Travel

Belihuloya Resthouse:

To relax in nature's beauty

BELIHULOYA Resthouse is located in the heart of Belihuloya, a rural community, situated in the middle of low-country hills of Sri Lanka. Belihuloya has a history dating back to the time of the Sinhala kings.

Belihuloya Resthouse is owned and managed by the Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHS) built on the river banks of the beautiful Belihuloya river, about 160 km. from Colombo, and provides a superb environment for tourists, both foreign and local to relax in a romantic setting, surrounded by nature's beauty.

The Resthouse has 14 well-appointed guest rooms, out of which four are air-conditioned. All rooms provide modern facilities to the discerning traveller.

A special feature at the resthouse is that guests are enticed by the soothing sounds of the cascading waters of the historic Belihuloya river which flows alongside the resthouse, gurgling away between hills.

Known as the "Honeymooners' Paradise" for its scenic beauty, Belihuloya Resthouse is one of the flagship hotels owned and managed by the CHC.

"In addition to its scenic natural beauty, the resthouse provides a 'Lonely' environment to all visitors," Consultant, Travel and Marketing, Ceylon Hotels Corporation Shan R.H. Wickramaratne, said.

Wickramaratne and his marketing staff of CHC's head office at Galle Road, Bambalapitiya, under the guidance of CHC, CEO, Chandra Mohotti, go all out to popularise all CHC hotels and resthouses specially among Sri Lankans looking for a family holiday at an affordable price.

Belihuloya Resthouse has become a popular stopover for a delicious meal Western, Eastern or spicy Sri Lankan, for tourists travelling on the Colombo/Haputale/Badulla highway.

The resthouse has easy access to the Bambarakanda water falls, the highest water fall in Sri Lanka, and the World's End, situated in Horton Plains, which are two of the many attractions offered to tourists by Belihuloya Resthouse.

King's Park centrally located in the hillcountry

OPENED 10 years ago the King's Park hotel is a centrally located property with 22 rooms with both A/C and Non A/C facilities and all other modern amenities that one expects of a hotel outlet with accommodation.

The restaurant serves all eastern, western and chinese cuisine on order through ala carte menu. Buffet style menus are laid out for large groups which happens mostly during weekends when the hotel is usually full.

Barbecues are also served during such days.The hotel is a popular location for wedding receptions and other large functions as it can accommodate around 300 to 400 people on such occasions.

Food is mostly buffet style for such large gatherings and menus can be selected from a large range that is on offer.

'We also have a lot of wedding functions of the Muslim community' said N. G. L. Kusumalatha, Managing Director of the hotel, further explaining that the hotel provides only the service on such occasions as most of the Muslim clientele prefer to bring in their own food.

Explaining the other attraction the hotel has to offer W. D. Rohana Kumara the Chairman of the property said that many of the clients both foreign tourists and local travellers stay here as it is very convenient to get to many places from this point.

The Kandy lake located opposite the hotel is another major draw and during the many sports events that takes place in the hill capital, King's Park becomes the most sought after hotel here.

- Sarath samaranayake

Special Iftar menu at the Taprobane

A SPECIAL Iftar menu is now available at the Colombo Plaza's Taprobane restaurant this holy month of Ramazan.

If you are looking to break-fast amidst the work day pressures or share this time of religious fellowship with your colleagues and family members, the restaurant offers a choice of menus to choose from.

The menus, all of which are Halal, include selected snack items as well as a host of main dishes. There is a selection of fresh juices-orange, papaya, mango and melon, a delicious platter of dates and the popular chicken conjee in the snack menu.

A verity of hot items-vegetable spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce hot, mutton and pea samosa with mint chutney are also part of the offering.

For those of you would like to have a full meal to break your fast, you can opt for the main menu with a choice of dishes and desserts with Tea and Coffee. The main menu offers mutton biryani with boiled egg, chicken masala, mutton do piaza, aloo capasicum, bindi masala and a channa dhal curry.

An added accompaniment would be the tomato, onion, cucumber and green chilli platter.