There’s something magical about growing up on an island where nature speaks first, through waves, wildlife, and birdsong.
One would consider themselves lucky to be born on this island. To grow up with the rhythm of the waves, spend holidays hiking through misty mountains, read its history in books and later walk through the ruins in person. To be raised with its wildlife, an island of high endemism, where corals cling to 18th-century shipwrecks, blue whales cruise just off the shoreline, coconut palms guard the coast, and elephants and leopards roam the jungles.
For me, it was the birds that caught my attention. An unusual hobby growing up, perhaps, but birdwatching taught me patience. It took me deep into jungles, across wetlands, and to the islands within my island. It made me notice, observe, and love nature in all its subtlety.
Today, the paradise I grew up in is featured in every travel magazine, as it should be! “The best place to spend your holiday,” they say. Five-day itineraries rush through my homeland, promising to show you the best we have to offer. But to me, a lifetime is barely enough. If someone claims to do it in five days, I’d call it impossible.
That is the backdrop in which The Curious Experience was born. Out of love, pure and simple. A love shared by the three of us who co-founded it, shaped by the country we call home. We wanted to offer something more than a tick-box holiday. Because Sri Lanka is not a five-day checklist. Sri Lanka is its people, warm and welcoming, even after everything they’ve endured. It’s the wildlife, waiting for those with enough patience to see it. It’s in the quiet beaches of tiny fishing villages. It’s in our cuisine, shaped by tradition and spiced with the flavours that once drew colonisers to our shores. It’s in the gem markets scattered across the island. In the roadside cup of tea. In the long, dusty roads that link sprawling rural communities, where elephants sometimes cross your path. It’s in the temples, kovils, churches, and mosques you pass along the way. It’s in the village cricket game. In our rituals and celebrations. Sri Lanka is in everything, if only you move slowly enough to feel it.
Inspiration came in the form of endless messages and chats with friends, family and strangers. “I’ve never seen this side of Sri Lanka before, how do you find these places?” That was when we knew this was bigger than us.
And that’s what we want to share with you. To explore a country so full of adventure, you need to understand it. To travel like a local, you need to blend in, embrace the warmth of its people, and give back, however you can. Protect what is still here, so that we can all continue to cherish it. Respect its people, its wildlife, its culture. And above all, take it slow enough to feel it in your bones.
The Curious Experience was created for those who want to explore this country as I do, learning while travelling through both the iconic sites and the hidden places few ever see. It was built to spark curiosity, to uncover something that might just shift your perspective.
For me, that spark came from my parents. It began with birdwatching, exploring ancient ruins, and countless jungle trips. For you, perhaps it begins with The Curious Experience.
So, if you’re ready to travel not just to a place but into a story, let The Curious Experience immerse you in it. Let us show you the Sri Lanka we want you to see, love, and return to, again and again.
Because one lifetime simply isn’t enough.
