Our Team
Suren Basnayake
Launching Island Adventures was like ‘coming home…’ Although professionally qualified in Management and Accounting, my passion has always been the outdoors. Having spent much of my childhood in the central hills of Sri Lanka, and having the privilege of being taken on the most amazing family holidays which explored every nook and corner of the island, it is only natural that what drives me is the ability to share that joy with other travellers.
Equipped with the ‘safety net’ of an Accounting and Management degree, I embarked on a career in nature and adventure tourism almost 20 years ago. I have never looked back since. In addition to designing, developing and executing specialized nature and adventure travel, my experience involves general tourism business development in the European markets, as well as an enlightening stint within the buzzing Online Travel Agency (OTA) industry
Nalaka Palipane
I have been a tour guide for the past 17 years, but it feels like I haven’t ‘worked’ a single day in my life. My career began back in the late 1990’s when the tourism industry in Sri Lanka was booming, and I was a beach representative, servicing busloads of German beach tourists. Having honed my people management skills during this time, I soon moved on to leading specialized tour programmes in both German and English, and discovered my passion for tour guiding. I enjoy leading serious ‘study tours’ which give me the opportunity to delve into reservoirs of knowledge in various fields, and share this knowledge with eager explorers. I get a real adrenaline rush when guiding cycling and trekking tours, whilst leading Blue Whale and leopard expeditions comes a close second.
Over the years I have had the privilege of leading trips for great wildlife photographers, including Paul Goldstein, and guiding tours for prominent persons including Professor Robert Winston from the UK and organizations such as Marco Polo, Studiosus Reisen and Hauser Exkursionen in Germany, and running Charity Challenge mega treks and rides for companies such as Action Challenge UK and KE Adventure. In order to keep abreast of the latest information, I regularly attend Alpine Trekking courses in Germany, conducted by The Sebastian-Kneipp-Akademie, from which I have been licensed to lead trekking and cycling tours. I have also attended Tour Guide training courses in India conducted by Overseas Adventure Travel.
However, the highlight of my career was when I was awarded the Presidential Award for Best Nature and Adventure Tour Guide in 2012. I am currently the only tour guide in Sri Lanka to have received this prestigious award, and so joining the Island Adventures team was an obvious and natural progression for me. While I am responsible for overall logistics, I still make ample time to lead trips which is what keeps me truly happy and content.
Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than sharing my love for Sri Lanka with the travellers I meet. I have been leading specialized trips for German, Dutch, British, Australian and American tour groups for the past 20 years, and the most amazing part about it is that I discover something new and wonderful about Sri Lanka on each and every trip. I particularly enjoy trekking trips, as being one with the rugged wilderness of Sri Lanka is what I love most. It also affords me many a rare and enviable opportunity to capture on camera the sheer wonder of Sri Lanka. In addition to Sri Lanka, I have also worked as a tour leader for German groups in Oman.