For three decades, Ulpotha has become quietly known as a serene place for yoga and Ayurveda. Its beginnings were different. The founders, Giles and Viren, on stumbling across one of the most outstandingly beautiful areas on our natural planet in 1994, set out to create a private holiday estate with a purpose: to explore a traditional way of living in close relationship with the land. That experiment shaped everything you see today: hand-built mud-and-adobe huts, reforestation, and the careful revival of ancient irrigation tanks. Organic farming and daily life guided by the seasons. To remain self-sustaining, Ulpotha is open to paying visitors for part of the year. What began as a living experiment has grown naturally into a place where people come to rest, practise, and reconnect with something real. The following is the story of Ulpotha's serendipitous beginning, as told by one of the founders, Viren Perera. The origin and ideals of Ulpotha, before yoga and Ayurveda became integral to its story.