The full Air Lankan flights proved the point that Sri Lanka is currently a hot destination for travelers, sun seekers and adventurers alike. Our journey began in Colombo at the Galle Face Hotel built back in 1864. A glorious colonial monument, unfortunately fraying at the edges and in dire need of a make-over.

The road to Kandy is a mere 3 hours away or so it reads in the guide books. Raja our navigator and mentor was philosophical, “I can only go 60 km per hour here so let’s make it 6 hours. You will see more.” All we wanted was to show our daughter the Elephant Orphanage and the 1.15pm feeding of the calves and then to treat ourselves at the Wedegedara Ayurvedic clinic in the hills above Kandy.
Our first foray into Ayurveda was at the Spice Garden 30 kilometers West of Kandy. At the front of the house is a down home Sri Lankan restaurant behind which is a secret garden filled with every herb, bark and flower you would ever need to concoct your own medicine chest. Cocoa plants were turned into a rich powder for its source of Magnesium and polyphenols and to sweeten the hot chocolate beverage, they add a red banana essence which our driver kept telling us was so good for growing kids.( He doesn’t know why but I felt sure that it must be) Everyone here seems to know something about what to do for preventing illness. Even the coconut sales man will give you a hundred uses for his 3 varieties of coconuts he has on sale.

Sandalwood oil comes from the inner bark and its white sticky oil is extracted at the herbal farm close by. The women use it to keep their faces wrinkle free and they place it on their heels to prevent cracking . To keep the teeth white, sandalwood powder with 4 drops of rose water helps to remove tea stains and keeps gums healthy due to the anti-bacterial properties. The water from the huge orange king coconuts is boiled to derive the oils to keep the scalp strong and healthy and prevent graying and loss of hair! The oil is used on the skin prior to going into the sun as the sun is reflected away and will prevent burning and therefore skin cancer. Cinnamon oil and clove oil are used to alleviate tooth pain. Cashews are grown everywhere in Sri Lanka. They do have high cholesterol levels so to offset this they suggest lemon and lime juice mixed with bee pollen and it will remove the plaque that causes arteriosclerosis!

Leaving the hugely busy main road, quickly takes you to the real magic and beauty of Sri Lanka – cascading waterfalls, verdant jungles and purple lily ponds looking as wild as the Aryans must have found it back in the 8th century B.C. as they immigrated from North India. It was in the 3rd century B.C. when Buddhism spread to the community and the teachings of Ayurveda started to penetrate their lives.

Apparently it was the lord Buddha who stated, “Of all gains, the gain of health is the highest and best”. The Sri Lankans believe that with 85% of all illness and disease, the body is capable of curing itself without specific treatments therefore there is no reason why the administration of any sort of medicine, provided it does no positive harm, cannot be associated with a cure.

With this in mind, after a 6 hour journey we put ourselves into the hands of Dineth Nawaranthre who prescribed a head oil bath (Shirodara) followed by an Ayurveda oil body treatment plus a herbal steam bath. I was firmly in their grip as the yellow oil was poured into my hair. Relaxing and neutralizing is the way I would describe it. The coconut oil can ruin one’s coif but that was the least of my worries. .After 15 minutes I was planted onto the hard wooden table where red oil this time, was poured in liberal doses from my head to my toes. A rhythmical pinching massage, which was very stimulating, lasted for 45 minutes. Fully oiled and decidedly zoned-out, I was placed in a wooden coffin like structure where my head stuck out so that my face could be massaged with sandalwood oil whilst the rest of my body was melting away in the herbal steam. 20 minutes was all I could endure and I was on my own wondering where my practitioner had gone!! He was amused when I called him to say that I was ready when he was.

Feeling frazzled, dazed but metabolized we drove off to a mountain retreat called Hunas Falls, which was at the end of nowhere and the beginning of paradise. Next time I shall spend at least a week here watching the bee-eaters, the kingfishers and bathe the momentous pools that lie beneath the myriad waterfalls.

Of the 58 forms of Alternative Medicine found in the world 15 are found in Sri Lanka. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Desiya Chikitsa, Dance therapy etc. Western medicine is still seen as “the alternative medicine” despite the British mainstreaming western medicine back in the 19th century. Ayurveda has been here for 2000 years and the early kings were the first people to build hospitals and qualify physicians as far back as King Dutugumani (101-77 B.C.) All the original formulas are to be found in the vaults of the many temples written down on parchment made from palm leaves.

Nowadays It takes 5 years of studying in one of the 3 main Herbal schools in Sri Lanka to become a qualified practitioner in Ayurveda. Most certainly from what I could see it is a growing field that will bring more and more people here from the west to learn these ancient arts.
Back in 1789 a British pharmacologist Dr. William Withery wrote, “Poisons in small doses are the best medicines and useful medicines in large doses are poisonous.”

I rest my case.

Chris Watts