OUR STORY
Our Story (A Labour of Love)
Begins with the joining of two like minded souls with a love for the wild, whose passion to create a wilderness which can be shared to the world.
Beginning in year 2000, degraded plantation land was purchased and then lovingly nurtured to create luxurious dwellings within a completely forested landscape.
Giving the opportunity to the discerning guest, for a completely absorbing experience, with Nature and Wildlife at it’s core, where every lifeform is Respected, Conserved and Encouraged to thrive, whilst we humans enter their realm and enjoy their beauty.
Minimalistic but luxurious lodges built with a conscious effort made in preserving and blending into the wildscapes of the land, using local materials and the least amount of harm on the environment.
Impact / Our Contribution to the World
Transforming a mono culture plantation, by replanting thousands of indigenous plants, to make the property into a vibrant ecosystem resulting in a bio diversity count to date of – 110 Bird species, 58 Butterfly species, 22 Mammal species, 14 Frog species, 4 Freshwater Fish species, 9 Dragonfly species, 21 Snake species, 8 Lizard species, 6 Skink species, 3 Gecko species, 2 Terrapin species, 3 Snail species, 1 Scorpion species and hundreds of yet to be identified Insects, Moths, Millipedes, Centipedes, Beatles, Bees…..all making our property their home.
ABOUT US
Our name stems from two aspects, Rambas in short for the Co Founders Names – Priyeni & Nalaka Rambukpota (Rambas), and Reserve, in depicting our core mission of creating a safe heaven for all Wild Life Forms. We can confidently say that our property, extending over 51 acres, is the only privately owned reservation on the island, dedicated to Wildlife Conservation & Re-forestry.
We pride ourselves with this one ambition of making use of the land for the animals rather than economic benefits. As such all activity on the land is planned accordingly.
Zero use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, weedicides, since the year 2000. Zero use of chemical purification methods employed in cleaning the natural pools. Minimal use of plastics on the property and all waste plastics and non-degradable waste items are transported back to the capital city Colombo for either re-cycling or responsible disposal. We minimize external lighting which causes light pollution at night, in turn affecting the habits and behaviour of nocturnal animals. We disallow loud music and also encourage guests to listen to the music of the wild. We use Solar Heating for provision of hot water. Our lodges are built with safety in mind but with minimal impact on the surrounding vegetation and waterways. Every possible inch of land other than the walking paths and driveways are forested and wild and therefore we have no landscaped and laid out gardens nor playgrounds created artificially.
We encourage and welcome guests who appreciate and value nature and wildlife and therefore we are quite selective in our bookings.
Destination
Our property is on 51 acres of re-forested land bordering 5,000 acres of Low country Wetzone rainforest. The larger forest is a strict natural reserve which is the catchment forest feeding two reservoirs (Labugama & Kalatuwawa) which provides water to Colombo, the capital of the country.
Access to the property is via the Reserved Forest thru an adventurous route which only a 4WD or high clearance vehicle can manage. As such we provide transport for the last 2 km in our own vehicle
Accommodation
Sustainable Travel
We pride ourselves with a sustainable travel policy where we will not entertain large crowds on our property. Also we do not tolerate loud music. We prefer small groups and we will not have multiples of small groups either. We take on a maximum of only 2 to 3 small groups per booking and we ensure there is no crowding on our property.
We employ people from the nearest village and most of our development work on the property is also contracted with local people thereby maximising the benefit of our property to the community.
Wildlife and Excursions
Trekking, Mountain Biking, Bridging, Herping, Butterfly Watching
Experiencing Nature with Bird Watching, Butterfly Watching, Snakes, Skinks, Frogs, Dragonflies, Mammals, with a high endemism is a reward we offer on the property. Each of the wildlife categories observed on the property has a very high endemic ratio, thereby we are blessed with species not found anywhere else in the world.
Our treks and hikes range from 15-20 minute walks to 3-4 hour walks along demarcated trails with chances of seeing much of the wildlife mentioned. We also provide information on the tree species on the property which are mostly indigenous to Sri Lanka and their many attributes which contribute to the whole ecosystem.
If pre booked, we provide mountain bikes for riding through the walking trails. This is recommended for the experienced guest who can manage the rough terrain on a bike.
