Ashram Sri Lanka A quiet, self-guided jungle retreat in Sri Lanka
Only few guests at a time • From $16 per person per night • Book on Airbnb
Ayubowan
May you be blessed with a long life
Step away from stress, noise, work, phones and constant responsibility, and simply be.
Yoga • Meditation • Silence • Nature • Freedom
Ashram Sri Lanka is a four hectares of jungle in Katuwana, a quiet village (non touristic) in the south of Sri Lanka. It is not a traditional ashram and does not offer structured programmes, teachings or guided practice. It offers space, nature and freedom, so each guest can follow their own rhythm.
Leave the noise behind.
Come to the jungle.
Practise your own yoga and meditation.
Eat simple Sri Lankan food.
Spend time with yourself.
You don’t need to achieve anything here.
Just be.
What self-guided means here
You set the rhythm. Nobody sets a timetable.
What you can do
- Practise yoga on your own in the open-air yoga shala
- Meditate in quiet jungle surroundings, on four hectares of jungle with very few people
- Walk, read, journal or rest
- Spend whole days in silence
- Follow your own daily rhythm
What is not included
- A timetable or compulsory sessions
- Daily guided yoga classes
- A teaching programme, gurus, teachers or spiritual authorities
- Group activities, packaged wellness programmes or constant activities
- Supervision of your practice
A day at Ashram Sri Lanka
One possible day. Yours may look nothing like it.
Wake to the sounds of the jungle. Practise yoga or sit in meditation when it feels right. Walk the paths, read, write or rest in the shade. Share a simple home-cooked Sri Lankan meal. Nothing here is compulsory, so each guest finds the rhythm that suits them.
A simple, natural retreat space 
Open earthen rooms, close to nature 
Space for your own yoga and meditation 
Time with yourself “To just be”
Is Ashram Sri Lanka for you?
You come here to reconnect with nature, enjoy the silence, relax, and experience authentic Sri Lankan food. You come here to be with yourself.
Ashram Sri Lanka is not a yoga school or a guided retreat centre. It is a place where experienced practitioners can come, slow down, and practise yoga, meditation and mindful living in their own way.
You may feel at home here if you:
- already have experience with yoga or meditation
- enjoy silence and solitude
- want time away from normal life, or a pause from digital life
- can practise independently and are comfortable taking responsibility for your own retreat
- appreciate simple living, open-air bathrooms and nature close by
- are going through a period of personal change
This may not be the right place if you:
- Can't adjusted for simple life and open room
- Are looking for beginner or guided yoga classes
- Want a daily guided retreat programme or a meditation teacher
- Expect entertainment or organised activities
- Want a conventional hotel experience or a luxury resort
- Don’t enjoy rice and curry
Our guests are often spiritual seekers, overthinkers, exhausted professionals, people with digital fatigue, and experienced yoga and meditation practitioners. Not sure? Tell us what you’re looking for on WhatsApp and we’ll give you an honest answer.
Choose the kind of quiet you need
Six ways to retreat: invitations, not programmes
The Quiet Reset
A short retreat for rest, stillness and returning to yourself
Recommended stay: 3 nights / 4 days
The Silent Living Retreat
Simplicity, inner silence, uninterrupted time and mindful living
Recommended stay: 5 nights / 6 days
The Personal Yoga & Meditation Retreat
Space for your own practice in a natural setting
Recommended stay: 5 to 7 nights
The Digital Silence Retreat
Restore your attention by living with less digital noise
Recommended stay: 3 to 5 nightsThe Nature & Mindful Living Retreat
Reconnect with the body, the earth and a simpler rhythm
Recommended stay: 5 nights / 6 days
The Life Transition Retreat
Make space when life is changing, slow down, breathe, and reconnect with yourself.
Recommended stay: 5 to 7 nights
Rooms and prices
Only few guests at a time: a quiet alternative to large, crowded retreats. Price per person to avoid more people and respect your freedom.
Your room
$16 – $22 per person per night
Priced per person, not per room
All food and drinks
$10 per person per day
Pay daily or at the end of your stay
Suggested stay
7 or 14 days
Shorter retreats from 3 nights. Longer stays: ask us on WhatsApp
Every room
- is an open earthen room, half indoor and half garden, with trees growing inside
- has its own open-air shower and toilet(Toilet paper is not provided, as we encourage a more natural and mindful approach to cleansing), open to nature
- is built simply from mud(mosquito net included), using eco-friendly design
- is booked directly on its own Airbnb listing
There is no reception desk and no room service. There is a quiet place to sleep, and the jungle around it. If you’d rather have a closed, conventional hotel room, we’d honestly suggest somewhere else.
Room Apo
Water
View on Airbnb (Room Apo)
Room Wayo
Air
View on Airbnb (Room Wayo)
Room Patavi
Earth
View on Airbnb (Room Patavi)
Room Warna
Visible forms
View on Airbnb (Room Warna)
Room Rasa
Taste
View on Airbnb (Room Rasa)
Live prices, availability and the cancellation policy are shown on each Airbnb listing.
Good to know before you book
- Check-in
- Please don’t arrive late, as the place can be difficult to find. There are no road signs, but the local people are always happy to help. The final road is rough, so a tuk-tuk from town is the easiest option. Please check the directions and use Google Maps.
- Bathrooms
- Open-air and attached to your room. Toilet paper is not used here, so bring your own if you prefer it.
- Mosquitoes
- This is the jungle. Bring repellent so they don’t disturb your practice.
- Your practice
- Bring what you need for it: books, a meditation cushion, a yoga mat.
- A non-profit
- Your room contribution helps maintain the ashram. No other donations are asked.
- Getting here
- No road signs and a rough final road. A tuk-tuk from town is the easiest way. See directions.
Sri Lankan food
Simple. Vegetarian. Fresh. Homemade.
Meals here are simple, local and vegetarian. They are meant to nourish you, not to entertain you.
Food is cooked at the ashram restaurant called Pharmacy, in the Sri Lankan way mostly rice and curry, with whatever vegetables, dal, coconut-based curries, herbs and fruit are part of that day’s cooking. There is no menu and no cooking to order. You eat what is prepared, at an unhurried pace, and if you like, in silence. If you are here for one of the quieter retreats, meals can become part of the practice: noticing the taste, the texture, and how much you actually need. You are also welcome to help and learn, if you like.
- Rice & curry
- Vegetables
- Dal
- Coconut
- Local fruits
- Herbs
- Natural ingredients
All food and drinks, $10 per person per day
Organic products from the ashram are also available, from $1.
- Without garlic and onion
- Sri Lankan food is traditionally prepared with garlic and onion, so unfortunately, we cannot prepare meals without them during your stay. Thank you for understanding.
- Other dietary needs
- For vegan, gluten-free or allergy needs, ask us on WhatsApp before booking so we can tell you what is realistic.
Live like water
The idea the ashram was built around
Water doesn’t argue with the stone. It doesn’t force its way through. It finds another way forward.
To live like water is to stop fighting what we cannot control, to adapt without losing ourselves, and to keep moving without needing everything to go according to plan. Here, you are free to stop pushing for a while, let go of what you have been carrying, and allow the days to find their own shape.
What guests say
Loved and trusted by guests from around the world
Our host, Sam, is an Airbnb Superhost with 10 years of hosting and an average rating of 4.79 out of 5 across 134 guest reviews. Guests most often mention the hospitality, the location and the quiet.
Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice award goes each year to places that consistently earn excellent reviews from travellers. Best of the Best is given to a much smaller group of the highest-rated places.
Ashram Sri Lanka’s Community Service
Help the Helper
Help the Helper is a community service initiative that supports people affected by the lack of access to clean drinking water through water filter donations.
The ashram’s philosophy is to live like water. It felt natural to make sure the people around us have clean water to drink. A water filter is a simple, practical thing, and that suits the way the ashram works.
If you’d like to contribute, whether you are staying with us or not, send us a message and we’ll explain how. Helping is entirely optional and separate from your stay. Your booking doesn’t include a donation, and nobody will ask you for one.
Ask how to helpA private jungle in Katuwana, a quiet village near Tangalle, southern Sri Lanka.
We are about 30 km from Tangalle beach and 50 km from Matara. Katuwana is not a tourist area, which is what keeps it peaceful.
Book your stay
Choose your room and book it on Airbnb. Not sure yet? Tell us your dates on WhatsApp.
Pick a room to open its Airbnb listing, or ask us on WhatsApp with your dates.