Live Your Best Lives
Sri Lanka is a country that was born for vacation. After the introduction of Sri Lanka's visa-free policy, countless people who came here said: This is a place that you must visit once, twice or even countless times in your lifetime.
With its charming geographical features and unique cultural traditions, Sri Lanka has been named the best tourist destination for 2023, and a world-renowned travel magazine has hailed it as the most worthwhile country to visit this year.
What is it about Sri Lanka that attracts so many people? There are many reasons.
The average temperature here in winter is 22-28℃, so tourists who are afraid of cold can come here to spend a warm winter.
Here you can find the most romantic and charming island scenery. Many people jokingly say that this is the best substitute for the Maldives. You can see pristine beaches, islands, coral reefs, blue coastlines, and the purest tropical style.
It is also a paradise for wildlife.
Yala National Park—Sri Lanka's most famous national park, covering approximately 979 square kilometers—is home to vibrant wildlife, including leopards, elephants, white-headed cranes, crocodiles, peacocks, and monkeys. East Yala boasts a variety of rare birds. In addition, the unique natural scenery of grasslands, beaches, rivers, lakes, swamps, and wastelands unfolds before your eyes, leaving you breathtakingly beautiful.
The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage protects young elephants abandoned due to war or poaching, and raises a total of fifty or sixty elephants. You can watch the elephants bathing and playing in the river at close range at dusk, or feed these lovely elves.
In Sri Lanka, you can go out to sea in winter to see blue whales swimming and resting, as well as schools of dolphins. The ocean experience is unforgettable.
Not to mention the capital Colombo, the ancient city of Galle in the south, Jaffna in the north, Trincomalee in the east, etc., which have unique scenery and showcase different beautiful scenery and cultural arts.
🌴As a tropical holiday paradise
, Sri Lanka boasts countless resort hotels.
🏰 A mix of European grandeur and South Asian flair,
many are masterpieces of "harmony between man and nature."
When discussing these buildings, it's inevitable to praise one of the 20th century's most celebrated Asian architects: Geoffrey Bawa. Widely considered one of the "most influential architects of the 20th century," he's been hailed as the "Light of Sri Lanka" and a pioneer of tropical modernist architecture. These titles alone are worth a trip to Sri Lanka to see some of his most celebrated works.
A highly recognized pioneer of tropical modernist architecture, Bawa completed nearly 200 designs throughout his career, dedicated to integrating Sri Lanka's natural tropical landscape with local culture to create spaces of impeccable poetic aesthetics. His transparent spaces, combined with his unique location and design, have allowed countless visitors to experience the tranquility and seclusion of his architectural environments, as well as the profound natural beauty of Sri Lanka.
☀️In his designs, climate, landscape and traditional culture are closely integrated to create a unique design style and a cross-era architectural system.
Bawa's forward-thinking environmental sustainability philosophy is also admirable. The building utilizes natural light, employs understated décor that reflects nature, and incorporates traditional craftsmanship. The space is open and flowing, creating a natural sense of belonging.
"Bawa's Pinnacle," a secluded hotel nestled in rock and shrouded in greenery, is a legacy of garden architecture. In 2000, it was recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as the world's first LEED-certified hotel and was recognized by National Geographic as one of the world's 50 best hotels.
The high colonnade increases the visual impact without destroying the forest mountain, where animals and plants grow freely. The guest rooms combine nature, simplicity and ethnic style, adding a touch of modernism.
The environmentally friendly green flat roof also includes a magnificent tropical garden, which is closely attached to the scattered mountains and has a rainwater collection system and a natural ventilation system. The architectural design intentionally retains unfinished parts, allowing nature to slowly "complete" it over time.
Located on the west coast of the Indian Ocean, the hotel faces the Indian Ocean. You can see the sunset and hear the sound of waves from every balcony. The overall facilities are modern and new. The architectural shape is unique, like a palace immersed in blue gemstones. It has been awarded the "Asia-Pacific Heritage Excellence Award".
Moreover, the hotel is located on the commercial street, within walking distance to nearby delicious bars and restaurants. It is only 20 minutes away from Colombo Airport✈ and is a great place to check in for the beautiful sunset🌅!
Standing proudly in Nuwara at an altitude of 1,800 meters, it is the highest hotel in Sri Lanka.
Surrounded by 25 acres of tea plantations, the tea factory was rebuilt after the fire and retains its original design as a heritage. Bawa transformed it into a masterpiece of modern architecture. The whole hotel exudes a century-old British style. It still retains the traditional check-in ceremony of British aristocrats, and the details are well preserved.
The estate is the source of Bawa's artistic life, a dream home he spent nearly half a century and his entire life building. The estate covers 90,000 square meters and was once a forest of rubber trees, with many still lingering on the periphery, creating a breathtaking landscape.
Bawa transformed his abandoned rubber estate into a garden home close to nature, which incorporates a variety of elements such as waterside, flower beds, and courtyards, and is dotted with special stone sculptures. The design of terraces, doors and windows and other spaces caters to the natural structure and is very beautiful. It is more like "a carved wilderness rather than a garden made up of flowers and fountains."
So this is also the resting place of Bawa's own soul. There is no tombstone, no plaque, only a humble stone path that leads to Bawa's final resting place - a hill overlooking the river.
It is one of the three major hotels in the late Bawa period
⚓️The hotel is built in the Galle Fort and is named after its shape which resembles a lighthouse. Every step in the room is a different scene, and colonial culture is integrated into the decoration. You can feel the rich historical charm and watch the ebb and flow of the tide. It is a quiet place.
This place is known as Bawa's "architectural experimental field" where he spent 30 years. It is the residence that Bawa rebuilt for himself in the capital Colombo after more than 30 years.
Originally just an ordinary bungalow tucked away at the end of an alley, Bawa's renovation has cleverly blended ancient Eastern courtyard design with modern Western interior furnishings. Even amidst the fast-paced city, one can coexist with nature, finding a sense of leisure and comfort, akin to "hiding in the city."
👣Following in Bawa's footsteps🏡staying
in a hotel nestled in the natural surroundings of Sri Lanka📝
might be something you can add to your bucket list!
