Sinharaja Vini Villa

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Vini Villa. Our family rented two rooms. Vini Villa is a small-scale accommodation, the last one before entering the rainforest. It's beautifully and peacefully situated on the river. The accommodations are simple, but very clean. Don't expect luxury here. The beauty lies in its simplicity and in nature. Comfortable beds, clean bathroom. We enjoyed the terrace in front of the room. Breakfast and dinner were delicious. Mother and eldest daughter (15 years old) were lovely hosts. Owner Vini even led a night walk in the evening, which was special. The next day we went on a hike through the rainforest, which we also enjoyed. Definitely recommended if you enjoy peace, nature and simplicity.

The road there is therefore long and sometimes challenging. It's a beautiful route, though. The accommodations are simple but very clean. Don't expect luxury here. The beauty lies in the simplicity, peace and the nature.

Von Anfang der Buchung an wurden wir bereits von Vini über die Möglichkeiten der verschiedenen Möglichkeiten der Exkursionen vor Ort informiert. Auch bot er einen kostengünstigen Fahrdienst an (Abholung und Fahrt zur nächsten Unterkunft). Wir wurden von seiner Familie herzlich empfangen und umsorgt. Vor allem die ältere Tochter kümmerte sich engagiert um die Betreuung der Gäste. Unsere Unterkunft (kl. Häuschen) war landestypisch eingerichtet und sehr sauber. Das Abendessen (traditionelle Küche, Rice & Curry) war sehr lecker und üppig. Wir haben mit Vini die Wanderung am Morgen über ca. 9km (etwa 4 Std) gewählt, mit erfrischendem Bad an einem Wasserfall. Vini zeigte uns sowohl zahlreiche kleinere und etwas größere Bewohner des Regenwaldes wie auch die prachtvolle Flora. Unsere Fragen wurden von ihm immer freundlich und umfassend beantwortet. Leider hatten wir nur eine Übernachtung eingeplant, würden beim nächsten Mal die längere Wanderung buchen wollen. Wir kommen kommen gerne wieder!

Vlakbij de ingang van het sinharaya park. Met de gids vanuit hier het park ingelopen. Liet veel kleine dieren zien, tevens een mooie waterval waar je in mag zwemmen. In de avond nog een wandeling met de zoon gehad die verschillende kleine dieren liet zien.

Het was redelijk warm airco was fijn geweest. Wij hadden zonder.

Prachtige plek in de jungle. En een hele lieve familie. De dochters zijn super lief en gezellig en we missen ze!

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We enjoyed staying at this family run homestay which is very well located by the entrance to Sinharaja rainforest. The accommodation is basic but comfortable - there is air conditioning and the beds are comfortable. It's excellent value for money. The family that run the lodge are so nice! The food they cook for you is basic, traditional Sri Lankan food that we all enjoyed. My children really enjoyed chatting to the 14yo daughter of the family and comparing notes on their schools. I'm really glad they had this quality interaction with Sri Lankan children of their own age. The lodge is in a lovely location by the river, so with beautiful views over the river. Wildlife is all around - the lodge does a free guided night safari - we saw lots of nocturnal creatures on this! Loved the tree frogs. We did 2 fabulous guided walks in the daytime, organised by the lodge. One walk took in 5 rainforest waterfalls, ending in a swim in a waterfall pool that we had all to ourselves. The next day we did the 3 hour walk through the national park and saw SO much wildlife - within 2 metres of the park entrance we saw endemic white monkeys, giant squirrels and a viper! There was much more seen during the course of the walk, the guide was excellent at finding and showing us the wildlife. This walk also ended with a magical feeling rainforest waterfall pool swim. We did wear leech socks but luckily the weather was quite dry so we didn't encounter any leeches (although the leech socks were well used and needed in other parts of Sri Lanka in the highlands!). But I understand that usually leeches are an issue and leech socks recommended. Sinharaj Vini Villa also offers ayurvedic massages by a lovely Sri Lankan lady who has honestly magic fingers - very good massage at a great price, so if you are feeling a bit achy from your travels I recommend this. All in all, Sinharaja felt quite off the beaten track but ended up being one of our highlights of Sri Lanka.

It was a bit challenging to find!

The photos in the description don’t do it justice. Room is big and clean. Loads of sunlight. Bathroom looks newly done and the view from room is 🤌🏻,see for yrself. Didn’t see owner on the phone much, mentioned on other reviews.And he went out of his way to help with anything he could during the stay.

If you’re driving, better ask owner for directions once u go off road. Got lost using google maps.

Location unique Very friendly staff Wonderful 4 hour tour in rainforest with pleasant guide

Bird watching walk at 6AM was disappointing Only cold water in chalet Breakfast on 2nd was a bit chaotic Check-out was very time consuming Outside swimming pool was probably the river Prepare for leeches!