The Indian Subcontinent - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 332

railways-timetable), from where it's a 20min taxi
ride to Ulpotha. For prices, reservations and further
info see W www.ulpotha.com; T [phone]
3603.

453 Practise your yoGa at
ulPotha, sri lanKa

A quiet village situated in the tropical heart of
Sri Lanka three hours from Colombo, Ulpotha
has been a pilgrimage site for thousands of
years. In 1994, a Sri Lankan ecologist and
two businessmen were drawn here to set up
an organic farming community, which soon
developed into a weekend retreat. Word soon
spread about the tranquillity of the area, and it
wasn't long before their haven blossomed into a
popular yoga and Ayurveda destination.
Made up of airy and spacious adobe huts, the
Ulpotha retreat lies next to a lotus-filled lake,
surrounded by green paddy fields and ringed by
the low Galgiriyawa Mountains. Wildlife in the
area is abundant - guests will spot kingfishers,
monitor lizards, mango-munching monkeys and
huge butterflies, and be lulled to sleep by frog
chorus. During the day, life revolves around yoga
sessions at the pavilion, cleansing treatments
at the Ayurvedic centre, dips in the cool lake,
and the even more languid lure of the communal
hammocks and huts.
There are no timetables here: the barefoot,
sarong-clad hosts have a very relaxed approach
to mealtimes - breakfast is a help-yourself
affair, while supper is informally announced
by the setting sun. Food is predominantly
organic and vegetarian - vegan even, if you
discount the irresistible buffalo curd and kithul
treacle dessert - and based around the rich,
spicy flavours of the various curries, dhals
and sambals laid out on rush floor-mats in the
ambalama (“resting place”).
Any profits made by the retreat are given
back to Ulpotha's agrarian community, who are
encouraged to practise organic farming and to
reforest the area. And in return, the retreat
operates a free Ayurvedic clinic, treating over a
hundred local villagers weekly.

454 underwater GardeninG in
the maldives

Lots of people dream of sitting on a Maldives
beach, soaking up the sun and gazing out to sea.
Few people dream of sitting on a Maldives beach
and rolling up balls of cement. But this is one of
the most popular choices of activity at Angsana
Velavaru, a luxury resort situated on a pristine
island on South Nilandhe Atoll.
The appearances aren't deceptive - Angsana
is your typical Maldives hotel, a pampered
paradise offering day-long watersports, endless
spa treatments, cocktails at sunset and dinner
on the beach. There's a restaurant on stilts
over the water, and sumptuous private villas
with their own pools and bubbling jacuzzis.
But the resort is also making concerted efforts
to conserve its habitat: rising sea levels and
temperatures caused by El Niño phenomena and
global warming have put the islands at risk of
flooding. This is where the (voluntary) cement-
rolling comes in, as part of an ambitious project
to replant damaged reefs, essential for protecting
the islands they surround from the rising sea.
Once you've rolled out the cement balls, you
swim out into the blue where, a few metres below
the surface, new corals are being planted on a
mix of custom-made frames, concrete blocks from
building works, and even the odd broken air-
conditioning unit. For the next hour or so, you
wedge the balls into place and then stick shards
of coral into their new home. You'll then swim off
to see some already-established coral beds, to see
what your little saplings will become.

Need to know Angsana is 45min by sea-plane
from Male. It also runs free weekly reef clean-up
excursions. For prices and more information see
W www.angsana.com; T [phone].

Need to know Trains run from Colombo and other
destinations to Maho ( W www.slrfc.org/sri-lanka-