We stayed here with our 2 boys (aged 10 & 12) for one night and I was in 2 minds whether or not to book this adventure due to the fairly high costs. However, we were all not disappointed. The location is truly outstanding, overlooking the river, we saw a large water monitor and (not so easy to stomach) a huge Huntsman spider on the outside of our tent. I thought we would get eaten alive by mosquitos but despite the close proximity to the water that was not the case.
We arrived by midday to have a delicious lunch (the mildest Sri Lankan Food I have eaten and as we are not good with hot spicy foods, it was also the most delicious) before getting changed to do the rafting/canyoning.
We were then driven 7 km upriver, got a short but fun briefing before we all paddled like hell down the rapids. It was exhilarating despite the low water and a great experience. The staff are all extremely well trained and ensure that it's fun from start to finish! You then stop about 2/3rds of the way to walk uphill into the canyon part. When we got to the top we saw a 1.5m snake just perching perfectly on the waters' edge, before we jumped into a small but deep pool. Both kids and adults loved it alike. My boys went first on everything and even did a back-flip into the water from some of the higher points. You slide your way down the well worn rocks and the highest jump is probably 12-15 ft which was a challenge! The canyoning was our favourite activity, exhilarating, breath-taking and a laugh a minute! I would highly recommend it to anyone regardless of age.
We then got back into the boats and paddled our way down some more rapids. At the end, we threw each other into the river and I had a nice swim back to Borderlands.
In the evenings, they showed a kids film due to many families and it was just relaxing, sitting in the longhouse on cushions and having free wifi. Breakfast was a little bit on the light side, I didn't get any boiled eggs as they had all gone though I'm sure if I had asked they would have made some more.
All in all a truly memorable stay! My only slight issue is that it was by far the most expensive night we have paid for in Sri Lanka and that includes our stay in the 5 Star Taj Samudra in Colombo (much less fun though). Yet, I would still not hesitate to come here again and maybe save up for an additional night as the setting is truly beautiful and the staff are really fun to be around and clearly enjoy their work.
We also went Whale-watching with Borderlands on a private boat from Merissa but I will leave a separate review for this.
Well done guys, keep up the good work!