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In rural Sri Lanka, a ‘watch-hut’ is adopted as an elevated refuge for the farmer to protect the cultivation overnight. In retrospect ‘The Ark’ is a contemporary style elevated estate bungalow nestled on a raised terrain of a 40 acre estate in Mathugama, 64km to the south of Colombo and just 95km, 2.45hours drive from the Colombo International Airport., where the rubber plantation stops and the jungle begins. It’s unique and elevated sitting allows a breathtaking view of the estate, the valley below and hills beyond, leaving you in lush green seclusion.
Attractions : Rubber plantations, Paddy Fields, Wilderness
What makes ‘The Ark’ unique is, yes it’s acclaimed elevated modern ‘watch-hut’ design, but that’s not all. The entire facility can be reserved for just one touring party, from a couple of nature-loving persons, to a bigger group of up to 6. When you take refuge at this earthly, yet magical eco haven, it is completely yours, until you leave.
Nature trails, Bird watching, trekking, Rain forest exploration, tea plucking and rubber tapping experience, Photography and filming, Fauna & Flora study.
Bordering the tropical Rainforest ‘Sinharaja’, ‘The Ark’ tempts both adventurers and people looking for a relaxing hide-away in a natural paradise. Our 40 acres of private reserve offer various possibilities to discover the magic of wilderness. Enjoy trekking on our reserve, let your mind, body and soul float on top of the mountains in our infinity pool or simply relax on the wooden terrace of the Ark, and perhaps the endangered
Purple-faced leaf monkey will surprise you with a glimpse.
There are no fixed meal times and the terrace or pool - side is ever ready for al fresco dining. The resident chef prepares indigenous favorites and a refreshingly creative range of fusion and authentic local dishes. You will experience the natural and untainted taste of vegetables and fruits from our own plantations and the neighboring villages.
General Information
The Ark is a rustic outdoors bungalow which has three double rooms with attached bathrooms which can accommodate 6 people. Additional 2 camp beds can be provided if required.
The hotel do not serve alcohol at The Ark, but guests are welcome to bring their own. No corkage will be charged.
The Ark also has a pool, TV, DVD player, I-pod docking station, board games. Mobile 3G connectivity is also available.
Rooms are not air-conditioned, but we have fans and protective nets are available if required.
We do not recommend The Ark as suitable lodging for children below 10 years.
Our rates are on FB basis per night. This will include limited servings of juice/ snacks/ soft drinks/ tea or coffee.
Meals are provided on a set menu basis as follows:-
Breakfast - Sri Lankan or English breakfast
Lunch - Sri Lankan
Dinner - Western
 " Our Tour in Sri Lanka Traveling through the beautiful Sri Lanka has been great. Cyril warmly welcomed us at the airport and drove us with his always clean car in every part of the country. He provided daily information about the history and the different sites of Sri Lanka. Also, he taught us a lot about Sri Lankan culture, starting from food, traditions, animals and nature, and suggested authentic and less known places we c..." FILIPPO MASI FROM ITALY
 "We found Cyril on-line and after checking with lots of other guides we decided he is the one for us, that decision was the best one we did for our trip From the beginning, in our emails, Cyril listen to us and was very helpful, he gave us information and helped us to create the best trip for us.We had 10 days trip, for our honeymoon, to many parts of Sri-Lanka. the country is amazing, green, nice people and good food.Cyril was a great driver and even greater guide, he has so much knowledge and e..." Coral and Oded from Israel
 "We are an older couple celebrating a lot of years of marriage (and hiking) in Sri Lanka in February this year, for two weeks, and three days in the Maldives. Although we love to drive, we chose to go with a driver-guide, after planning the trip completely independently. (It turned out he might help us in the planning and selection of hotels, we own). The main advantage is reaching the sites, some of which are tired, refreshed after someone else used to bad roads, with bad signage - If you are i..." Sam
 "Hi Mr.Cyril, Hope you and family and grandchild are doing fine. Hope to come to Sri Lanka again. We really enjoyed our trip especially with your special help and guidance. We will definitely contact you if at all we wish to visit Sri Lanka again. Thanks & Best Regards Mr. & Mrs.Pillai Singapore 29/7/11 " Mr & Mrs.Pillai from Singapore
 "Excellent tour guide Cyril is a great tour guide and is very knowledgeable. He made our entire trip super comfortable. His vehicles are clean and well maintained. He is also very flexible if changes are needed. Definitely recommend!" Berenice Coelho
 "2nd to 15th November 2016 Dear Cyril, Thank you for arranging our first visit to your beautiful country. We had a very enjoyable, comfortable, safe, interesting and memorable holiday. All the accommodations you provided were very clean and comfortable and we will always remember the welcome, we felt when the smiling staff cheerfully looked after us and our every need. The itinerary you arranged was just right for us and made even better with the care you took whilst driving your very c..." Satwant and Doug from Australia
 " Hi Cyril We have had a fabulous holiday driven and guided by Cyril from CYRIL TOURS. Hotel recommendations were perfect and knowledge supertb. We would happy to introduce CYRIL TOURS to our frieinds and relatives. Thank you for the photos you are taken and send to us, they are a great reminder of our amazing experience in Sri Lanka. We had a truly memorable time and we are grateful to you for all your knowledge and guidance throughout our trip, it would not have been..." Mr. Richard & Mrs. Bridget Simson and family from
 "Thank you so much for wonderful Sri Lanka trip.We had a great time. The trip was very relaxing as well as fun. My daughter MAHI who lovingly started calling you "Cyril Dada"(grand farther) Had a memorable trip. She cannot stop talking about elephants. Our trip to Sri Lanka will be full of great memories, its because of you. Thank you for showing us your beautiful country the way we wanted, eating local food, lots of King coconut and Corn stops. We will be surely coming back to see rest o..." Mithil Patel
 "Dear Cyril, Thanks for taking care of the Dr.Sethukavalar and his wife very well. They were indeed very happy for all the care you have shown during your tour. They were very impressed of your patience and kindness. I look forward to see you soon and maintain this good relationship we have developed in a short period of time. We will not hesitate a second to recommend you to all our friends who would like to visit Sri Lanka. Taking this opportunity of wishing you all the best. Thanks fo..." HARIDAS KANDASAMY
 "Hello my dear friend Mr. Cyril We are all fine dear, I have visited Sri Lanka and I loved the country, Insha’Allah I will visit again your country, it is amazing place. This is the first day at work , really I enjoy the tour to sri lanka with my family and it was very nice and I wish to go again to sri lanka and of course you were very good and polite and respectable guy -thanks a lot for every thing and I wish you ..." Nasser Mohamed from Oman