes. Breakfasts are exciting: try buffalo curd and home-made granola, or Sri Lankan hoppers: rice-flour pancakes packed with spicy fillings. The restaurant’s teak and mara wood tables and chairs were handmade by the local village craftsmen, using traditional skills passed down from generation to generation.

Hotel Bar

There's no formal bar as such, but staff will rustle you up a drink or cocktail – an arrack sour, perhaps? – which you can enjoy in the sociable, open-air Lodge.

Last Orders

The restaurant closes at 10pm.

Room Service

None; it’s not that kind of joint.

Planes

Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (www.airport.lk), is seven hours away by car; some carriers fly direct from Sydney and selected European destinations. The closest domestic hub is Ampara Airport, a 40-minute drive from the lodge. Hotel transfers can be arranged for US$100 one way (in a car that fits four bottoms).

Trains

Ella Railway Station is 100 kilometres away, a three-hour drive, with services connecting to Colombo, Kandy and Badulla (www.railway.gov.lk).

Automobiles

Bibile is the nearest town, a 25-minute drive away.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Gal Oya National Park is the only place where you can go on a boat safari in Sri Lanka and hope to spy the Asian elephant swimming in its natural habitat (for an additional fee). Watching these magnificent creatures swim from island to island, forage and socialise at the water’s edge is a pretty special sight. You can also sign up for a Jeep safari, bike ride or bird walk. Stroll to the river, 15 minutes away, to admire the kingfishers in the early morning. Spend some time with the rangers, absorbing their local knowledge; did you know that there are 104 types of snake in Sri Lanka, only four of which are poisonous? Visit the local lake where birds perch on the silvery tree-trunks then dive for their fishy catch; look out for kingfishers, parakeets and wild peacocks: the national bird of Sri Lanka, which look like a cross between a rooster and a pheasant. Admire the weaver bird’s nests that hang from the trees like woven baskets. Staff can also arrange jungle drives, bicycle tours, riverside picnics, bird walks, naturalist treks and park hikes. Meeting the indigenous Vedda Tribe – one of the last remaining communities of the forest-dwelling, indigenous people of Sri Lanka – is an unforgettable experience.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .