Fun Food Friday — Craft Tunnel – Potter’s Retreat lunch in Udawalawe National Park

One can develop a hearty appetite after a busy day of safariing for Sri Lankan elephants in the wilds of the Udawalawe National Park. Fortunately, our tour had that covered. Near the southern entrance to the park, not far from the Udawalawe Dam and Udawalawe Reservoir, is an amazing piece of architecture that houses a fantastic pottery studio and a wonderful restaurant featuring authentic Sri Lankan food. That means this food is heavy on rice, curry, sambols (spicy Sri Lankan condiments), vegetables, fruits, chicken, fish, and the occasional red meat (beef, mutton, pork). The full name of this place is Craft Tunnel – The Potter’s Retreat. Here is it’s location in relation to the park:

Much of the Craft Tunnel structure is open-air, and it does indeed have a tunnel-like appearance once you step inside:

The studios, kitchen, offices, and restrooms, may be enclosed, but when I say that much of this place is open-air, below is what I mean. This is what you see when looking beyond the areas shown above:

And if you’re in the mood to shop, there is some truly fascinating pottery to be had. Little wonder why this place bills itself as “an authentic fusion of Sri Lankan traditional art and the world of modern Studio Ceramics.”

Since this lunch was included in the price of our safari, we didn’t even look at the menu. Instead, the wait staff just started bringing out food. And more food. And more food. We couldn’t keep up, and there was quite a bit left over at the end of the meal. Here’s a photo gallery/slide show of our feast:

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