Fotografi · AI-forbedret
Amba Yaalu is a Thema Collection hotel in a mango orchard on the shore of Kandalama Lake, and Sri Lanka's first hotel fully managed and staffed by women. Its rooms look over 457 mango trees and the water to the rocky ridge of Sleeping Soldier mountain, its roofs are covered in solar panels, and Dambulla and Sigiriya are both within easy reach.
Every room has air conditioning and a fan, free Wi-Fi, satellite television, a minibar, a safe, tea and coffee making facilities and a balcony facing the orchard and the lake. The three names below are the ones you will see when you choose a room.
Restaurant Bioscope, overlooking the lake and the mango garden, serves Sri Lankan and Western dishes, and the hotel puts weight on fully vegan and plant-based cooking alongside the regular menu. Devil's Bar, or Yaka Bar, mixes signature cocktails and pours local spirits.
The AyurVie spa offers traditional Ayurvedic treatments, massages and Panchakarma therapies, and there is yoga at sunrise and sunset. The hotel runs birdwatching trails around the lake, cookery demonstrations, guided visits to a nearby village and safaris with a naturalist, as well as a night safari at Popham's Arboretum, a patch of dry-zone forest near Dambulla known for its nocturnal wildlife.
The hotel stands on the shore of Kandalama Reservoir. The Dambulla Cave Temple, with its painted rock-cut shrines, is about 5 kilometres away in a straight line, and Sigiriya Rock Fortress about 12 kilometres. The hotel can arrange a sunrise climb of Pidurangala Rock followed by breakfast beside Thalkote Lake, a dawn flight in a hot-air balloon over the Cultural Triangle, or a visit to the forest monastery ruins and pools at Kaludiya Pokuna. Jeep safaris to see elephants run to Minneriya National Park.
Kandalama lies in the Cultural Triangle, a drive of several hours north-east of Bandaranaike International Airport. The simplest way to arrive is a private transfer from Colombo airport to Amba Yaalu, which takes you all the way to the door.
It suits couples and families who want a quiet, lakeside base for Dambulla, Sigiriya and the parks, with Ayurveda and yoga on the doorstep, and travellers who like to know that their stay supports careers for women in Sri Lankan hospitality. Families should book the Suite with Attic. For more choice in the area see our places to stay in Kandalama, or the other Thema Collection hotels around the island.
Bookable activities, tours, and tickets within a 25 km radius.
from LKR 56,960
from LKR 1,637
from LKR 1,637
from LKR 2,400
from LKR 3,274
from LKR 12,000
from LKR 12,800
from LKR 14,400
Pre-book a private vehicle for arrival, departure, or onward travel.
