A Sigiriya village tour & cooking class

What is a village tour?

Behind the rocks and the resorts, Sigiriya is still a farming village. Families grow rice in the paddy fields, keep vegetable plots in the forest, and cook over wood fires in clay pots. A village tour is a slow half day spent seeing that life up close, and it ends with you cooking and eating a proper Sri Lankan rice and curry lunch.

It's the thing guests most often tell us was the highlight of their trip, usually to their own surprise.

How the morning goes

1. 8:00A bullock cart ride along the village track. It's slow and bumpy, and more fun than it sounds.
2. 8:30A walk along the paddy field bunds. Depending on the season you'll see ploughing, planting, green rice or the harvest.
3. 9:00A traditional outrigger canoe across the village tank (lake), past lotus flowers, kingfishers and the odd water monitor.
4. 9:30A chena, the forest vegetable plot, with its wooden lookout hut where farmers sit at night to keep the elephants away.
5. 10:00The cooking class in a village kitchen: grating coconuts, grinding spices on a stone, and cooking 6 to 8 dishes on the wood fire.
6. 12:00Lunch, eaten from a lotus leaf, with your hands if you're brave.

The afternoon version starts at 15:00 and ends with an early dinner instead. It's a nice way to spend the day you're not on safari.

What's on your plate

Rice and curry isn't one curry: it's rice with lots of small dishes. Here's what you'll usually cook. Tap one.

The menu follows what's in season and in the garden that day.

A real village, or a show for tourists?

Some village tours near Sigiriya and Habarana are run like conveyor belts: dozens of carts in a line, a 10 minute canoe ride, and a buffet lunch for 50 people. They're not bad, but they're not the real thing.

Good to know

• Vegetarian and vegan diners eat very well: most village dishes are vegetable based anyway. Tell us about allergies, especially to nuts or coconut.
• Spice: ask for "less chilli". The family will happily cook a mild version alongside their own.
• Children love the bullock cart and the canoe. Life jackets are provided (confirm).
• Wear light clothes you don't mind getting a bit muddy, and sandals. You'll take them off to go into the house.
• Bring a hat, sun cream and mosquito repellent for the lake.

Village tour & cooking class: quick questions