The Tree House
Sri Lanka
Staying the night in a treehouse
GINGATHANA, SRI LANKA
Situated in the midst of the wild forests of Ginigathena, lies a little gem of tree houses and this special one was called The Tree House. The treehouse we lived in was held upright by a strong Jackfruit Tree and our balcony opened up to the serenity of nature - mountains, tall trees, and a lot of wildlife. Every morning we would be engulfed by all the clouds as they swept through the valley beneath us. This is a view we could wake up to all the time - so fresh, tranquil, and romantic.
As Ginigethana receives the largest amount of rainfall in Sri Lanka, the floor of this place gets very slippery so Tip One is to wear grippy shoes and Tip Two is to watch your step. Even the person hosting us had a bandage on his ear and three stitches from slipping over.
The entire place is surrounded by lush greenery, beautiful wildlife, and a magnificent view of the mountains that touch the clouds.
3 things we liked and didn’t like about this place:
like:
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We love the fact that we get to wake up in a tree. It’s the first thing and the last thing we get to get to see in our day.
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The view from our balcony was one of a kind. It opened up to the fresh smell of nature and we were surrounded by trees, wildlife, and the tranquility of the mountains. We could literally feel the clouds touching our faces.
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The photo opportunities that come out of this place are stunning and we were super happy to have managed to capture all the shots we had noted down in our shortlist.
Didn’t like:
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We noticed only one staff member managing the entire property. This caused a bit of inconvenience during times when we needed something considering there were people living in the other tree houses as well. It would be great if the number of staff members increased. However, this was most likely due to the low number of tourists from the horrific easter attacks. We hope the staff will increase when tourism does.
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The water was freezing cold and there was no option for a heater or hot water. This could have been because we were in a tree. Hot showers are always a nice feeling!
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The place is filled with bugs and even though we were told that the room had been sprayed by chemicals to keep the insects away, we woke up with tons of insect bites the next day. Again, we were deep in nature.
Our next location from Ginigathena was to head to a place called Gampola by bus. However, considering we had 3 luggage, the tuk-tuk driver mentioned to us that buses from Ginigathena to Gampola train station are always high load (full) and it would be impossible for us to find a place to store our luggage or even to get a seat to sit so he suggested to get the train from Ginigathena which is around 12 km from the bus station. 2 train tickets to Gampola cost us only 40 rs and took us half the travel time than the bus.
