Santani Wellness Resort Kandy

We chose to design our contemporary dwellings based on the concept of the ‘ambalama’, which is the Sri Lankan word meaning ‘place of rest.’ Historically, pilgrims and traders moved around this sun-kissed island on foot. Simple shelters called ambalama came into being, offering these travellers somewhere safe to rest up for the next leg of a long journey. This human need to rest has not changed; today’s travellers too are in need of a place to rest up, along the journey of life.

Stylish and utterly comfortable, our interiors too are deliberately minimal. As in ancient Buddhist meditation caves in the mountains surrounding Santani, this lack of distraction allows you to focus your mind solely on slowing it down.

To further support your efforts to ‘reset,’ our rooms do not have televisions. While digital detox is a key component of the Santani experience, we do offer in-room WiFi on demand.

By blurring the distinction between inside and out, these private retreats invite you to rest, relax or meditate while inhaling the pure fresh air and taking in the pristine, truly inspiring scenery around you.

We have 16 Mountain View Chalets that overlook the surrounding mountain range.

Our low carbohydrate Keto meal plan comprises certified meat, freshly caught seafood and garden fresh vegetables, most from our own organic garden. Santani does not use any processed or refined foods and the Keto diet excludes starch-rich foods such as rice, breads, yams and pasta.

This newly popular approach to weight loss focuses on re-balancing the body’s energy usage through food. When we eat foods high in carbohydrates, the body produces glucose and insulin. Glucose is the easiest molecule for the body to convert and use as the body’s main source of energy. Insulin is produced to process that glucose in the bloodstream. As glucose is acting as the primary energy source, fats are not needed. They are therefore stored in the body.

This low carb diet is carefully designed to bring your body into the metabolic state of ketosis, a natural process the body initiates when food consumption, or in this case carbohydrate intake, is low. During this state, we produce ketones from the breakdown of fats in the liver to be used as energy.

The Keto Diet substitutes carbohydrates for healthy fats, so that the body instead of storing fat, the body begins to burn ketones as the main energy source and stored fat will be burned away.

Santani’s modern approach to the traditional Sri Lanka Ayurveda diet comprises fresh foods representing the six Ayurvedic tastes – sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and astringent. This time proven practice ensures that all major nutrients are included, and prioritised according to your Ayurvedic body type known as the Doshas – Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Every one of us is born with a unique balance of these doshas; every activity and function of our mind and body is dependent upon the balanced or unbalanced state of our doshas. This diet, designed to cleanse the body of impurities and thus rebalance the doshas, encourages energy stimulation and calms the mind, which makes it a valuable tool in elevating mood, energy and metabolism.

The Santani approach to detox and cleansing is still very much about gourmet dining and fulfilment. Our non-juice detox diet and the raw juice & smoothies programme are restricted short term diet plans which focus on eliminating caffeine, alcohol, salt, sugar and processed foods. The purpose of this diet plan is primarily to support and cleanse the liver, intestinal tract, kidneys, lungs and skin through the elimination of toxins in the body.-

Spicy drumstick soup with roasted jack seeds.
Indian pennyworth and bulgur salad with tamarillo and grapefruit salsa.
Crunchy banana blossom salad with shredded coconut & tamarind dressing.
Young coconut, passionfruit and basil detox juice.
Healing & calming smoothie of almonds, vanilla dates and black chia seeds.
Deep cleansing smoothie with lemon, lime, chilli, ginger and kithul treacle.
Blood cleansing & liver detox juice with wheatgrass, green apple and ginger.

To harmonise these philosophies, we built Santani as Sri Lanka’s first full-fledged destination spa, with the first-ever comprehensive hydrotherapy facilities in the country.

Our tri-level spa tucked into the hillside’s natural contours has been thoughtfully designed with holistic wellness in mind. You enter on the ground level to our reception and consultation rooms, then descend as if becoming one with the earth as you enter the hydrotherapy level. To warm up your body before treatments, this level houses a steam room, the cedar wood sauna with its a glass wall looking onto emerald paddy fields to the Knuckles mountain range, and our open-air thermal salt soak pool. Deeper into nature, the lowest level divides into four treatment rooms all of which are open onto the surrounding paddy fields. One of these rooms is designed for couples.

Sri Lanka’s wellness heritage dates back more than 5,000 years. Whether or not we take the Ramayana literally, it is true that medicinal plants found here do not grow anywhere else other than in the Himalayas. These therapeutic plants form the basis for Ayurveda, a two-part Sanskrit word, ayur meaning ‘life’ and veda meaning ‘knowledge.’ A comprehensive, holistic approach to healthy living Ayurveda remains extremely relevant within the context of modern wellness.

Ayurveda in Sri Lanka is characterised by two distinct forms of treatment: Shamana alleviates symptoms and Shodhana, which literally translates as ‘to wash away,’ cleanses the body to remove the root causes of dis-ease. Detox and cleansing programmes at Santani are deeply rooted in these ancient therapies proven effective over the centuries.

This is a Yoga and Ayurveda retreat program designed to provide everyday tools to assist you in dealing with your mind and its complexities. It is also an opportunity to set aside time for yourself, and discover your true nature. The Retreat will be a beautiful and rhythmic blend of Ayurveda, Asanas (Yogic postures), Pranayama (Hatha yogic breathing), Mantras, Meditation and pre-meditation techniques sourced from tradition of Tantra, Upanishads, Raja yoga and Kriya yoga.

This stress management and inner healing retreat program is tailored in such a way that it suits the individual’s needs and brings about a change on the levels of one’s thinking, feelings, attitudes and behavioural patterns.