Sensory Indulgences

I have been following Brindley Wijesooriya’s escapades on social media, which looks exciting and adventurous. Talking to him about the project Sensory indulgences and how it all began, he had an interesting story to relate.

Back in 2018 December, Brindley started a street food tour in Colombo, The Colombo Food Coma. It was listed exclusively on Airbnb and performed well, all the way up until the Easter attacks. A few weeks after the attacks, Udaya, an old friend, reached out to Brindley because he had found the tour remarkably interesting. Udaya Wickramage had extensive experience in the high-end travel industry in Sri Lanka, with over a decade’s experience with some of Colombo’s niche travel agents. Over a coffee, the two of them conceptualized something that the market was missing.

Starting off in Colombo, they created history walks, cooking classes, food tours, Arrack pairing experiences and even spend the day with a local artist visiting all the galleries Colombo had to offer, attempting to put Colombo back on the map to encourage tourists.

Udaya introduced Brindley to a side of tourism he had never seen before and thus began the birth of Sensory Indulgences. The Company is a bespoke tourist experience provider and its products are directly aimed at the local destination management companies.

Sensory Indulgences provides an advantage where travellers to Sri Lanka get to meet people outside the tourism sphere and their hosts have been their biggest strength.

Colombo was fading fast with more tourists avoiding the capital completely as “there was nothing much to do.”  Starting off in Colombo, they created history walks, cooking classes, food tours, Arrack pairing experiences and even spend the day with a local artist visiting all the galleries Colombo had to offer, attempting to put Colombo back on the map to encourage tourists.

The pandemic, though, left them shell shocked. But their attitude prevailed and they launched the first online experience in South Asia. This was in partnership with Leopard Trails where guests stuck in lockdown from around the world could tune into somewhat of a virtual safari hosted by a trained ranger. Sensory Indulgences also introduced an online Sri Lankan cooking class.

The company has grown since and features a few more parts of the island, namely the South: from Galle to Yala;  Kandy; the Knuckles mountain range; and the cultural triangle.  All featuring truly local experiences that are in no way staged and ensuring the experiences are also sustainable. They keep it local and holistic gaining the trust of Sri Lanka’s boutique level DMCs.

Check their website www.sensoryindulgences.com to know all the experiences they have to offer