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Located in the southeastern rural plains of Wellawaya, Jetwing Kaduruketha is Sri Lanka’s first agro-eco-luxury resort. The organic kitchen garden provides the fruit, vegetables and herbs used in the restaurant’s authentic local cuisine. Jetwing Kaduruketha and Jetwing Hotels as a whole, strive to develop meaningful relationships with the local communities around their hotels ensuring tourism benefits make it to the community’s grassroots. I was with Jetwing Yala for 3 years, and years before that, I was working for several different Sri Lankan hotel chains, either in Sri Lanka or the Maldives

The next stop on our Sri Lanka Road Trip is Nuwara Eliya. The highlands surrounding Nuwara Eliya make up a large percentage of Sri Lanka’s tea growing region. The hill track climbs through Mount Pedro tea plantation and provides outstanding views overlooking Nuwara Eliya and north to Sri Lanka’s highest mountain, Mount Pidurutalagala. Sri Lanka’s Highlands, specifically Nuwara Eliya has a subtropical highlands climate.

Built on a plateau in central Sri Lanka’s hill country, the Kingdom of Kandy held the last independent monarchy of Sri Lanka until British rule in 1815. Kandy also offers a chance to really soak up the lush hill country with Sri Lanka’s largest Botanical Garden and the Knuckles Mountain Range. The art of mask making is concentrated along Sri Lanka’s west coast but handcrafted wood, including a few decorative masks, can be found in Kandy at Rajanima Craft. Kandy is in the central hill country of Sri Lanka with a tropical rainforest climate.

Bandaranaike’s introduction of the Sinhalese Only Act, making Sinhalese the official language, posed a threat to the Tamil community’s language and culture. *Ferries from southern India have ceased and since 2018, Sri Lanka’s second airport in south-west Hambantota only caters to Cinnamon Air, a small-plane taxi service for domestic air travel. Since 1981, Jetwing Travels, in conjunction with Jetwing Hotels, have been preparing visitor’s itineraries. The National Museum, Independence Square, Colombo Waterfront and Pettah Market, all contribute to understanding Sri Lanka’s history and culture.