One of the many wonderful things about student travel in Sri Lanka, is seeing the island’s humble beauty first-hand. The country’s rustic splendor can be particularly admired in the eco retreats dotted around the country run by community members. Often tucked away in the middle of nowhere, these eco retreats offer students an authentic travel experience, comprising of local activities and enthralling game drives in to one of the most renowned national parks in Sri Lanka.
The traditional Sri Lankan accommodation in these retreats provide you and your students authentic rice and curries made from fresh ingredients bought from the local markets. From sleeping in tree houses and dining under a blanket of stars, to learning the arts of pottery, curd-making and palmyrah weaving, there are few places that can beat the cultural immersion and experiential learning that takes place in Sri Lanka. And to make your students’ time in these villages that much more special, there are various community development and environmental programs they can help out with.
Some of the local projects your students can participate in include building water tanks in nearby villages, or even helping renovate school buildings, public libraries and village temples. These provide a great way to support local communities and learn from them also. The evenings are often spent playing cricket with students or working on environmental initiatives such as tree planting initiatives and making compost with local farmers.
Like what you see? Get in touch with us here, and let us help you plan the perfect experiential and service learning programs for your students in sunny Sri Lanka. You can also see how your students’ travel program will leave an important legacy in the local communities we work with, here. All our programs put the communities’ development needs first, meaning that each program we run really make a positive contribution to the lives of the people and communities we work with.
The Knuckles National Park is a lush green mountain range and rated one of the best places to hike in Sri Lanka. Located one hour outside Kandy, our groups have the opportunity to visit local villages and temples in the area before setting off on their hike.
If you and your students are about to embark on your very first service learning program in Sri Lanka, here is my ultimate packing list of what to bring.
Our community service learning projects related to the development of rural schools can be incorporated into our educational travel programs to Sri Lanka.
Experiencing Loy Krathong Day