Far from the madding crowd

It's a two and a half hour's drive from Colombo as you cover approximately 104 kilometres and arrive at a peaceful haven with a unique setting bordering the scenic Dodanduwa lagoon. You'd be amazed that here in Sri Lanka down south away from the sea and sand is this little hideout called Eco Village, at Dodanduwa.

While driving towards Galle after you pass Hikkaduwa you reach Kumarakande junction, you travel 500 metres and take the turn on the landside that brings you to this haven of tranquillity. The chirping of the birds greet you, and the calm surrounding is the right recipe for you to relax after a heavy schedule of work during the week.

The secret of this haven is in the vegetation that surrounds the place - giving you the opportunity to admire the foliage, breathing the fresh air and live the rustic life that's adrenalin to many. At Echo Village everything is set to a more measured heartbeat.

So you can enjoy the reassurance of being cut-off from programmed frenzy. You can absorb the hushed, leaf whispering, bird-twittering sounds of silence. (You'll be excused if you sing the song loud and clear!) Tell yourself that you have escaped from the hooting, the clicking, ringing world of electronics and have come into the real world of nature.

Open right through out the year the Echo Village invite you to enjoy nature living in a house boat or on a chalet built on stilts - there are tow chalets in the village - or perhaps in a small rustic unit on land which gives the opportunity for a family to be one with nature.

Boat excursions on the lagoon with a guide has become popular. Lovers of photography can spend long hours capturing the colourful beauty of the sunset which in our country has a fascination all its own. Nature trails with a guide gives you an insight into the rich flora and vegetation that Sri Lanka is noted for.

Making this all happen for the enjoyment of nature lovers is Abeyweera Guanwardena who started the Echo Village in 1980 but out of the blues the civil violence down south destroyed it. But he was determined to pick up the pieces and run it again for the benefit of his family.

Bad luck dogged him again when his son was killed in military action in 1990 and he lost his wife. Despite these tragedies he carries on since he is eco-friendly and enjoys spending long hours with nature and finding consolation in the sounds of silence in Echo Village.

M.P.