A walk around the garden
One of the many highlights of staying at GlenMyu Estate Hotel is walking around the garden on the five acre estate.
It’s a healthy and revitalising experience and allows you to get a little bit closer to nature.
We have worked with nature in our attempts to provide an environment where guests can feel like they are away from it all. However, GlenMyu Estate is located close enough to great sightseeing around Ella 9i.25 hrs drive), Horton Plains National Park, Lipton’s Seat and more.
The garden is naturally an ongoing project and we are constantly making improvements to enhance our guests experience whilst creating an environment suitable for flora and fauna.
Do we know what we are doing?
We are not experienced gardeners and we believe the beauty of the landscape is as a result of trying something, making a mistake and then trying something different. Nature really has educated us letting us know what plant is suitable for each location around the estate.
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A short history of GlenMyu Estate
Ru purchased the five acres of overgrown land in 2006. We had a brief look at part of the land we could access and Ru just decided to gamble and go ahead with the purchase. Having some streams delivering water and an electricity connection was enough to start with.
The land had been part of the much larger Viharaghalla Tea estate. It was divided and a previous owner used it to cultivate sugar cane. We understand when the government decided to start importing cheap sugar cane the estate was no longer viable. It was left unused for many years apart from the monkeys that enjoyed the fruits from some of the trees, something that they still enjoy today.
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When my wife and I visited the land it was drizzling and it was impossible to navigate around the estate without proper gear and machete to drive a pathway.
A caretaker with little work to do.
A caretaker looked after the estate whilst we lived in London however, he was just tasked with securing the estate rather than do much work. He grew some vegetables and spices for his own use. Guinea Grass, which was growing wildly over the estate was cut and used for cattle feed. Sticks were cut from broken tree branches and sold to local villagers for firewood. He managed to supplement his income and we were happy with the situation.
When we visited Sri Lanka annually we would come to the land and he would clear a pathway or two so that we could explore a little bit more of the area.
As the grass was very long we were terrified as leeches jumped on us for a quick meal! Fortunately for visitors today they will only meet the occasional leeches on rainier parts of the year as we have cut the grass on the pathways quite short. There are also several concrete pathways creating a safe environment accessing the house.
I was amazed to see coffee growing wild on the land. There were also small but very sweet tomatoes growing in different places. There were some Jackfruit Trees and Mango Trees that had already been established. Some large Mara Trees (Para Mara – Albizia saman f.muell.) and also Kithul Trees (Caryota urens) scattered around the land. Most of the land was wild and really difficult to navigate so I limited my exploration.
Now - what a change!
Roll forward to 2018 and we were based at the land and decided that we would start clearing some of the jungle and make some pathways so that we could get around.
Between 2018 and 2021, when we completed and moved into the house at GlenMyu Estate, there was a substantial amount of work done. We were on site all the time and therefore managed to do something everyday.
Events that we were not in control of meant that we were not in a rush. The Easter bombings and then the global Covid-19 pandemic resulted in very few tourists visiting the island and therefore we had time on our hands.
Now we feel that by not racing to finish the landscaping, so we could open GlenMyu Estate Hotel earlier, we have a much better offering for guests. We also think that nature would have let us know quite quickly if we had tried to force things.
Pathways so that you can explore the land.
Once you have parked at the drive in front of the house you will be met by the lawn which is surrounded by trees and flowers. We have two different types of Jackfruit Tree on either side of the lawn and we harvest the Jackfruit and use them in dishes for our guests. A Pulled Jackfruit Burger or a Jackfruit Curry are popular with our guests. They love that the farm to fork is almost as short as you can get it!
We had more flowers around the lawn but the introduction of our rescue cow to the Estate has meant that the area has been trimmed! Maali appears to enjoy the buffet we put on for her. You can read more about our rescue cow in the following article “We got a Cow!”.
Walking to the Natural Spring Fed Infinity Swimming Pool.
A pathway and steps takes you to our swimming pool. It’s fed from a spring and is a great place to refresh yourself after a day of exploration of the sights near to the hotel. We love day trips to the montane cloud forest at Horton Plains National Park.
A trip to Upper Diyaluma Waterfall is a special way to spend a day. Lipton’s Seat, Adisham Bungalow and Bambarakanda Waterfall are also within an hours drive. Ella Town is also around an hours drive and a day trip to visit Nine Arch Bridge, Ravana Waterfall, Mini Adams Peak or Ella Rock are other great day trips.
At the swimming pool you can look across the stream to our interpretation of Lombard Street. This is currently under development and you can read more about our plans in the following article.
Around the house.
You will see some colourful flowers such as coleus and hibiscus withe red petals. Ru often makes a hibiscus and ginger tea for our guests.
Climbing up the steps back to the house you will then find a pathway alongside the lawn where we grow some basil, mint and peppermint (also great as a tea).
Towards the terraces.
On your walk towards the terraces you will come across two varieties of mandarin trees, some lemon trees and papaya trees. Papaya grows quite well n the estate and is a regular offering at breakfast.
You might meet some of our ducks bathing in the ponds as you climb up the steps. We have several varieties of bananas growing on the estate some of which you will see on the left hand side. More banana trees will greet you when you climb the steps and then looking to the right you will see our mandarin orchard. There are lots of other fruits and vegetables that we grow on the terraces and Ru will be happy to tell you when we have growing at the time.
Vanilla Time!
As you climb the steps back up to the main driveway you will see vanilla vines wrapped around the trees. Ru has to hand pollinate the vanilla every morning before 10 am when they are in flower. We use the vanilla and some of our duck or chicken eggs to make our vanilla ice cream.
Looking back to from where we have climbed you can see our Mandarin orange orchard, Areca nut trees and Banana trees.
At the road you will come across more lemon trees (we use a lot!) and you will also see an Avocado Tree. When it is avocado season we are in heaven!
Walking across towards our vegetable garden you will come across some pomegranate trees and some luffa vines. We harvest the luffa and make loofah sponges which are used in the kitchen and bathrooms.
The Vegetable Garden.
We have recently constructed two greenhouses where we grow tomatoes and many other items. GlenMyu Estate’s gardens are fully organic so we don’t use any chemicals to keep pests away. Ru can tell you about what else we have growing in the vegetable garden.
Crossing the wooden bridge
When you have crossed the stream over the wooden bridge you can see more banana trees. Above this area is our pepper and cinnamon forests. They are quite young at the moment and therefore we won’t get a harvest for some years.
Climbing up the hill on the grass pathway to Whale Rock you will see our clove orchard on the left. The trees are coming on well and we expect blossoms to come in the coming two to three years. According to our research the best harvest is normally between fifteen and twenty years old so we have a while to go!
A dead end - at the moment.
Near to whale rock you will see several avocado, jackfruit and mango trees which I have planted from seed. As these trees are located far from the house we do not expect to be able to eat any of the harvest from these trees and they will be food for the birds and animals that visit the estate.
At the moment we have yet to complete the pathway which will allow you to complete a loop around the perimeter of the land. We will update this article when it has been completed.
Walking back down towards the pool you will come across lots of mulberry plants, the berries of which we harvest every morning (if the birds don’t get there first!).
After you walk around the garden perhaps a refreshing dip in the pool is the order of the day.
A lot more to see on your walk around the garden.
There are lots of items that we have planted that I have not mentioned in this article and they are there for you to discover. Some plants are new to me and therefore taking a tour with Ru will provide you with a more details explanation of what we have in the garden.
If Ru is busy and you get the second class tour hosted by yours truly – I will do my best!
Stay at GlenMyu Estate to explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country
A stay at GlenMyu Estate as you explore the Sri Lankan Hill Country and see sights like Horton Plains National Park is a unique experience.
We only have three bedrooms and you will need to book early during the peak holiday season.
The estate is usually within an hours drive of the major sightseeing locations such as Nine Arch Bridge, Ella Town, Upper Diyaluma Waterfall, Lipton’s Seat, Bambarakanda Waterfall and many more,
GlenMyu Estate is listed on Booking.com and Airbnb.
Contact us by the WhatsApp button on our website for direct booking rates.
