Kelani Retreat — Madiha, Matara, Sri Lanka
A family home turned yoga and surf retreat in Madiha, southern Sri Lanka
Kelani began with two friends. Kevin and Daniel met in early 2024 at Beachbums, a co-living spot down the road in Madiha, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. They came for a season, found a community, and came back together, renting two rooms at Bandula and Manjula's homestay. The couple liked them enough to offer the whole house.
The founders lived there for a while, made it cosy, and slowly the idea took shape. The house is still Bandula and Manjula's. Bandula grew up on this plot more than fifty years ago, and his family has lived here for generations. He and Manjula live upstairs, help with translation and village introductions, and keep the tea on. The founders say they opened their home rather than building a retreat.
The house holds sixteen beds in six double rooms and a four-bed dorm, all with private bath and air conditioning. There is an 80 sqm yoga shala, a meditation room, two living rooms, a garden, two terraces, an outdoor kitchen, a pool and an ice bath. A neighbouring carpenter from Madiha handcrafted the furniture.
The signature program is the Kelani Week, Sunday to Sunday, with a maximum of sixteen guests: morning yoga in Hatha, Vinyasa and Yin, a beginner surf lesson at a left-hand wave a fifteen-minute walk away, a sound journey with breathwork, candlelight yoga, a tea plantation visit, Galle Fort, turtle snorkelling and a sunrise elephant safari in Udawalawe. On Mondays guests cook curry with the women of the Sambol Foundation, a Swiss NGO sheltering women and children, and proceeds go to the foundation. Twice a year, guest hosts lead themed weeks. The house can also be hired for groups or booked as rooms.
Traditions: Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Yin Yoga, Sound Healing, Breathwork, Meditation
Programs: The Kelani Week, Roots & Resilience with Mia, The Flow Retreat with Anke, Sambol Foundation cooking class, Sunrise elephant safari, Candlelight yoga, Sound journey and breathwork, Venue hire for hosted retreats