Our villas in Sri Lanka with pools

Shaped like a teardrop, the island of Sri Lanka dips into the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Immaculate beaches of golden sand encircle the island, whilst the inland hills climb dramatically, studded with tea plantations and the remains of ancient cities, culminating in high plateaux long-revered as places of Sri Lankan pilgrimage.

A ‘twitchers’ paradise, the island teems with birdlife and the cry of the red-faced Malkoha and the flute-like tune of the black and white Magpie Robin can be heard. Elephants are to be seen here in the wild, in rural Sri Lankan villages they are also part of the family, where their strength is the farmer’s most valuable tool, or joining religious parades adorning beautiful garlands. It may even be possible for a visitor to observe an elusive leopard, reclining in the branches of a tree in the Yala National Park.

In southern Sri Lanka, the town of Tangalle is close to our villa of choice, The Beach House. Golden beaches skirt the entire region, broken only by the rocks where the town is perched. A monastery founded by Buddhist monks on the apparently inaccessible summit above the town still seems to be the source of the amazing serenity that floods this region.