" I have never seen a most beautiful creature in my life, it was on a tree, looking at us with its big eyes, curled into a ball." Ela Penkowska shared her exciting experience with Feel Lanka 5.0

Ela Penkowska

I was very excited about our stay in Mahoora Wilpattu Luxury Camping, even though we were supposed to spend only one night there. We came by bus and there had already been a jeep waiting to pick us up. After a while we arrived at the camping. The welcoming  we got could not be any better, cold  wet  towels and king coconuts were exactly  what we needed at that  moment.  Our  bags  were  taken  to  the  tents  and  we
had  some  time  to  enjoy  the surroundings and get ready for lunch.

Lunch took place  outside in a specially arranged place. Starters, salads, main course and dessert were  all  equally delicious. It was a great opportunity to try Sri Lankan cuisine at its best. Also service met the highest standards and the staff foresaw every of our needs before we even spoke a word.

After lunch there was a perfect time for safari. We grabbed our cameras, hopped into a jeep and looked
forward to an unforgettable adventure.  We got into National Park and at first saw a deer, many colorful birds, some monkeys and squirrels.

Then we arrived at a big reservoir and saw a couple of elephants drinking and having a bath. We  stopped  the  jeep  for  a  while  to  take  pictures  and  watch  them  when  suddenly  a  huge elephant walked out of the bush. 

We continued our adventure and met a few jeeps going in the opposite direction. The drivers exchanged a few words and it turned out it was possible to see a leopard somewhere on a tree. We rushed to the place and there it was, on a tree in a distance. We spent a long time taking pictures when finally  the  leopard  decided to go down.  It walked slowly towards deer  and suddenly changed its way and  started coming  closer and closer to the jeeps.  When it came five meters to the jeep no one could say a word, I could
almost hear my heart beating.

After a few moments,  the leopard  was gone in the bush. We went to an arbour to have a picnic, Mahoora Camping provided a big basket with tea, coffee, biscuits, juices, fruits and cold beverages. We watched many birds, a fox and a turtle, then  headed back to the camping. We were welcome with cold wet towels
and ice tea.

In  the  evening  there  was  a  campfire  planned.  Again  it  took  place  in   a  different location. We were offered  an  aperitif  and sat to the table to a delicious meal. We could also taste Sri Lankan sweets and  in the end of delighting in our wine, we had a chance to meet the chef who cooked for us.  Sitting in the candle lantern’s light and looking  at the moon was so relaxing. We took a hot shower and went to sleep.

We woke up to the sunrise and heard birds singing their  best concert.  Apparently our safari was not over as the  Naturalist told us there was a Loris right in front  of our tent.  I have never seen a most beautiful creature in my life, it was on a tree, looking at us with its big eyes, curled  into  a  ball.  We  went  on  a  walk  with  the  Naturalist  and  saw  many  colorful  birds, squirrels,  elephant’s  track,  a  small  village  and  a  lake.  Searching  for  the  birds  was  very exciting as we needed to be very quiet not to scare them away. 

After the walk we went back to our tents to leave our cameras before breakfast and saw an unusual view. Loris  started walking slowly on a branch  of the tree. We were told it is very rare to see it and we were very lucky. We ate delicious breakfast and our time had come. It was very sad to say good bye to the Manager, the Naturalist  and  all the staff. They made us feel like  we were in paradise  and took  care of  us  very  well.  I  will  always  remember  my  stay  in  Mahoora  Wilpattu  Luxury Camping Site and we will definitely be back. See you soon!

"Everything was just perfect and I felt so good and could enjoy the nature in a special way." Valerie Starke's awesome experience in Feel Lanka 5.0

Valerie Starke

The last two days were the best of my journey in Sri Lanka so far. Together with five of my friends we spent two days in  Wilpattu National Park. Because we decided to stay overnight we chose  Mahoora Tented Safari Camp Wilpattu as our accommodation. This is a camping site in the heart of the nature. I  must  say  it  might  not  be  exactly  what  you  imagine  when  you  think  of  a  tent…  It  is  sooo  luxury. Each of our tents had its own bathroom,  a comfortable bed, chairs and everything  you need.  But not only  were  the  tents  luxury.  Right  from  the  beginning  when  we  arrived  at  Mahoora  Tented  Safari Camp  we were treated in a way like we were some celebrities or something. The staff welcomed us with some cold wet towels  to refresh  ourselves and with a chilled  king coconut  drink.  The manager explained  us  everything  we  needed  to  know  and  showed  us  the  whole  camping  site.  During  our whole stay  all our wishes were served before  we even expressed them. I also want to mention the food…  It  was  just  amazing.  Every meal was  an  experience  and  superb.  For  example  for  dinner  we were  served  five  exquisite  courses,  which  like  every  meal  offered  a  perfect  mix  between  the  Sri Lankan  and  western  cuisine.  Everything  tasted  very  fresh  and  you  can  see  that  the  Chef  paid attention to every little detail. But now enough of the food  (although I could go on for ages).   Let me tell you  something  about the nature and the Safari we did. So on the first day we hopped on  the  jeep  and  drove  into the heart  of  the  national park.  And  we  were  so  lucky. We  saw  so  many  beautiful and  stunning  animals like birds,  mammals,  elephants and a cute, tiny  loris.  But the best  was  the  leopard.  We discovered  it  while  it  was sleeping on a tree. But suddenly it moved and walked in direction  of some  deer.  But the deer were lucky because the  leopard seemed to be too  tired for  hunting. It was an amazing  experience  to  see the animals  in the nature.  Our naturalist was so skilled and had such a great eye.  When we came back from Safari we were warmly welcomed again with  some refreshments. Later we had dinner at the campsite which  includes  barbeque, a bonfire,  some nice bottles of wine  and much more.  Every one  of  us  had  a  really  good sleep  this  night  in  the  luxury tents.  The  next  day  the manager arranged  birdwatching in  the  early  morning  for  us. Before  we  had some  tea  and coffee  as  well  as  biscuits  and bananas.  Our naturalist showed us  so  many  different birds  and shared  his  great  knowledge with  us.  After  returning  to  the camping site we enjoyed such a nice breakfast with everything you can imagine for breakfast. Now it was time to pack our stuff. When we were ready the manager made sure that we have enough water for our trip back to Colombo and a member of staff brought us to our bus station.
All together  this was an amazing experience. Everything was just perfect and I felt  so good and could enjoy the nature in a  special  way.  Especially what the manager explained us about the ECO concept of  Mahoora Tented Safari Camp  impressed me. You feel that they really care for the nature and for the  people  living  in  that  area  since  they  are  raising  their  awareness  for  the  nature.