Pristine Beach with White Sand, Kalkudah – Batticaloa
14 March 2021
Reading Time – 05 Mins
Location
Karpaha Sands is a resort with a mixture of many aspects. It is situated in a very unique location and a few kms away from the popular “Pasikuda”. Unlike Pasikuda, Kalkuda is smaller in area and not so popular among tourists. Only thing you will see at the beach during morning hours is fishermen from a small village nearby. But during evening hours it is only you and the beach.
Getting to Karpaha Sands is long drive if you start from Colombo. So make sure you leave Colombo early since drive is normally 6 hours or more. But trust me it’s all worth it.
Note – I have to mention this since I think it’s important note to make. The last 2 Km to the hotel, road is somewhat damaged. This is due to the monsoon rain take place every year. It’s a public road that hotel cannot maintain. So if you have any concerns, call the hotel before your arrival. They will assist you with road condition and even arranging a very safe parking place and take you in their vehicle.
Map Location
Experience
As I have mentioned earlier, Karpaha Sands has mixture of many things. The Tamil Culture since Eastern part of Sri Lanka is populated with Tamils. Near by fishing village gives you one of the best cultural and village experience of how east of Sri Lankan villagers depend on sea. While relaxing in your villa, you can witness the daily chores of fishing, selling them to buyers, cleaning up and getting ready to do it all over again.
Due to the pandemic the resort host only four occupants. Including two of us. We didn’t had any hassle in checking-in. Everything was smooth and after filling COVID-19 papers [This is the new normal], we headed to our villa.
Accommodation
Even though Karpaha Sands has villas, well I would call it “Tented Suites”. As soon as I saw this, it took me back to my Africa trip where I saw Bush Tents, the only difference is Karpaha Sands tented suites are luxurious.
There are three types of suits in Karpaha. Palam Suite, Kolaya Suite and Family Suits. My choice was Palam Suite as it has direct access to beach. You can also checkout how fisherman work on the beach at distance. Kolaya Suite is located somewhat inside the resort and quite away from beach front. But you have a sandy front porch where you can relax and you have 100% privacy. Also Kolaya Suites are bigger in size.
Family Suites can accommodate 5 people and it’s on the far side of the resort.
My favourite part of the suit was the, outdoor shower. It gives you a feeling of taking a shower from a small waterfall.
Upon our arrival we were given a small bag which consist of a mobile phone, USB charger, Torch, Waterproof Bluetooth speaker. Mobile phone is your Wifi hotspot and way of communication with reception and restaurant.
They sent you the menu via WhatsApp where you can order your food in advance or order drinks to your villa it self. Bluetooth speaker is a nice choice where you can enjoy good music while you are at beach or pool.
Also I love Karpaha Sands dedicated for removing single use of plastics.
Food
Fresh, Authentic, Mouthwatering. I need only three words to describe about the food. Karpaha Sands has a young aspiring chef. I was privileged to learn fix tricks from him during my cooking class.
During our stay we mostly sticked to local food, but we tried few western style dishes as well. Everything tasted amazingly good. Everything they used were freshly purchased. Sea food purchased from local Fisherman and most of the vegetables were from their own organic garden.
For vegetarians and vegans there were plenty of options. My partner being a vegetarian approved Karpha Sands food.
One thing to keep in mind if you are a local, Karpaha Sands doesn’t offer full board or half board options for the local rate. Breakfast is the only meal included. Rest of the meals you will have to purchase. However if you are a foreigner, you will have the option to select Bed & Breakfast along with full board and Half Board options.
When it comes to food recommendation they have a lovely BBQ platter [meat and sea food mixed]. You will have to order it ahead of time since ingredients have to be purchase in advance to maintain the freshness.
We noticed that ordering food in advance on our arrival was easy since as soon as you arrive your food is served. It was much easier having the menu in the mobile phone given and we just sent a WhatsApp message to the Restaurant.
Things to do / Activities
Karpaha Sands has a wide range of activities. Comparatively, If you come with family there are few games you can play and Kids will have multiple games to play in TV room. If you are an adventure freak, you can go deep sea fishing. The cost is for the boat. So if you have around 6 participants then price will come down drastically. This is a 4 to 6 hour activity so you need to book a day prior.
Cooking class was one of my favourite activities. I regularly cook when I’m home. Still I have learned so much from the chef on how to prepare local delicacy Carb Curry. In addition to that he taught me a few tricks on cooking many local food.
Another must try in Karpaha Sands is movie under the stars. When you select this activity you will be given a booklet of movie titles. You can select your favourite movie and inform reception. In the evening, the staff will prepare you a mini cinema by the beach with a projector screen and comfy bean bag chairs. You can enjoy the movie under the stars with some chips and drinks.
Although this was not included to activities, watching fisherman fish by the shores is also a nice experience. In fact, I went along with them and helped them. It was such hard work they do every single day in scorching sun in order to feed their families.
Enjoy the beach. This one doesn’t need explanation. Beach here is spectacular. White sand for many miles and it’s so pristine. If you miss the beach here then you are missing the best part of Karpaha Sands
Staff and Service
During our time of visit, Karpaha Sand staff were 50% reduced due to the pandemic. Nevertheless we never felt any service shortage. Every staff member was always busy but they wore a smile behind their mask all the time. Staff from Reception, Resturent and Spa was very friendly and welcoming.
Review
Karpaha Sands can be ranked among the best resorts in East of Sri Lanka. Besides , the white sand beach with no tourist is icing on cake. I highly value the privacy at any resort. Well Karpaha Sands did not fail to offer me such privacy which made me love this place even more.
Food served to us was amazing, I love the fact they mix few cultures into food which still tastes fantastic.
Accommodation in Karpaha was wonderful. The luxurious tented villas give you a feeling that you are in bushes yet you can see the blue ocean in-front of you.
Overall, if you are planning to visit the Eastern part of Sri Lanka, Karpaha Sands should be a stop in your itinerary.
Karpaha Sands Website
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I’ll meet you soon with another one.
Cheers,
Stephi
stephilk.com 