THE FOUNDERS
"If we can contribute to protect our island as a biodiversity hotspot, help DISADVANTAGED Sri Lankans and support home grown initiatives that do good things, while inspiring someone to travel in stylish luxury - then, that's really what responsible travel with AYU IN THE WILD IS ALL ABOUT…
Ayu, means ‘life’ in Sanskrit.
Being born, bred and living in Sri Lanka we know the ins and outs of life on our island intimately, yet, what makes our bespoke trips even more special is our connection with locals made long before Ayu in the Wild was launched in 2012. For decades, amidst our careers in development finance and law, we uncovered breathtaking places across Sri Lanka and met some fascinating locals who now work with us as immersive experience hosts. Our love of travel helped us unearth the luxury of experiential travel in Europe, USA, Australia and New Zealand, and opened our eyes to the world of low-footfall sustainable tourism in some unique places in Africa. And then we carved our own little niche in Sri Lanka - designing bespoke journeys that help our guests be inspired by life in Sri Lanka, knowing that their sustainable slow luxury trip has made a difference to many Sri Lankans. We look forward to welcoming you soon.”
Rajindra & Chamintha, Founders
A WOMEN-LED, PURPOSE-DRIVEN TEAM
Chamintha helms the Ayu in the Wild team and is personally hands-on with every trip curated, bringing her years of experience in development finance and a deep love for impactful tourism to reflect in every tailor made trip. Our values influence everything we do - we love learning, embrace feedback and are energetic about finely curated bespoke memorable travel that is sustainable for the island, the people and the wild. The dedicated multi-skilled team of four provides a high-touch personalised service - not only in designing once in a lifetime journeys but also leading Ayu in the Wild's sustainability initiatives, dreaming up immersive experiences, inspecting hotels, lodges and villas, messaging our brand voice on social media, and coordinating finance and the finer details of each bespoke journey. We’re here, on the ground. A 100% Sri Lankan, women-led, purpose-driven Boutique DMC and proud of it.
GLOBAL INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS
Ayu in the Wild is Sri Lanka’s first and only Travel Partner of The Long Run, a member of The Insider Collective - a private members club created for smart-minded, boundary-pushing DMCs and travel designers, and a Founding Member of The Conscious Travel Foundation, UK.
ACCESS
With our personal contacts to experts as well as the most fascinating locals on lesser trodden paths - we make extraordinary travel possible. From poets to farmers, artists to conservationists, marine biologists, mindfulness and yoga specialists, chefs, jazz artists, orchestras, architects, handpicked community based guides, Naturalist-Guides, hoteliers and writers - we have friends on the ground who we can draw on to curate extraordinarily exclusive luxury holidays beyond the ordinary.
BESPOKE TRAVEL FOR THE CURIOUS
Our guests love our trips because we curate luxury, tailor-made travel in a deeply personal way. That's why we intentionally limit the number of trips we offer each year, to allow us time to understand, pre-empt, consult and refine. Whether its a family holiday, a boardroom retreat, a wellness journey, a romantic honeymoon, a bucket list adventure for a special reunion, choosing the best villa buyut for friends with a few adventures thrown in, or a multi-gen trip of a lifetime - we start with a blank canvas and design it only for you. Ceylon Concierge by Ayu, is Ayu in the Wild's ultra-luxury travel option, to design private travel for the most discerning guests with villa buyouts, exclusive-use lodges, charter flight services and VIP experiences.
INDEPENDENT
Our property recommendations are independent. We are not affiliated with any particular hospitality brand in Sri Lanka and work with a wide portfolio of handpicked hotels, villas and lodges chosen for the value and style they add to our guests’ bespoke holidays to Sri Lanka.
POSITIVE IMPACT
We are Sri Lanka’s first Travel Partner of The Long Run. Each trip supports Ayu in the Wild's positive impact initiatives including, 'Classroom in the Wild’ - initiated by the Founders in 2014 to teach spoken English to children in a disconnected community in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle. The journeys are designed to provide a source of income to many Sri Lankan experience hosts creating little pockets of circular economies. We support home-grown conservation efforts, speak up against elephant back safari rides and against interacting with captive wild animals. We reduce our plastic foot-print and stay away from mass tourism. Through our pioneering digital platform - Sustainable Travel Sri Lanka, we champion tourism that benefits the island, the people and the wild.