"Kahanda Kanda"
The
drive to Kahanda Kanda is 25 minutes inland from Galle. Turn off the main
road just outside Galle and for 15 minutes drive through rural SL. Beaches
are beaches anywhere in the world but it is often said that the interior
of a country is where the true spirit lies. Sri Lanka is no different.
This final 15 minutes of your journey takes you along a narrow road through
paddy fields; past temples and a huge colourful-seated Buddha meditating
amongst the trees; through small villages; and into the very heart of this
tropical Eden.
Kahanda Kanda (Yellow Moon Mountain) is a 10-acre tea estate perched high above Koggala Lake with stunning views across the lake and jungle.The collaboration of the owner, a leading English interior designer, and the architect, an Australian whose credits include several highly acclaimed private houses, has produced a villa that stands alone in SL in terms of ethnic luxury and style.
The backbone of this spectacular villa is an 80 metre saffron wall that runs along the length of the property and acts as a divider between views across Koggala Lake from those across the tea and jungle. Glassless windows in the wall provide frames for the jungle beyond and accentuate the creative flair that has conceived this villa.
Accommodation is offered in terraced stand alone en suite pavilions whilst the living and dining areas are also housed in their own pavilions as if to emphasise that in SL, doing one thing at a time is the preferred path. Each pavilion features polished cement flooring and exposed timber ceilings with tiled roof.
There are large lily ponds either side of the sitting pavilion and a floating stepping-stone path provides access to the dining pavilion. These lily ponds spring to life as day melts into night with an orchestra of tropical song. Kahanda Kanda is a working tea estate and is well managed undergoing a revival employing 9 workers. True to tradition the men carry out the heavy work whilst the women are responsible for the delicate task of picking the leaves. Join them if you wish, Mahenda (Estate Manager) will be delighted to show you around, or simply lie back and watch others at work. Kahanda Kanda is an oasis of style set within a Garden of Eden that enables you to live the life of rural Sri Lanka. Enjoy the experience.
