Established in 2013

How everything started

Natural Mystic Sanctuary (NMS) was created in June 2013 by Karina and Sam Starnes. After travelling around Sri Lanka for a few weeks they visited the rainforest area and discovered this land. The huge Banyan tree, the river with it´s natural pools and the peaceful surroundings was the perfect place to escape the Concrete Jungle lifestyle.

The idea was to live of the land and to protect the vulnerable environment. Providing a safe place for the trees, animals and nature loving people became the main mission.

After building a small mud house to live in, over 1000 trees were planted. These were to replace the trees that would have been here before, most were cut down around 100 years ago to make this a tea estate. The planting included fruit, spices, hardwood and rare ayurvedic trees as well as vegetables and herbs.

The main buildings were then built and completed in Nov 2019. To financially support the Project, the Eco Lodge was started in 2016, allowing others to come and enjoy this piece of paradise and help to grow our project.

The NMS team continues to plant and grow organic fruits, spices, herbs and vegetables to supply organic food to it's guests. The goal is to have a fruit forest and to live fully live of our Fruits and Vegetables.

Is Natural Mystic Sanctuary the right place for you?

With 6 acres to explore and a mix of tea plantations and tropical rainforest all around, NMS provides the perfect environment for people who are simply looking to relax and enjoy nature, as well as for those that are looking for more adventure. If you love the idea of waking to the sound of nature, having a bath in one of the natural pools, taking walks in the local area or just relaxing and watching the nature around then this will be a small piece of paradise for you.

We know however that this environment is not for everyone so please consider the following points before booking your stay with us.

Since it started NMS has attracted an increasing number of different species of wildlife. With many beautiful animals, birds and insects to see nature is all around you. A nightmare for some, a dream for others!
NMS is accessed by crossing through a shallow river and going up a rough stone road 500m, only 4x4 vehicles and motorbikes can come up the road. It is a lovely walk up through the tea plantations and with advance notice we can help with luggage. You are rewarded with a tranquil place away from the main road. However being situated on a hill side guests should be reasonably fit enough to walk around our site.
Due to our perfect climate we don’t have air-conditioning or TVs in the rooms.
Wi-Fi is available in the restaurant area, and in most of the rooms but due to bad weather conditions it can sometimes be slow or stop for a few hours.
There are no bars or party places nearby. The onsite restaurant is open 8am-8pm to serve food and drinks. We serve healthy, vegetarian food, sourced as locally as possible.

if this sounds like the place for you... come and stay with us!

Book your stay

Off Grid experience

eco-powered accommodation

We have solar power for lighting and charging your devices plus solar hot water in most rooms. All of the water is supplied directly from our own source so fresh spring water can be enjoyed from every tap.

Our Vision

We work hard to maintain and further develop this Sanctuary.
Offering more comfort to our guests and increasing biodiversity for nature´s recovery are our main goals. Noticing an increasing amount of wild animals like monkeys, birds, butterflies, fireflies, deer and many more species since we first came here, makes us very happy and encourages our work. The positive feedback of our guests fuels our work.

Also we would like to inspire the local community to take more care of their unique environment through protecting trees & animals (especially the unprotected rainforests like our Diyadawa range). Unfortunately even Sri Lanka´s last primary rainforest the Sinharaja is endangered through illegal logging, mining, expanding tea plantations and a growing population. Avoiding plastics and using more renewable energy is another topic we like to promote. We believe that new ideas like combining living self sustainable and sharing this experience with visitors can be adopted by locals in order to make an income through ecotourism and save the rainforest.

In 2020, a yoga & meditation hall was built. Due to the Corona Lockdowns and following economic crisis, we weren’t able to set up a regular practice yet. We welcome teachers, practitioners and peace seekers to check out our place and help grow a mindful community in the future.