Lunuganga

Geoffrey Bawa bought an abandoned rubber estate on Dedduwa lake in 1948 and spent the rest of his life shaping it, moving earth, cutting sightlines, placing sculpture and building pavilions until the whole hillside worked as a sequence of framed views. It is the clearest statement of what he was doing as an architect, and it made the tropical modernism that carries his name. The house is kept as he left it and part of the estate takes guests.

What you actually see

• The framed views - sightlines cut and shaped across the estate over fifty years.
• The house - Bawa's own rooms kept as he left them.
• The sculpture - pieces placed through the garden as part of the composition.
• The lake - Dedduwa forming the far edge of the whole design.

When to go

December to March is the driest and most comfortable. Tours run to set times and booking ahead is advisable. Mornings are best for the light on the sightlines.

Honest expectations

Access is by guided tour at set times, not free wandering. The garden's subtlety is lost on anyone not interested in design; it is not a flower garden. Prices are high by local standards.

Nearby

Brief Garden is north, and Bentota is west on the coast.