Chena Lunch Experience in Yala

Chena Lunch Experience in Yala

This tour gives you the opportunity to experience Sri Lanka’s Chena tradition. Learn the intricacies of chena plantation and its history. Watch a field fresh meal get cooked. Eat a delicious traditional lunch amongst in chena huts amongst the fields. This is a wonderful and productive experience that lets you know more about the local culture.

SKU: LK60141100

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Tissamaharama, Tissamaharama, Southern Province

You will be starting your experience at 11:00 am from the lobby of Saraii Village. You’re advised to wear comfortable clothes and bring a hat or cap to avoid getting sunburnt. Bringing some sunscreen lotion would help too. Your guide will pick you up and take you to a nearby local village.

The farmers there make their living from chena plantations. Chena is a method of agriculture that makes the most of the monsoon seasons every year. This farming method dates back to the early tribal communities of the island, millennia ago. There are two types of chena plantations; the Greater Chena that takes advantage of the rains during the two monsoons, and the Lesser Chena where farmers plant quick-growing crops that use less water during the times between the monsoons.

Once you get to the village you will be meeting up with a local farmer, who will be taking you around the fields. He will explain how chena plantation occurs and the seasons of planting. You will be learning more about the monsoons and the crops that are planted during chena plantation. You will also get to see how the water is collected and allocated when rain occurs, and the complications that arise with and excess or lack of rain. While speaking to the farmer, you will also be able to take some great photos with the fields as a backdrop.

After walking through the fields for approximately an hour, you will be taken to a chena hut that within the fields. Chena huts are rustic, open-sided huts used by farmers to watch over their fields, and to get some rest in the shade at the sun’s highest point. Sometimes they also use it to stay overnight in to protect the crops from damage by wildlife, such as elephants. However, this one is where you will be having lunch. You will find the food being cooked on open wood fires.

You can watch as the preparations, or help lay the tables if you wish. Lunch will be ready for consumption by 12:30 pm. You will be eating on clean lotus leaves or banana leaves, laid over woven trays. The meal will consist of traditional rice, obtained from chena plantation, and vegetables of the season from the fields; all cooked to perfection to create delicious local cuisine. There will also be fish, freshly caught from the lake nearby and cooked. You can eat at ease, with great views of the fields, and plenty of fresh air. Dessert will be fresh fruits of the season; there might also be curd and treacle.

After lunch, you will be leaving the fields at 1:15 pm. You will get back to Saraii Village by 1:30 pm completing the tour.

Duration: 2 hours