Martin's Lodge is a simple, family-run guesthouse on the forested ridge above Kudawa village, at the northern edge of Sinharaja Forest Reserve, the rainforest UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1988. For more than three decades it has been the base of choice for birdwatchers, naturalists and visiting researchers who want to wake up beside the forest rather than drive to it. The rooms are plain, but the open veranda looks straight across a valley of tall rainforest, and endemic birds often come to the trees around the dining table at breakfast.
The lodge stands at the top end of Kudawa, near Weddagala in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, a short distance from the Forest Department's Kudawa entrance and research station, the main northern gateway into Sinharaja. It is set on a hillside above tea smallholdings and home gardens, with the forest boundary right behind it. The final approach is a steep, unpaved track that is only passable by four-wheel drive, so guests arriving by car or van usually transfer to a jeep for the last climb up to the lodge.
The lodge is named after Martin Wijesinghe, who was born in 1940 in a village on the edge of Sinharaja and spent his working life in and around the forest, first with the Forest Department and later guiding and assisting the scientists who studied it. Encouraged by the birding community, he opened his home to guests, and his knowledge of the forest's birds, plants and trails made him a well-known figure among naturalists. He was honoured with the title Sri Lankathilaka in 1994 and died in November 2021, aged 82. His family continues to run the lodge.
Accommodation is deliberately basic: clean, simply furnished rooms sleeping two, three or four guests, with timber beds and mosquito nets, plus dormitory-style space for student and research groups. There is no air conditioning; the forest keeps the nights cool. Expect a rustic stay rather than hotel comforts, and treat hot water, mobile signal and internet as limited.
Meals are home-cooked Sri Lankan food prepared by the family, typically rice and curry with vegetables from the area, served on the covered veranda overlooking the forest. Most guests stay on a full-board basis, since there are no restaurants within easy reach of the lodge.
It is one of the best-known birding bases in Sri Lanka. The garden and the forest edge below the veranda regularly bring in endemics such as the Sri Lanka blue magpie, Sri Lanka grey hornbill, yellow-fronted barbet and Sri Lanka spurfowl, and the mixed-species feeding flocks that Sinharaja is famous for pass through the canopy nearby. Early morning, from the veranda with a cup of tea, is often the most productive time.
Sinharaja itself is the reason to come. All walks inside the reserve must be accompanied by a licensed guide, and the lodge can arrange one. From the Kudawa side, trails lead to the Mulawella viewpoint and, for a full day's trek, to the summit of Sinhagala, deep in the forest. Shorter nature trails near the entrance and night walks for frogs, lizards and other forest creatures suit guests with less time. Leeches are common after rain, so leech socks are strongly recommended.
Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) is about four to five hours by road from Kudawa, depending on traffic and the route taken through Ratnapura or Kalawana. The easiest option is a private transfer that takes you directly to Kudawa, where a jeep can be arranged for the steep final track up to the lodge. Book the Colombo (CMB) Airport transfer to Martin's Lodge.
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