Contact information

Adresse:

Siridigana Road, Pussellagolla watta

Udispattuwa,

Kandy District Central

Sri Lanka

Phone number:

0094 772425121

E-mail:

welikande@gmail.com

Webpage:

www.welikande-villas.com / www.welikande-villas.lk

Find us on and follow us on Facebook:

Welikande Villas

Guest House and Trekking Center

Located in the Kandy region

Call us for more infromation on:

0094 772425121

About us:

Welikande Villas was originally a childrens home for girls. It consists of 7 acres of land

with 4 seperate houses. We bought it in 2012 and have slowly transformed the grounds

and houses into the amazíng guest house we have today.

Jeyakumar and his wife Shamarla where employed to look after the grounds and

houses. Jeykaumar is know the daily manager and Shamarla runs the kitchen and

houses with great skill.

We can offer:

A clean and safe environment

Good food grown locally and on our own property

Beautiful natural surroundings.

Great climate— as we are farily high up in the mountains we rarely get above 28 degrees and there is always a cooling breeze. At night the temperature drops to around 18 degrees.

A guest house away from the crowds.

A sense of belonging in the local community.

Being looked after as you where a visitor in our home.

Our concept is—A home from home at Welikande

Villas

Waterfalls tour This is a unique Tuk Tuk and trekking experience of the waterfalls in the local area. The trip takes you to hidden and unknown waterfalls in mountains and tea estates. The tour follows the “river” going past the “power station”, after this a quick dip in the local bath-ing place, before you head on to Hungalla. Here there is a good veiwppoint over a beauti-ful big waterfall where the provided lunch can be enjoyed before heading on up to the Allakolla tea estate. It is a beautiful ride up through the very well kept Tea estate. The first stop here is a waterfall which is 4 kms from the road. The walk is nice and easy through the tea plants and the waterfall is well worth the walk. The second stop is a short walk from the road, another beautiful waterfall and a good place to a swim. The final stop is a twin falls The waterfalls tour takes all day, depending on how much time is spent at each waterfall. The amount of walking can be altered to suit you, all the falls can be seen at a distance from the road, but if you enjoy walking there is great opportu-nities to get close and into all the waterfalls.

Lunch, snacks and water is provided for the trip, and the Tuk Tuk driver is happy to stop if anything else is needed. The english speaking Tuk Tuk driver is also the guide to the different waterfalls, and knows a lot about the local area.

Sunscreen and good walking shoes are a good idea to remember for this trip as there is fair bit off walking, and the can be very strong. Depending on the season (rainy or dry) the amount of water in the falls and rivers vary a lot.

Prices:

Single bedroom—$ 30 pr. night

Double Bedroom— $ 55 pr. night

Deluxe Double Bedroom—$75 pr. night for 2 persons (Additional $10 pr. ekstra

person). 35 m2 rooms with luxury en suite bathrooms. The rooms have a beautiful hand

made four poster bed from local wood made by the village carpenter covered by netting

curtains there is also a double bed sette that can be folded out to give 2 extra sleeping

places ideal for children or adults.

Family Apartment—$ 110 pr. night

The luxury Family rooms have two beautiful double bedrooms that are joined by a

balcony or a corridor. Both double rooms have en suite bathrooms

The Whole house—$ 200 pr. night

The luxury full house has four beautiful double bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms

Old Priests House (Cabana) - $ 150 pr. night or 900 $ a week For those larger groups or families who would like a house. It sleeps up to 10 and lies in

its own grounds but still has access to the restaurant and lounge. We have renovated the

old Priests House into a simple cabana giving a double bedroom, a triple bedroom and

room for 5 more people in the loft panorama view room and living room. The property

has a kitchen, living room, bathroom and a covered terrace where there is an amazing

view over the Victoria Dam.

All are rooms have private bathrooms with a toilet, shower and sink. Fresh towels and

linen are provided.

All prices are including breakfast . Meals are served in the dinning room where there is

room to relax afterwards in the lounge area.

Day trips

We offer a number of different day trips from Welikande Villas, and all can be

mixed to suit you specific wishes. We use local english speaking Tuk Tuk drivers

that have great knowledge of the surrounding area and have taken many guests on

day trips. We make sure that our drivers drive safetly and with caution too ensure

the safety of our guests.

Driving through the loval scenery you can see eagles, monkeys and much more.

The Tuk Tuk ride is an experience in it’s self, and walks of different lengths and

difficulties will be provided to fullfil your needs.

Siridigana (local half day trip)

This is a great trip for all, Siridigana is the

next village from us, only 2 km away, so you

can either walk here or take a Tuk Tuk. The

road takes you down the hill with forest on

both sides, where many birds and different

trees can be seen.

In Siridigana you can go to the local weavers

where the local ladies come and weave cloth

and saris. It is a step back in time seeing the

old looms and spinning weels. Everyone is

very friendly, and if you wish you can

purchase some of the beautiful textiles they

have made. It is also possible to visit the

local buddist temple and talk to the priest.

Here you get to see the completly untouristy

real local temple.

The local weavery

From Dumerra in the Tuk Tuk there is a 30 min ride through nice scenery to the mini worlds end. Here there is an information center about the Knuckles Range with infor-mation about the local people, the area and the animals and plants that you can see. There is a nice roundtrip to the Mini Worlds End 2,5 km in total along a good path. When you reach it, there are amazing views off the whole area, and on clear days you can see the next mountain range in the horizon. Lunch can be enjoyed here or in the lunch per-gola by the information center.

Just up the road from the Infor-mation center is a great walk – 9 kms in total, which takes 3-4 hours. The trip is a nice circle round the moutainside through nice forest and open areas with great views. On the way there is many small waterfalls and lots of different birds and flowers. At the end of the trek there is a big wa-terfall, where you can take a swim and cool off after the walk. There is a primitive changing room if this is needed. Also toi-letfacilities are available.

Waterfall at Doghalla walk

Victoria dam, Dummera, Mini Worlds End and Doghala trek This is an all day trip which mixes driving in a Tuk Tuk and trekking at an easy to moderate level depending on your requirements.

From the Victoria Dam you head on th Dumerra approxi-mately 15 minuets away. Here a monument has been placed to mark the place where the last king was captured, and there is a covered bench area where a replica of the “cage” in which the king was transported in is showed. A nice place to have a cup off tea.

The first stop of the trip is Victoria Dam is approximately 30 minutes away from Welikande in the Tuk Tuk.. On the way you go down the mountatinside through small villages and forests, the last half following the Victoria reservoir, where you can see monkeys. When you arrive there is a beautiful veiw of the Victoria Dam and Reservoir. There is a small museum where you can read about the history of the dam and how it was built. If you are interested by en-ginerring it is very interesting.

The Victoria Dam

Dumerra

Cookery Courses

We also offer cookery courses of different lengths and difficulties, where

you with our in house cook and manager Shamalla will cook a tradistional Sri

Lankan meal. The ingredients are bought at the local market, spice shops

and wholesalers so you get the real authentic cooking experience.

You take the local bus or tuk tuk the nearby towns Teldiniya or Digana.

Here you go to the market to buy the raw ingredients for lunch and dinner

i.e. the best fish of the day, caught fresh from the lake or the sea or meat

from the local butcher and vegetables, fruit and dry ingrediants including

spices. During the afternoon the cooking course gives you a step by step

hands on guide to making the evening meal usually 10 dishes.

When staying at Welikande Villas, the cookery course only costs $ 50 per.

person, whic includes transport, lessons and all the ingredients.

Buying groceries at the local market

Trekking in the Knuckles Range The following describes some of the different treks that we offer. They can be combined into a 3 day trek, or can be done individu-ally in anyway that suits you. The skill level and length of the treks vary, so there is something for all levels, from easy to hard. All the treks are led by a local English speaking guide, with good knowledge of the surrounding area and wildlife. The Knuckles Range is an UNESCO world heritage site a beautiful unspoiled area that has everything from tea estates, rice teras-seces to jungle. There is an abundance of birds, flowers and amazing views, defiantly worth a visit for all nature lovers.

Hill Oya

Knuckles Range

Lake Sorobora

Day 3 – Lake Camp

This trip goes to Mahiyanganaya, Sorabora Lake, a beautiful area at a large lake. Here you can go fishing, birdwatching, walking, swim-ming and enjoy the amazing nature It is around 2½ hours away from Welikande Villas by car. We recommend to leave after lunch, so you arrive before it gets dark at the lake camp. To get to the lake camp, Mr. Bandara picks you up by the lakeside in his boat, and sails you over the beautiful lake to the campsite. Here a wonderful barbecue and dinner is prepared for you. In the even-ing a campfire is lit, and there is singing and dancing by the fire. When it’s time to go to bed, you get the unique experience of sleep-ing in a tent placed on a small boat/floating platform on the lake.

As the sun rises, the bird song begins – perfect time for a beautiful morning boat ride. The boat is rowed silently across the river and you can see many different species of birds and flowers. If you are very lucky you might even get to see some wild elephants coming down to drink. Before going back to the campsite you can have a nice and refreshing morning swim in the lake.

After having a lovely breakfast the rest of the day is open for any activity you may want to enjoy.

From Sorabora Lake it is ideal to go on to Ella or Nuwara Eliya, and after this head on down south to the beaches in Mirissa, Hikkadua or Galle and the national parks of Udawallewa or Yalla.

The Lake camp

Sunrise over

Sorobora Lake

Morning swim in

the lake

Practical information Remember to bring: Sunscreen Sunhat Plenty of water Snacks Good walking shoes Practical clothes

Good advice: It is a good idea to wear something that covers the shoul-

ders, chest and neck as the sun is very strong. Especially when it has rained there can be many leeches.

The local guides bring remedies to get them off you, but if you are worried about it, leech socks can be purchased

Leeches are not dangerous and can be removed very easily, so there is nothing to be afraid off.

The lunch provided from basecamp is local food, so if this is a problem or you have special dietary needs let us know

A guest putting on his leech socks

774, 766, 900

View of the rice

teracces

Tea break at the

local shop

Afternoon swim

by a waterfall

At the top off

the knuckles

range

View of the

Knuckles mountains

Lunch at the edge of the waterfall

Day 2 – Knuckles Mountains Trek

There are two options for this trek either you can go all the way to the top off the highest knuckle (1864 m) which in total is 18 km and takes 8 hours or you can go to a beautiful waterfall, which is an easier trek, only 10 km around 5 hours of moderate trekking. The trek starts from basecamp after breakfast, and heads on up through tea plants on a nice easy road for the first 30 minutes. After this the climb starts going up using tea picker paths and heads into a low forest. After around 2 hours you reach an opening in the forest, and here you choose of you would like to carry on up to the top, or go to the waterfall. To the top - 18 km (8 hours): This is a hard trek, where there are many very steep climbs towards the end. If you are pretty fit and like challenges this is a great trek, and an amazing experience to get to the top. On clear days you can see all the way to Adams Peak. On the way you also go past the “leopard’s rock”, a rock where leopards are said to often visit. The evidence in the form of leopard excrements and a deer skeleton are there. When you get to the top lunch is provided, before you begin the descent. To the waterfall - 10 km (5 hours): This is a more moderate trek, but still requires you to be pretty fit. To get to the waterfall you have to follow a steep and narrow path for approximately 1 km. The waterfall is well worth the effort, it is a beautiful big waterfall, high up in the mountainside. Here you can enjoy your lunch over-looking the valley, and have a nice swim before heading back down the mountain. After the trek you can choose either to sleep at the base camp, or go back to Welikande Villas for the night.

Day 1 – Hill Oya Trek– 15 km (6 hours) The Hill Oya trek goes through beautiful rice terraces where you can see the local farmers working. There is a great variety of birds, flow-ers, plants and trees along the way as the scenery changes from rice terraces, to forest ending in tea plantagens . This is a beautiful trek that can be enjoyed by all. This trek is mainly on nice paths and has few steep climbs. It starts a few km from Welikande Villas, which only takes a couple off minu-ets in a Tuk Tuk. After about an hour of walking there is a very small local tea shop, here you can have a cup of tea and also get to taste some local fruit and sweets.

After the break you walk on through the rice terraces for another 3-4 hours until you reach a beautiful waterfall where you have lunch and can go for nice swim. From the waterfall there is an hour walk to Base Camp where you can spend the night if you wish to trek on the next day, or get a ride back to Welikande Villas.

Base Camp is a primitive camp where you sleep in tents on mats under shelters. In the evening the dinner is barbecued, and there is a fire with singing and dancing. There is no electricity or hot water, but lots of atmosphere and fun.