These little-known Sri Lankan islands offer a dose of isolated luxury
When Martin Wickramasinghe wrote Madol Doova, his fabled 1947 children’s novel about two young boys who set up camp on Madol Doova island, he described a land “shaded over by dense growth of kadol trees”, where clumps of huge keran fern grow, the top of which look like “giant centipedes.”
The story’s protagonist, Upali, is led to believe the forested terrain is haunted by devils and infested with poisonous snakes. “Don’t ever set foot on that island,” he is warned, and yet his curiosity gets the better of him.
The story, inspired by Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is as much about courage as it is about misadventure. Rather aptly, as I approached Madol Doova (meaning “mangrove island” in Sinhalese) by boat, I began to question my choice of footwear. Thick tendrils of tropical foliage hung low, forming a rich impenetrable curtain. Steep mud banks made it impossible to jump across (especially in flimsy flip flops) without fear of falling prey to the freshwater crocs and jellyfish that call Lake Koggala home.
Douglas, the boat man from Tri – a small, luxury eco retreat where I was staying – pulled up to a broken wooden jetty, secured the boat with a rope and held out his hand. I teetered over the splintered planks and, much like Upali, my hesitation quickly gave way to excitement.
Douglas scurried ahead and beckoned me to follow. We ducked under branches, pushed through monstrous shrubs and nearly lost our footing on mud slides made treacherous by the week’s unseasonable rains before stumbling upon a small clearing on the opposite side of the island. The uninterrupted views of the lake were striking. Clouds rolled in and the lake’s glassy surface shimmered under a dark, brooding sky.
Lake Koggala is one of Sri Lanka’s largest natural bodies of water and a haven of biodiversity. White-bellied sea eagles and fish eagles wheel in the sky overhead. Throughout the 22 islands, pythons, palm squirrels and purple-faced leaf monkeys crawl through the treetop canopy. During the Second World War, Koggala was the largest flying-boat base in the Eastern world and the lake was used as a strategic landing point for seaplanes. Today, it’s an enchanting wilderness that draws you into its isolated beauty and holds tight.
Rob Drummond, Tri’s British owner, fell for Koggala’s charms in 2003, when he bought a wild tangle of overgrown cinnamon along the lake’s curving shore. Marrying his love of yoga and contemporary architecture, he built a boutique hotel that blends into the existing contours of the land. Living roofs are used to camouflage standalone villas, window frames and doors are built out of recycled wood, and locally sourced grey granite features in the cavernous bathrooms and outdoor showers.
“I wanted every room to frame a beautiful view and allow people to come and have this great relationship with nature,” he said, as I took in the scene from my dual aspect lake-side villa, with a private balcony and plunge pool.
My great relationship with the area continued from Tri’s private jetty, gently motoring across the lake to nearby Temple Island, a popular pilgrimage point due to an ancient Buddhist temple that’s tucked amongst the shrubs. Despite it being low season, it was raining again when I met with my guide, Naveen from Donga Sri Lanka. “This is inconvenient,” he said, hoisting an umbrella. I soon understood why: the mosquitos savaged my legs and the wet leaves of thickly knotted mangroves – the lungs of the lake – soon began to close in on us.
We pushed forward into the depths of the island, passing sonneratia trees that draw oxygen up from the water and mangrove apple trees whose fruit can be made into a zesty refreshment. The roots of the mangroves form a natural shore barrier, preventing soil erosion and filtering pollutants. A community restoration project on the island works hard to protect the delicate ecosystem. When the 2011 tsunami hit, Lake Koggala’s islands emerged unscathed thanks to the dense mangrove network; the popular Ahangama “surfers’ paradise” coastline, just 20 minutes’ drive away, was not so lucky.
Each of the islands tell their own tale – from Bird Island, which plays host to hawks, herons and egrets, to Cinnamon Island, where Sarath and his family (the only inhabitants on the lake) have grown cinnamon for more than three generations. Draped only in a sarong, he talked me through the labour-intensive production process as we sipped on sweet, homemade cinnamon tea.
That evening I enjoyed a private-dining experience by Tri’s boat house, where I feasted on lake shrimp curry and seer fish – one of chef Madura’s newest creations from his fusion menu. Bats circled above in the warm twilight and, in that moment, it felt like I inhabited my own slice of Sri Lankan paradise.
Julia Zaltzman was a guest of Tri Koggala, where prices start at £250 per night for a double. Hosted by Audley Travel, return flights with Etihad Airways fly from London Heathrow to Colombo from £620.
