The Lodge sprawls across 27 acres, a portion of which is devoted to organic farming. A walk around the property, which is a man-made biodiversity habitat, brings me to a working farm: capsicum, corn, aubergine, vanilla, ginger and beans, all neatly labelled, grow alongside lemon, pomegranate, dragon fruit, star fruit and passion fruit. And of course mangoes of all kinds — different varieties are available more or less around the year, says the lodge’s general manager, Murfad Shariff. Butterflies flit in and out, on their way to the butterfly garden that shares space with crops. A climate-controlled greenhouse supplies lettuce and gherkins.
A view of the Habarana Village by Cinnamon, the property next door to the Cinnamon Lodge
A view of the Habarana Village by Cinnamon, the property next door to the Cinnamon Lodge | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Many of the vegetables and fruits used in the kitchens are grown in-house, says Murfad, and the farm supplies both the 138-room Cinnamon Lodge, as well as the property next door, the 108-room Habarana Village by Cinnamon. Both 42-year-old properties are owned by Sri Lankan hospitality major, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts (a constituent of the Lankan conglomerate, John Keels Holdings), which owns 11 hotels/resorts in Sri Lanka and four in the Maldives.
Star fruit, cultivated on the farm at the Habarana Complex properties
Star fruit, cultivated on the farm at the Habarana Complex properties | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Despite being a dry zone, Anuradhapura district, where Habarana is located, is one of the major paddy-growing areas of the country. Murfad, who manages both the Lodge and the Village, tells us that the Lodge also cultivates paddy on its in-house farm. The entire plantation is provided for by a composting unit, and a sewage treatment plant ensures that even in the dry season, there is enough water for plants.
The resort is bordered by a lake, on the other side of which are agricultural fields melding into the forest.
It’s true what they say about fresh air: it whets the appetite. The Lodge has two restaurants and two bars, and several location dining experiences, ranging from the romantic and the adventurous, to the just something different: dining on the jetty, treetop dining, dining on an island and dining at a hut, Seilama, are some of the options.
We have dinner at Seilama: a mud-floor structure with a thatched roof (called a Chena hut) with wooden tables and benches laid out with terracotta crockery. Outside, on the grass, sits a large earthen structure, a replica of a Vee Bissa, a traditional paddy storage apparatus, a nod to the district’s primary livelihood.