Hot, clammy weather with no electricity, flushing toilets and shower, in exchange for elephants trundling nearby through lush jungles? MARIE-CLAIRE CHABOT and SUDESH DHARMARATNA didn't mind a single bit as they went back to basics at Tree Tops Jungle Lodge in Sri Lanka.

Written by Marie Claire Chabot & Sudesh Dharmaratna on 11 Aug 2005 with 0 comments. Be the first!

Tree Tops began its operations as an eco-lodge in 2002. The lodge borders the North West corner of Yala National Park. Buttala (meaning rice mound in Singhalese), the nearest town is 8km away and from there, it takes 40 minutes by three-wheeled drive on mostly dirt track to get to the lodge.

Temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius, no electricity, no flushing toilets and no shower: So what attracts visitors to the place? The possibility of seeing elephants in their natural habitat up close, some beautiful walks through jungles bordering the most famous National Park in Sri Lanka, bird watching, and at least for a few days, living the phrase 'getting away from it all'.

Day One

The road suddenly changed from tarmac to dirt and it felt as if we were leaving the civilized world behind. We've roughed it before, but this felt different somehow. Perhaps it was also mixed with a sense of urgency to arrive before 4pm when elephants start to come out of the jungle in search of water.

We were met at the lodge's main house by Lars Sorensen, the Danish owner of the lodge and his staff and given a tour of the complex. We were given the choice of a tree house or a traditional mud hut to stay in and we chose the mud hut as climbing down from the tree house in the middle of the night to go to the toilet seemed a slightly daunting prospect for two townies.

After unpacking, Lars and Kumare, the head elephant tracker and expert bird spotter, took us on a short stroll to the start of the elephant corridor. Metres from our mud hut was the path where wild elephants pass on their hunt for food and water. When went back to the main house we heard the loud trumpeting call of a young elephant, perhaps only a few hundred metres away. Our first elephant! But dusk was settling in and so we agreed to wait till the following day to track the big mammal.

Dusk meant bath time, so off we headed to the well. Two dented metal buckets were 'souvenirs' of curious and perhaps thirsty elephants. The freezing cold water washed off the hot sluggishness of the day and revitalised, we went back to the main house where we sat out in the open and watched as the stars signalled the start of night activities.

In true Sri Lankan style, dinner was finally served by candlelight at 10pm. We were lucky to have the company of some elephant researchers, who happily entertained us with elephant stories as we tasted the best Sri Lankan food of our whole trip. Cooked on wood fire by Kamal, a nineteen year old boy with a torch light strapped to his forehead, we ate curries and sambals, made from the vegetables of the area. We went to bed wonderfully full and excited about what the next day had in store for us.

Day Two

We were woken up at 5:30 am with a knock on our door and a pot of Sri Lankan tea, a great way to start the day! After a local breakfast of eggs, roti and dhal, we headed off into the elephant corridor. Although Tree Tops has a great location for tracking elephants, these elephants are wild and therefore tracking them successfully cannot always be guaranteed. The staff at Tree Tops likes to think of sighting elephants an added bonus to the other wildlife that is regularly spotted on walks. Kumare explained to us about elephant behaviour. He stopped us now and then to identify elephant rubbings and trees uprooted to mark territories. He was even able to approximate location and distance by the heat from the animal's droppings.

After a long walk to the largest watering hole, we went back to the lodge for another delicious meal. To avoid the fierce rays of the afternoon sun, we took to the hammocks and read, keeping an eye on the clearing just beyond the main house where elephants occasionally graze. Around 4:30pm, just as we were booting up, we heard a baby elephant trumpet nearby. We were pleasantly surprised to see how excited the trackers were at the prospect of an elephant sighting! Duly enthused, the boys urged us to hurry and so in a single file, we silently made our way as quickly as we could towards where the trumpeting had come from.

Who would believe that such a huge animal can slip so swiftly and quietly from view? The elephant herd must have been very close to us but proved highly elusive. It was only on our way back having all but given up hope of seeing any elephants that Sanaa back-tracked and coming out from behind us a few minutes later, motioned us to follow. We crept up onto a ridge and there, slightly below us about twenty metres away, was a family of two adults and two calves.

Elephants are magnificent, impressive animals and seeing not one but four in the wild for the first time was truly incredible. Remember your first turtle, your first manta ray, gliding by? We stood semi-bent, totally transfixed. Then one of the adult elephants turned to stare at us and all of a sudden, trumpeting angrily, moved towards us. For a tiny moment (which at the time seemed much longer) we thought she was going to charge, but just at the last second she turned again, pushing the two young elephants into the jungle. And then they were gone.

That evening, under the stars we relived our afternoon's adventure. Lars and Kumare explained that a small group like the one we saw usually consists of two adult females. The one who pushed the young away from us was the bodyguard of the group. She had probably caught our scent in the wind and thought the young were in danger. We heard a few days later of a woman who got out of the jeep she and other tourists were traveling in to take a photo of a baby elephant without realizing that its mother was behind the jeep. The adult elephant charged from the other side of the vehicle, turning it and crushing the woman. Although we were with experienced trackers, our own experience brought home the fact that these magnificent creatures are wild and that their space should be respected.

Day Three

Today we had a slightly later start. We went back to the watering hole we visited on the first day and listened to Kumare explaining about different bird species and their behaviour. We took our time walking back to the lodge, realising that our trip was coming to an end.

What had we learned from this trip? On the elephant side, we learned about their behaviour in the wild. We discovered they trumpet either when they are happy or angry (!) and that they are territorial and incredibly protective of their young. We also discovered that two townies can benefit hugely from getting back to basics, being quiet in order to hear and being more aware of what really happens when all the lights are off and there's nothing to distract us from what is out there, elephants or not.

Our last meal at the lodge was equally unforgettable. To make his rice and vegetable soup more substantial, Kumare boiled some fresh pumpkin, sliced it up and sprinkled ground black pepper on the slices. Here we were in the middle of nowhere, being offered something so simple and down-to-earth, yet so beautiful and memorable. Just like our stay.

Indeed Tree Tops Jungle Lodge is not for people who expect air-conditioning, mini-bars or cable TV. There really are no modern amenities. But what it lacks in creature comforts, it more than makes up for in ensuring an experience that will stay with you for a very long time. This is where real eco-tourism takes place, where staff on a daily basis work towards minimal impact on the natural environment while sharing and educating their guests on the wildlife around them. And you may even be lucky enough to spot a wild elephant or two.