Taprobane Island
A Sri Lankan island reached on foot at low tide, with one villa on top of it.
Taprobane is a rock island of about two and a half acres in Weligama Bay in southern Sri Lanka, close enough to shore that guests wade across at low tide and are carried or taken by boat when the water rises. It carries a single villa and nothing else. The island was bought in the 1920s by a French count who built the house, and later belonged to the American writer Paul Bowles, who wrote here.
The villa is an octagonal pavilion with five bedrooms opening onto terraces and gardens on all sides, let whole with a staff of around ten including a cook. The house has no glass in the main rooms — it is open to the sea air on every side — which governs both its charm and its limits.
Reached on foot through the sea. The tidal crossing is the island's signature and the first thing every guest remembers.
A literary house. Bowles wrote here and the villa has been photographed for a century; the island is as much a document as a property.
Who it is not for
Taprobane is wrong for guests who need air conditioning and sealed rooms, since the house is open to the air. It is wrong for travellers wanting a beach island, as this is a rock in a bay with the mainland in sight. And it is wrong for parties above ten. Those wanting Indian Ocean seclusion should look at Cousine or Mnemba.
Sources
- taprobaneisland.com — single villa, five bedrooms, whole-island rental, Weligama Bay
- Island area, bedroom count and staff numbers unverified. Confirm before publication.
Booking
Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.
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