The Indian Subcontinent - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 327

445 tea and
tartan, sri
lanKa

446 taKe to the hills in
BanGladesh

When people talk of visiting hill tribes,
Bangladesh is rarely the destination that comes
to mind. Yet in the dense rainforests that line
the country's southeastern border with Burma
and India, there are half a million indigenous
people belonging to fourteen different tribes -
and unlike in Laos, Thailand or Cambodia, very
few tourists make the effort to visit the villages.
For the visitors that do come, however,
Bangladesh Ecotours takes guests into the
Chittagong Hill Tracts region to stay with
tribes, sharing in traditional feasts, shopping
for handicrafts, and often finding themselves
the audience for an impromptu song-and-dance
given in their honour. There's usually the chance
for some trekking in the surrounding hills,
birdwatching, cruises down the river or visits to
nearby Hindu and Buddhist temples. In return
for their hospitality, the company provides the
tribes with funds for education and medical
aid, promoting conservation projects such as
reforestation and handicraft development.
One other aspect makes these hill tours
different, at least at present. A few years ago,
an aid worker was kidnapped in the area and
returned unharmed. As a consequence the
government now insists that all foreigners have
an armed guard for the entirety of their stay
in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The constant
presence of a couple of rifle-laden policemen isn't
ideal, but they keep themselves to themselves
and it's the only way to get to see these remote
places. And considering that you are likely to be
the only tourist there, you're going to stand out
anyway.

Hunas Falls isn't what
you'd normally expect
from an ecolodge in Sri
Lanka. That might be
down to the piped jazz
in the lobby, the billiards
room or the tartan
extravaganza that is “the
Highlander Suite”. But
it's worth getting past (or
better still, getting into)
the retro décor: high up
in the cool, fresh air of
the hills above the city of
Kandy, Hunas Falls is the
perfect place to escape
the heat and humidity of
central Sri Lanka.
Surrounded by a series
of waterfalls and a fertile
forest of bamboo, fern
and avocado trees, the
hotel overlooks spice and vegetable gardens and
beneath them the Dumbara Valley, from where
much of the food for the lakeside restaurant
is sourced. Committed to conserving its lush
environs for decades now, the hotel avoids the use
of pesticides and grows seedlings of indigenous
trees in its nursery for reforesting; guests are
welcome to buy their own tree to plant.
During your stay you may like to potter
about in a pedalo on the glassy lake, trek in
the surrounding Dumbara Valley, make a visit
to a local tea factory or try some Ayurvedic
massage. Hunas Falls will certainly fulfill your
expectations of an ecolodge - and it might even
foster a keen interest in billiards.

The hills around Hunas Falls;
Women picking tea

Need to know Bangladesh Ecotours, based in
Chittagong, will customize a trip according to
individual requirements. Also available are trips to
the Sunderbans and to the northern tea estates.
For prices, reservations and information on how to
get to Chittagong see W www.bangladeshecotours.
com.

Need to know The lodge is 26km from Kandy. For
prices and more information (including the lodge's
environmental policies) see W www.jetwingtravels.
com; T [phone].