‘RUWALA RESORT’ FLAPPING IN KALPITIYA
Nearly 150 kms North of Colombo City, Kalpitiya Peninsula is a 40 km stretch of land, surrounded by the Indian Ocean on one side and the Puttalam Lagoon on the other, and has been identified as one of the popular tourist destinations in Sri Lanka.
In line with the vision of the Sri Lanka Tourism, numbers of small and medium hotel projects have sprung up in the area since the end of the war. Most of the resorts and villas have come up in the western coastal stretch of the peninsula, promoting water sports activities and hot sun, sand and the sea.
Located on the banks of the beautiful lagoon, Ruwala Resort in Thihaliya, Eththale offers milder atmosphere with more green shades and mangrove covered waters. It is just fifteen minutes drive away from the popular Thalawila Church. It is built in the remote fishing village of Thihaliya in 2009, by the banks of the breathtaking Puttalam Lagoon, Ruwala Resort spans nine acres of coconut and palm garden and is geared to provide a relaxing as well as an adventurous holiday experience to all holiday makers, who want to get away from the fast and furious city life.
The key attraction of the resort is the clump of around 100 year old palms, which are in a circular formation. This has been treated as a centre court, the rest of the buildings have been constructed to radiate from the centre court which has an open air hang out area with hammocks and easy chairs with facilities for a bonfire.
The resort is divided by a waterway into two sections, with Lagoon Villas, Cabanas, Waterfront Villas and main dining area at one end, two luxury Mangrove and the camp-site and outdoor/adventure activities situated at the other side.
The Ruwala Resort offers comfortable accommodation with four spacious Lagoon Villas with eight rooms, two luxury mangrove suites with elevated floor areas, two Cosy Cabanas and four Water Front rooms by the lagoon for the more adventurous people.
‘Adventure and outdoor activity section have been separated from the rooms mainly because of the guests, who come to the Resort to enjoy the tranquillity and privacy. Our motto is back to nature’ said Channa
Liyanage, the General Manager of the Resort. The rooms and suites at the resort have a contemporary, yet ‘local’ feel, with a blend
of earth-coloured walls and wide windows framing the magnificent views of the lagoon and garden. The open-sided restaurant that can accommodate about forty pax comfortably has a rooftop terrace with fitted cement seats for basking in the sun or chilling-out later in the day, where the view of the moonlit lagoon from the rooftop is spectacular.
Naturally close to one of the wealthiest lagoons, cuisine of the Ruwala Resort is rich with sea food. It offers all local, as well as international food and the kitchen caters to a wide array of palates.
‘BBQS are also served at the restaurant and are prepared with fresh sea-food purchased directly from the local fishermen and keeping with the eco friendly policy, we buy all fresh vegetables from the farmers of the area. Sri Lankan traditional cuisine is very popular with the local travellers’ said Chef Gamini Thilekerathne.
The top attraction is the popular ‘seafood market’, where the guests can buy their choice of sea food and the kitchen team is ready to prepare it the way they want.
Ruwala’s ‘Activity Centre’ is fully equipped for kayaking, boating, snorkelling and scuba diving, fishing and kite surfing.
The hotel also organises excursions to other attractions, notable among which are Wilpattu National Park, the dolphin and whale watching in Kalpitiya, St. Ann’s Church Thalawila and Muneswaran.
Adventurous boat rides in the lagoon, ‘Gange Wadiya’ at the Kalaoya Delta, Kudiramale, Palugahatenna, Mahatita and Kaluoya are other attractions in the area.
Ruwala Resort is a subsidiary of Ceyline Holdings Company.