Kandalama & Sri Lanka's famous hotel in the Cultural Triangle
Kandalama is a village and an ancient reservoir 5 km east of Dambulla. Kandalama is well-known for Sri Lanka's first five star hotel, the Heritance Kandalama designed by Geoffrey Bawa, the nation’s most famous architect. The hotel is located at the border of the Kaludiya Pokuna sanctuary, which is both an archaeological site and a forest reserve.
The Kandalama Lake, located four kilometers east of Dambulla, is primarily known for one of the most famous hotels in the country, "Heritance Kandalama." It was designed as a luxury accommodation for guests visiting Sigiriya.
However, Sri Lanka's renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa, with his sense of tradition-conscious modernity, imparted a completely different stamp to the entire project. The result was indeed a hotel with ambitious standards, particularly in environmental conservation, which is evident in various details of the structure and its way of functioning. The concept also includes an elegant integration into the surrounding landscape. (In the above photo, the Kandalama Hotel is visible in its entirety, though only upon closer inspection.) Bawa also emphasized a certain spatial distance from Sigiriya, aiming not to disturb it with large constructions and to offer guests tranquility away from tourist crowds. The Kandalama area was perfect for this purpose, far from major roads, yet close to Sigiriya and Dambulla, even providing a view of the Sigiriya rock across the serene lake. Simultaneously, the hotel is nestled in a large forested area known for its abundance of birds due to the nearby water. This allows hotel guests to engage in relaxed birdwatching right at their accommodation. In the immediate vicinity of the Heritence Kandalama, currently managed by Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings, a protected forest oasis covering 85 hectares has been created for ensuring the conservation of the biodiversity for the pleasure of the guests. 128 species of native flora are inhabited by 183 bird species, 19 reptile species, 17 mammal species, and 64 species of butterflies.
The Kandalama Lake is a medium-sized reservoir among the ancient and early medieval tanks of Sri Lanka. It silted up since the 13th century. It was not the British but rather the government of the first Prime Minister, Don Stephen Senanayake, that restored the old tank. Thus, Kandalama was among the first major projects of independent Ceylon, although Gal Oya is more famous and far more significant.
However, Sri Lanka's renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa, with his sense of tradition-conscious modernity, imparted a completely different stamp to the entire project. The result was indeed a hotel with ambitious standards, particularly in environmental conservation, which is evident in various details of the structure and its way of functioning. The concept also includes an elegant integration into the surrounding landscape. (In the above photo, the Kandalama Hotel is visible in its entirety, though only upon closer inspection.) Bawa also emphasized a certain spatial distance from Sigiriya, aiming not to disturb it with large constructions and to offer guests tranquility away from tourist crowds. The Kandalama area was perfect for this purpose, far from major roads, yet close to Sigiriya and Dambulla, even providing a view of the Sigiriya rock across the serene lake. Simultaneously, the hotel is nestled in a large forested area known for its abundance of birds due to the nearby water. This allows hotel guests to engage in relaxed birdwatching right at their accommodation. In the immediate vicinity of the Heritence Kandalama, currently managed by Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings, a protected forest oasis covering 85 hectares has been created for ensuring the conservation of the biodiversity for the pleasure of the guests. 128 species of native flora are inhabited by 183 bird species, 19 reptile species, 17 mammal species, and 64 species of butterflies.
The Kandalama Lake is a medium-sized reservoir among the ancient and early medieval tanks of Sri Lanka. It silted up since the 13th century. It was not the British but rather the government of the first Prime Minister, Don Stephen Senanayake, that restored the old tank. Thus, Kandalama was among the first major projects of independent Ceylon, although Gal Oya is more famous and far more significant.
