Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hunas Falls Hotel
HOTEL
( 494 0320;
www.hunasfallskandy.com
;
Elkaduwa;s/d incl breakfast from US$178/189;
)
Perched on the edge of a working tea plantation and spice garden, this hotel, which is pop-
ular with visitors from India and the Middle East, has elegant rooms and a bucolic loca-
tion. Frankly the building itself is something of an ugly and impersonal blot on an other-
wise stunning landscape.
VISITING THE VEDDAHS
Sri Lanka was inhabited long before the Sinhalese or Tamils arrived on the scene. These
original inhabitants, known as the Veddahs (Hunters), are thought to have first arrived on
the island some 18,000 years ago and until fairly recently they have lived alongside their
fellow Sri Lankans without too many issues. Today though, as with aboriginal communit-
ies across South Asia, the remaining Veddah communities are under intense pressure
and only a few hundred pure-blooded Veddah remain.
The last Veddah stronghold is in the countryside around the village of
Dambana
, which
is east of the small town of
Mahiyangana
. If you want to meet the Veddah, then once in
Dambana you need to find a translator-guide and then get to the pretty hamlet of
Kotabakina
, the most frequently visited Veddah village. Once here you will (for a fairly
substantial sum) most likely be entertained with dancing, singing and a 'hunting' display
by the Veddah people.
Perhaps not surprisingly the whole experience can feel rather staged, but it should also
be borne in mind that the money tourism pumps into the villages, and the tourists' desire
to see traditional tribal 'culture', might actually be enough to stop the last of Veddah from
being swallowed up by mainstream Sri Lankan culture.
The best base for a visit to this area is Mahiyangana, a sprawling and sparsely settled
town. The only highlight in the town itself is the
Mahiyangana dagoba
where, according
to legend, the Buddha preached on his first visit to Sri Lanka.
There are a few lodging options in Mahiyangana, none of which are very accustomed to
foreign guests, and there are buses to Kandy, Badulla and Polonnaruwa, among other
destinations.
Getting There & Away
