Sri Lankan Ayurveda Pavilion hotel

Soft breezes flutter across my bare skin in the serene outdoor sanctuary where a masseuse expertly dissolves knots from my neck. Faint smells of floral petals and essential oils linger in the air as I deeply inhale and exhale even longer, relaxing tensed muscles. Ahhhh. And this was just the beginning of a 3 hour Ayurveda treatment at Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilion, a peaceful resort in Negombo, a fishing town near the Indian Ocean just 15 minutes from the airport.

This was my first full day of a 5 week trip, dividing my time between Sri Lanka and China.

My travel buddy was Ellen, a previous co-worker currently based in Beijing. Spending our first two nights at this tranquil spa setting was a beautiful way to unwind after a long series of flights that took 3 days to get here. The hardest part of a long trip is often adjusting to the time difference. In this case, oddly enough, Sri Lanka is 12 and a half hours different than Indiana, USA. (Whoever heard of such a thing?!) The resort had arranged an airport shuttle for us and brought us directly to their door late the night before.

Sri Lankan Ayurveda is an ancient medical practice that uses herbs, oils, and massage to purify and detoxify bodies to cure disease and promote holistic wellness. Harmonizing your body, soul and mind is the sole focus here at Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions, a tranquil setting where guests heal under therapeutic hands, restore their bodies with Ayurveda treatments, relax in the pool, meditate and practice yoga. Soft-spoken attentive staff provide warm, friendly service in a gentle way, quietly drifting around the garden-like space where even the patio pavers are imprinted with leaf patterns.

Meals are included with your stay. The food is carefully prepared to reflect the highest nutritional benefit to enhance the ancient healing practices of Ayurveda. Vegan and vegetarian à la carte or set menus of healthy foods are served outdoors in the garden pavilion, poolside or in your room.

Some guests stay up to 21 days under the guidance of the doctors on staff. Educated with a Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery, doctors draw on the traditional wisdom of this 5,000 year old practice. Each stay begin with a consult, even if you are here just for pure relaxation, like we were. Those that do come here for healing are prescribed individualized treatments with specific herbs or oils, along with specific foods to eat, which the dining room prepares. Cooking demonstrations or music therapy may be included based on your individualized program.

But when no medical problems are identified, guests can choose from an assortment of luxurious pampering for a fraction of the cost back home. (Peeking at prices again in 2019, I see they haven’t escalated. The wellness program is still just USD 90 Per Person Per Day. And each treatment lasts 2.5 hours.) Bliss…

Attention to detail his was the door to our room leading to the courtyard. Even the beautiful curving script of the Sri Lankan language looks poetic and peaceful and fitting in this zen-like retreat.

Each guest room has an attached pavilion where the massages and most treatments are done. You simply slip into the provided robe and wait for the masseuse to come to you in the privacy of your own garden! But first an Ayurvedic doctor arrives, reviews your medical history, performs a little exam, then prescribes the type of oil to be used and recommends specific treatments. If you’re perfectly healthy, you just select 3 treatments that interest you. Like a full body massage that includes foot reflexology and long strokes across your abdomen…

After using lots of oil during the deep pressure massage, the masseuse pats hot cotton bags filled with crushed herbs all over your skin. The fragrant bags, kept in a steamer, felt warm and smelled lightly of lavender. We could feel tensions melt away…

Ellen relaxing after her facial and massage in the pavilion outside our room. The mud mask was a mixture of herbs plus cinnamon and cardamon.

Elsewhere on the property is a free standing treatment center where jars of herbal medicine, additional massage rooms, and stone tubs are located. Most of these treatment areas are for the guests who stay 7-21 days to participate in various medical/purification/rejuvenation programs. And it’s also where you go to float among herbs or flowers or soak in a milk bath.

Outside in the adjacent courtyard, a yogi master comes a few times a week to lead yoga classes in the garden. In the courtyard, a small pool surrounded by greenery provides a mellow backdrop to the garden dining pavilion. We ate all of our meals there and can attest that it was delicious fare featuring tropical fruits and healthy curries. Almost every meal included a green vegetable soup and ended with creamy yogurt-like curd with honey. Yummy…

After our Ayurveda treatments, and lunch, Ellen and I wandered over to the beach just 400 feet away. But the sound of kids playing, birds screeching and general noise on the busy beach was a jolt compared to the quiet seclusion at Ayurveda Pavilion. Tomorrow we would begin a fast paced tour around the island where noise and chaos would be expected. But not yet. Today, we wanted mellow. So we returned to our retreat and soaked in the shallow pool. Ah, yes. This was just what the doctor ordered. 😉

What a perfect place to rest, destress and rejuvenate.

The next day we felt eager and ready to start our adventure around the island of Sri Lanka. We met our driver who we had hired for the duration of our journey ($50 a day included transportation in a nice air-conditioned car, his lodging and meals). And we were on our way! Our first stop was the fish market, a short distance away.

 

And so our journey began.  

Our driver pulled over when we spied the unusual looking sailboats. He told us that fishermen use Catamaran “oruwa” boats on the coast of Negombo.

We wandered along the shore to get closer views and stopped to see what kind of fish they were catching in the nets. I don’t remember what the  fisherman called them, but they were tiny and sorted by size for market.

Welcome to Sri Lanka!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the location of Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions on the map of Negombo below. (Resort is close to the beach, not in the city center.)

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