◢ Haputale · Badulla District · Uva Province · Sri Lanka
A 1931 Tudor-and-Jacobean country house in the misty hills above Haputale - built by the planter Sir Thomas Villiers, and now the tranquil St Benedict's Monastery, open to visitors among its gardens and forest.
About Adisham Bungalow
Adisham Bungalow - also known as Adisham Hall, and today as St Benedict's Monastery - is a grand stone country house in the cool, misty hills just west of Haputale, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. A short drive from Haputale town leads you to this beautifully preserved colonial mansion, run and maintained by Benedictine monks and wrapped in the tranquility of the highlands.
Surrounded by a bird sanctuary and thick forest, with sweeping views over tea country, it's an ideal place to slow down and enjoy nature.
The house was built in the Tudor and Jacobean style with thick walls of black stone, and its design and "air windows" still impress architects today. Around it spreads a manicured English-style garden of roses and orchids, with terraced lawns and an orchard. Above the house rises forest and the bird sanctuary; below, the small mountains and tea plantations roll away, with the Colombo–Badulla railway line tracing the ridges on one side and the town of Haputale on the other.
Only part of the house - principally the library and the living room - is open to the public, while the rest remains a working monastery where men train for the monastic life. Visitors come for the architecture, the gardens, the peace, and the famous homemade jams, cordials and chutneys made from the estate's own fruit. It's an attraction not to be missed on any Haputale itinerary.
History of Adisham Bungalow
Adisham was the country home of Sir Thomas Lister Villiers (1869–1959), an English aristocrat and planter - a grandson of Lord John Russell, twice British prime minister, and a descendant of the Dukes of Bedford. Villiers came to Ceylon as a young trainee planter, rose through the tea trade, and in 1928 became chairman of George Steuart & Co., one of the island's oldest trading houses. While chairman, he set about building his ideal home in the hills.
He chose a peaceful site at Haputale, ringed by the forest of Thangamale, and named the house "Adisham" after his birthplace village in Kent.
Constructed between 1927 and 1931 and designed by the architects R. Booth and F. Webster in Tudor and Jacobean style - echoing Leeds Castle in Kent - the house was furnished with William IV pieces, fine china and a library of treasured volumes, and hosted many prominent personalities of the colonial era. After Villiers retired, the property was sold to Sedawatte Mills in 1949, complete with its furnishings.
In 1961 the Roman Catholic Church purchased Adisham and converted it into a monastery. Today it belongs to the Sylvestro-Benedictine Congregation (the Congregation of St Sylvester) and serves as a theological training centre; its chapel holds a relic of Pope Sylvester I. The house remains well preserved with its period fittings, and the front rooms are open to visitors - a living link to a vanished colonial world.
Sources differ slightly on a few details - the estate is variously described as 10 or 12 acres, and the house is sometimes said to have around forty rooms - reflecting different historical accounts.
Location of Adisham Bungalow
The bungalow sits about 3–4 km west of Haputale town, off the B48 road toward Boralanda, set inside the eastern edge of the Thangamale (Tangamalai) Bird Sanctuary at roughly 5,000 ft.
Take the famous Colombo–Badulla hill-country line to Haputale station for some of the island's best rail scenery, then a short tuk-tuk or taxi ride up to Adisham.
The most flexible option, and easy to combine with Lipton's Seat and the Dambetenne tea factory in one day. The final approach is a short, steep estate road.
What can you do in Adisham Bungalow
Adisham is more than its façade. Between the rooms, the gardens, the forest and the monastery shop, there's a quiet half-day here for anyone who loves history and nature.
Step inside the open part of the house - the wood-panelled library and the living room - to see period furniture, fittings and the planter's treasured books, with a short video tour of the rest of the mansion.
Wander the manicured terraced lawns and flower beds, planted with roses and orchids, dotted with plaques and quiet corners - the most loved part of any visit.
The monastery kiosk sells jams, cordials, chutneys and syrups made from the estate's own fruit - strawberries, guava and Seville oranges. The classic Adisham souvenir.
The surrounding Thangamale sanctuary and forest cover make this a fine spot for birdlife - bring binoculars and walk the nature trail above the house.
Sweeping vistas over the Uva valley, tea slopes and distant peaks make wonderful photographs - though note that photography is allowed only outside, not inside the house.
Learn about the Benedictine community and the daily monastic life, and visit the chapel - keeping in mind this is an active, contemplative religious house.
Please remember Adisham is a working monastery: dress modestly, keep noise down, respect the monks' routine, and don't photograph inside the building.
Adisham Bungalow opening days
Because it's an active monastery, Adisham opens to visitors only on certain days, from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Days can shift around religious activities, so it's wise to confirm by phone before you travel.
Visiting times
Adisham Bungalow entrance price
A small entrance fee is charged at the gate to help maintain the premises. Buy your ticket at the entrance on arrival.
Prices are a guide and may have changed - some sources list higher foreigner rates (around Rs 500). Confirm the current fee at the gate or by phone. Tickets are sold only at the entrance.
Adisham Bungalow contact number & details
For visiting times, day-stays or to make a reservation, contact the monastery directly. They ask that overnight stays be booked well in advance.
Adisham Bungalow rooms
Adisham offers a handful of simple guest rooms for those seeking a quiet retreat - basic, peaceful and monastic, with meals included. This is a contemplative stay, not a hotel.
Per day, with meals
Before you reserve
Call the monastery to check availability and confirm your stay.
When to go
Haputale is cool and often misty year-round. Clear, dry mornings give the best views and the most vivid gardens.
The driest, freshest window in the Uva hills - vivid gardens, crisp air and the clearest valley views. The most popular time to visit.
Pleasant and quieter, with gardens still in good colour before the inter-monsoon showers build through the afternoons.
Whatever the month, arrive soon after opening at 9:00 AM - by midday the valley often clouds over and the views disappear.
Bring a warm layer: at 5,000 ft, Adisham can feel genuinely cold and damp, even when the lowlands are hot.
Close by
Adisham pairs naturally with Haputale's other highland sights - viewpoints, tea estates and forest walks all within an easy drive.
The famous viewpoint where Sir Thomas Lipton surveyed his tea empire - sweeping dawn vistas over the hills, reached via the Dambetenne estate.
A working 19th-century tea factory founded by Lipton, with tours through the rolling, withering and grading of Ceylon tea.
The pine-and-cloud-forest bird sanctuary wrapping Adisham, with a nature trail and birdlife - walkable from Haputale.
A cool ridge-top town with big two-sided views, the gateway to all of these sights and a stop on the hill-country railway.
Sri Lanka's second-highest waterfall, with its famous upper pools - a popular day trip from the Haputale–Koslanda road.
A misty railway halt and walking country along the tracks - one of the prettiest stretches of the Uva hill line.
Find it
Adisham Bungalow (St Benedict's Monastery), just west of Haputale town.
Photo gallery
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Watch
Short films from Adisham Bungalow and Haputale.
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