Elephant Watch Hut Habarana

Rustic luxury in elephant territory!

An eco solidarity & social enterprise project.

Our Story / Inspiration / History /Friendly Visitors/Shoe Café/Wabi Sabi Concept:

1

Our Story

A thirsty young boy wandering in the forest fetching for water tries to dig a hole with a stick. A wild elephant noticed this incident approached him and with its trunk dug further until the water gushed out. Since that day this boy until he lived built a pond for elephants to quench their thirst. Elephant Watch Hut continues this legend by building water ponds for Wild elephants and supporting the villagers living around who are the decedents of the young boy.

2

Inspiration

‘Botakanda Inspiration’ is a Tourism Accommodation Concept ethics includes the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for tourism partnership projects with local villagers as stake holders & integrated with High Tech, Low Tech and No Tech. ‘ Botakanda means 'elephant’ in aboriginal language.

3

History

The watch hut 104 was originally occupied by a slash and burn farming family for a long time. Unfortunately due to wild elephants in the vicinity destroying their crops the family left the area. This hut was transformed to Elephant Watch Hut through our eco solidarity project 'Botakanda' based on the dream of this family.

4

Friendly Visitors

Wild Elephants: When no water is available on the ponds they will crack the main pipe line. Pushing things around specially the heavy concrete benches on the common area. Peacocks: Taking heavy flights from tree to land on watch hut roof. Birds: Tailor Bird Removing the thread from the bamboo blinds. Squirrels: Chipping away the bamboo blinds. Giant Squirrels: Robbing face towels for no reason. Monkey: Always trying to snatch sugar bottles away.

5

Shoe Café & 'Merklin Train'

For each pot of coffee served at the shoe cafe grill elephant watch hut will sponsor a pair of tennis shoes for a needy child to attend the school. Our Sri Lankan coffee from 3 different regions at the cafe served is percolated. Model Train: Sometimes train engine toot their horns in the night to chase away wild baby elephants from the track, as a reminder to protect these Pachyderms a model train from Merklin is displayed .

6

Wabi Sabi Concept

Although Wabi Sabi can be hard to define, we can translate its simplified meaning to “rustic simplicity” Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.” For e.g Wild Elephants often break things while rubbing their trunk due to curiosity - Bar Be Cue grill, Outdoor showers or uprooted tree trunks etc becomes a part of our concept. Pollen of the trees nearby cover the deck ponds with a thin layer when its windy must not to be misunderstood as dust or dirt.

Changing peoples's lifestyle ethics for better by financial support to improve their living conditions, renovating their houses & educating to understand about tourism business.  

1

PARTNERSHIP

We fully support individuals & families from villages nearby to join us at Elephant Watch Hut to build the bridge of confidence..

2

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Local knowledge will enable you share all the experience with the villagers way of life. e.g jungle life, agriculture, traditional fishing, weaving.

3

OUTSOURCING 90%

All the departments are outsourced to low income families. e.g all meals, laundry linnen, transport & local activities.

4

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Solar power lighting for all the watch huts with minimum brightness in oder not to disturb the wildlife & LPG for hot water shower.

5

LANGUAGE APPS

The favourite app of our team is "Google Language Translator" for faster communication, action & customer service.

6

OUR GOAL

Involve the local population to be independent for their start up projects as suppliers to Elephant Watch Hut, while respecting nature & culture.

 101 Wild Honey US$ 210 - 103 Pappadam US$ 210 - Wild Romance 102 US$ 250

Complimentary community based initiation activities - 'Be my Guest'

  • AGRICULTURE

  • LOCAL FISHING

  • VILLAGE WALK

  • CULINARY SKILLS

1

Bedroom:

Teak log beds. Teak wooden floor. Coconut fiber and natural rubber mattresses. Solar power lighting system. Outdoor relaxing pond deck View deck. Attached bathroom with toilet & shower. Relaxing deck pond: Release the used deck relaxing deck pond water outlet to have a refreshing outdoor morning shower to reduce water wastage.

2

Amenities:

02 x Umbrellas. 02 x Torches x 02. 02 x Water bottle bag. 01 x Mini Speaker. 01 x Solar powered reading lamp. 01 x Purse & passport holder. 02 x Yoga mats. 01 x Dustbin. 01 x Bin for clothes to be washed. 02 x Ear plugs – Use in case of night trains horning or sounds of nature. 01 x First aid kit box. 01 x Safe - inside the bathroom with a new padlock and set of keys.

3

Living Area:

01 x Dining Table with 04 Chairs for breakfast or dinner. 01 x Coffee Table with books about birds and wild animals by Professor Kotagama. 01 x Cool box. 01 x Relaxing camping bed. 01 x Charcoal Ironing Facility. 01 x Hot water hand shower – LPG Gas powered. 01 x Outdoor waterhole for guests and wild elephants. 01 x Outdoor bon fire.

4

Relaxing Deck Ponds

01 '2 ft depth' outdoor pond to cool off the heat during daytime and 01 '2 ft depth' on the deck for the evening or night to spot the stars or hear the sounds of wildlife.

Watch Hut 102

WILD ROMANCE

Watch Hut 102

ARIEAL VIEW

Watch Hut 102

BEDROOM

Watch Hut 102

BATHROOM

Interior Décor - Ideas Bed sheets: Pink color - Represents the depigmentation spots of the Elephant. Bed cover: Green - Nature and living environment of the wild animals. Pittu bamboo: Lamp shades - To steam rice flour with coconut for breakfast. Mouse trap: Pouch holder – elephants are scared of the mouse. Umbrellas holder : Railway line repairmen to store the flags. Baggage rack: Used by farmers to sit and chat. Bottom part is a shoe rack. Mineral water storage bag etc etc...

Private

OUTDOOR DINING AREA!

 

Select your choice from the menu ' Booking Form' Grill Chicken, Wild Prawns or Fish.

1

SITTING AREA

We have the perfect space for you! 01 table indoor (accommodating 04 guests total), & 01 outdoor ideal for an elegant dinner with a tasting Sri Lankan menu by our village chefs.

2

OUTDOOR BONFIRE

Sit close to your individual outdoor bonfire take inspiration from the jungle, the jeep safari, the romantic light of the full moon to spot wild elephants & sip a hot cocoa.

3

BARBECUE GRILL

Bar be cue meat or fish on the bonfire grill, throw some sausages on the pond grill, fire the rocket stove grill on the dining area for a hot tea or use the LPG gas burner.

VILLAGE CHEFS!

OUTDOOR GRILL CHICKEN!

GRILLED PRAWNS!

CAUGHT WILD BROUGHT FRESH!

CHANGING PEOPLE'S

LIFESTYLES FOR BETTER.

Weather, Season & Temperature

Sri Lanka has a tropical climate & experiences two sets of monsoons, the weather is a bit on the humid side.

Maximum rainfall in the months of May, October and November. During the rainy season it can be very cold in the night. Blankets are provided in the Watch Huts.

The average temperature ranges between 29 degree Celsius to 31 degree Celsius here.

Watch Hut is Not a Zoo.

Karandagas Wewa has a a gorgeous lake surrounded by a forest where wild elephants roam. Evening horn bills can be spotted.

Wild animals like peacocks & monkey can be seeing along the way. With a bit of luck, wild elephants do visit us frequently but not everyday  to feed on fresh grass or passing through.

Do not try to go alone to discover the surrounding landscape  without our team members. Listen to them!.

Promotion sponsored by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority - SLTDA Buddy also has won the Presidential award in 2007 as the best National Tour Guide.

  • Elephant Watch Hut
  • Karandagas Wewa Trincomalee Rd, Habarana

Priyantha: English Buddiya: English & German Brigitte: French Website Designed By: Mungo Magic