You’re dreaming at…

WILD COAST TENTED LODGE

Sri Lanka

Safari chic meets jungle drama, where the wild isn’t tamed, just beautifully designed

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WILDLY PLACED: Yala National Park. On the edge of the Indian Ocean, where jungle meets beach and leopards leave their mark in the sand.

EDITORIAL VIBE: It-Girl gone wild. Part high-fashion explorer, part barefoot conservationist.

CORE PILLARS: Tented architecture, cinematic safari immersion, wildlife conservation, slow indulgence.

MUSE MOOD: Wears linen in the jungle, sketches paw prints in her field journal, drinks gin as the sun sets over the savannah.

BEST TIME TO GO: February to July (dry season sightings, golden evening game drives).

THE LOOK: Cocooned canvas, copper bathtubs, arched bamboo pavilions, leather trunks, jungle shadows.

WHO’S IT FOR: Design-conscious travellers, eco-safari lovers, honeymooners in cargo pants, families who teach their kids about footprints – both digital and in the sand.

INDULGENCE SPECTRUM: From USD$1000 per night.

Wild Coast Tented Lodge doesn’t just take you to the edge – it asks you to dissolve into it. Here, on the southern lip of Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park, a fleet of organic, cocoon-shaped tents spill across a palm-strewn coastline like pods left by a futuristic explorer. And yet, every detail is ancient – rooted in jungle, shaped by the curve of the wind, the habits of leopards, the silence between sounds.

This is the kind of place where nature is not just scenery – it’s everything. Elephants wander past at dawn. Monkeys chatter from banyan trees. The ocean roars like a soundtrack. And in the midst of it all, your tent – a symphony of copper, canvas and cocoon-like stillness.

Inside, it’s less tent, more dreamscape. Think four-poster beds draped in mosquito nets, vintage travel trunks, copper soaking tubs that belong in an architectural digest spread. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame salt-kissed forest. And not a television in sight.

The experience is rooted in rhythm. Game drives at golden hour. Bushwalks with trackers who speak bird. Lunch under the branches. Spa rituals that use foraged oils. Every detail is curated, but never curated-for-show. Even the cocktails – think wild lime and cardamom – taste like something you’ve always known but never quite met.

Meals tell the story of the island. From heirloom rice to jackfruit curries and cinnamon tea smoked on coals. And no plastic, ever – sustainability here is deeply embedded, not surface-level.

At night, you’ll sleep to a chorus of cicadas and wake with the sunrise bleeding through your canvas walls. Time here doesn’t pass – it expands. And when you leave, it won’t be with photos. It’ll be with a changed nervous system and an entirely new vocabulary for the word wild.

This is a place where your pulse slows to match the wind through the palms. Where you forget how many hours are in a day – because you’ve traded time for texture. For barefoot walks under elephant-crossed skies. For pages filled with field notes and reflections. For starlit baths and the kind of silence that holds you like a hymn.

At Wild Coast, you don’t escape the wild – you return to it. And not in some colonial throwback fantasy, but in a raw, redefined way. The kind of wild that makes you more you. That strips the layers and sands you down to your essence. And when you leave, it isn’t just the land that’s been changed – it’s you.

WILD COAST’S BEATING HEART

Where the jungle breathes into the canvas, and stories are told in paw prints and the hush of starlight. This isn’t just a safari lodge, it’s a living theatre of ecology, luxury, and light.

The SLOJOURN spark

FIRST. The architecture – dome-like tents that blend seamlessly with the jungle canopy, built from bamboo and natural materials that bend, not break.

SECOND. Safari, rewritten – curated game drives with deeply local naturalists who know the land like blood memory. Also nights by the campfire with cocktails and stories being woven from the local naturalists.

THIRD. Coastal rewilding – Active conservation site supporting leopard protection, coral restoration, and elephant corridor mapping.

Where you dwell

LOVED UP COUPLES or LONE RANGERS
Cocoon Pool Suite

Each tent is a tactile fantasy. Canvas and copper. Soft angles and untamed edges. Interiors feature bespoke teak furniture, freestanding bathtubs, curated field kits, and writing desks where inspiration arrives as instinct. Open to the breeze, closed to nothing. This is how you sleep with nature – safely, stylishly, soulfully.

DON’T SLEEP ON THESE ROOMS (BUT DO SLEEP IN THEM)

GROUPS OF FRIENDS
Two Cocoon Combo

LA FAMILIA
Family Cocoon with Urchin

The art of living

Start with a slow safari, return to a long bath. Let the day stretch around you like the land itself. Afternoons drift into spa sessions infused with Ayurvedic oils, evenings into al fresco feasts kissed by firelight. The art of living here? Deep listening. To the forest. To your senses. To what moves within when the world outside goes still.

The forever lens

WATER: Purified and gravity-fed, delivered in refillable glass carafes.
WASTE: No single-use plastic, onsite composting, upcycled building materials. Resplendent Ceylon is actively working towards a zero-waste approach across all its properties which includes initiatives to reduce plastic consumption and engage in innovative recycling programs, such as partnering with Eco Spindles to upcycle plastic waste into new materials. They also focus on community education about the environmental impact of single-use plastics.
ARCHITECTURE: Canvas, copper, bamboo – low-impact and locally inspired.
ENERGY: Solar-powered operations, minimal artificial lighting, built to follow the natural rhythms of day and night.
RESPONSIBLE TOURISM: Resplendent Ceylon prioritizes responsible tourism practices, aligning with the principles of sustainability. This includes minimizing environmental impact, supporting local communities, and promoting sustainable travel experiences.

The together lens

Wild Coast’s team is over 95% Sri Lankan. Local trackers, chefs, and conservationists shape the guest experience from the inside out. But their impact runs deeper than hospitality – it’s structural.
The lodge operates under the Resplendent Ceylon umbrella, whose parent company – Dilmah Tea – funds the MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation. These initiatives support everything from elephant corridors and leopard conservation to women-led economic empowerment and education programmes across rural Sri Lanka. Every stay directly supports these efforts – a ripple effect of purpose stitched into every tent seam.
This isn’t just about visiting the wild. It’s about investing in the people and systems who protect it.

The take it with you

• A copper flask engraved with your initials
• A handwoven palm fan made by a nearby village elder
• A photo of your favourite leopard, captured by your guide and printed on recycled paper
• That subtle strength that only comes from sleeping close to the wild

WE SLOJOURNED HERE : TESS

“There was a moment, just after a game drive, soaking in a copper tub with the jungle breathing in, when I felt like time had folded in on itself and the only thing missing was Robert Redford. Wild Coast didn’t feel like a resort. It felt like being let in on a secret. The kind of place that rewrites you quietly, like sand reshaped by the tide.”

The ways you can move

SLOJOURN is a members-only platform for the new vanguard of conscious travellers. That’s you.

In that vain, we support a multitude of ways to book your travel.

Book directly with SLOJOURN’S travel team (we just don’t book flights, friend).
Book via our preferred travel partners that we can connect you with.
Use this as your guide and DIY your way through the world (love that for you, just take note of the destinations that prohibit this such as Bhutan, Socotra… etc.)