Ambepussa Rest House - Great for Meal Breaks on the Kandy road

The Ambepussa Rest House

The Ambepussa Rest House is a good refuelling stop for tourists passing through on the Colombo to Kandy Road. Situated about halfway, lots of local and foreign travellers come for the breakfast, lunch & dinner buffets served in this historic resting place.

Recently I visited the Ambepussa Rest House for lunch with my group of fellow travellers from Australia for its buffet lunch. The buffet served a variety of western and Sri Lankan cuisine. The buffet, while not extensive, provided a wide range of dishes excellently cooked.

The dining area is covered but open to the side for a bit of a breeze. We sat on a shady veranda of this Rest House in comfy seats in a serene atmosphere looking out into a mature garden with thick green foliage. The majestic shady trees and palms planted more than a hundred and fifty years ago provide a very nice tropical backdrop.

The highlight of this former government colonial built Rest House is its staff. As a Rest House it still holds its courteous service by the traditional waiting staff, who attended to our requests courteously. They always gave our group commendable service with their signature Sri Lanka smile. 

Flute Player - The Ambepussa Rest House

A man was sitting nearby in a tree house structure playing a natural bamboo flute to entertain as we ate. The pleasing flute music complemented the whole dining experience.

The Ambepussa Rest House is beautiful, well-maintained heritage building with plentiful free parking and clean restrooms. The Ambepussa Rest House is one of the oldest establishments within the Ceylon Hotels Corporation collection of properties. The Rest House still stands in its original state without many transformations.

Rest Houses were developed by the British colonial administration as places for travellers to rest for the night. Rest houses were usually built in superb locations to extend the network begun by the Dutch for travelling officials. Each was within a day’s horse ride from one another. In the mid 19th century, the British railway ran only up to Ambepussa. 

The Ambepussa Rest House

The Rest House at Ambepussa is the oldest purpose-built Rest House still in use today. It was constructed during the building of the road to Kandy (1820-1831) under the direction of Captain Dawson, for whom a monument commemorating his “science and skill” in planning the road still towers over Kadugannawa.

The Ambepussa Rest House was built as the ideal rest stop for travellers. Travellers could relax and refresh with a cup of tea and sandwiches or cool off with a dip in the stream flowing gracefully nearby. Famed visitors to the Ambepussa Rest House included the Royal Families of Japan, Thailand and several Dukes and Heads of State.

The Ambepussa Rest House

The 1986 Ceylon Tourist Board booklet “Accommodation Guide of Resthouses” featured 133 Rest Houses, but omitted some of the most popular ones of today, like Ambepussa. Since then some of the listed Rest Houses have closed while others have been converted to hotels.

I would recommend the Ambepussa Rest House with its laid back atmosphere for families and groups for meals and rests on the way to Kandy or Colombo. There are six rooms to for overnight guests to stay in. There is also a wayside snack bar on the other side of the road which is popular with regular travellers called the Ambepussa Avanhalla.

The Ambepussa Rest House

Ambepussa Rest House
A1, Colombo - Kandy Rd               

11212 Ambepussa, Sri Lanka
Distance from Colombo : 65 Km (2 hour drive)
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