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Serene Lake Cottages are set on the banks of the scenic Dodanduwa
Lagoon 2 km from Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka. The cottages and restaurant are 15
minutes away from the Hikkaduwa Beach and Hikkaduwa Town with its bustling boutiques
and night life. Close in enough to enjoy a night on the town, but able to retreat
to peace and tranquility. Dodanduwa Lagoon is home
to the famous Polgasduwa
Island Meditation center. Dodanduwa Lagoon is also an important ecological
site, with mangroves that provide breeding  grounds
for shrimp (prawns) and other brackish water fish. Serene
Lake Eco village provides inflatable rafts and maps for self guided trips around
the lake or guided tours on outrigger canoes.
The neighbourhood around Serene Lake has beautiful walks / cycle trips through
paddy fields and small villages. The area abounds with birds, endemeic and migratory.
Serene Lakeprovides bicycles and maps for self guided bike tours around the area.
Serene Lake also organizes Raft excursions on the Gin Ganga. The excursions are
lead by Jayalath, who is strong swimmer
and has served in the Sri Lankan Navy.
Serene
Lake Eco Village has a limited number of well furnished adobe (rammed earth) cabanas
with attached toilets and veranda with a great view of the lagoon. Meals are fixed
menu, specializing in fresh shrimp and fish fresh from the Lagoon. Another speciality
of the Serene Lake Village is the beef pot roast, that is a culinary delight.
Serene Lake Village is run by D. G Nimal and
Sereno Barr-Kumar. Nimal has been associated
with the Tourist Industry, for over 15 years. He has been a guide and Restaurantier
over the last few years. Nimal can communicate in either English or German. Barr-Kumar
has spent over 15 years in the US as Coastal Oceanographer and as an Quantitative
Analyst on Wall Street. Sereno is also an intermediate level windsurfer. The engineering
and construction using traditional packed earth (adobe) and rammed earth techniques
to build the Serene Lake cabanas and restaurant was done by Sunil
Abeyweera Gunawardena.
The neighbourhood
also abounds with many hospitable people with interesting skills and outlook.
Chandare the ecologically sensitive, liberal
thinking shrimp fisherman, Ruwan the artist
who turns driftwood into works of art. Karunatilleke
the Grama Sevaka (village headman) who is a passionate ecological conservationist.
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