Our founders, Roshane and Jarnal, met when Jarnal stayed at Ella Alpine Resort, a charming hillside retreat that Roshane had taken over under deeply personal circumstances. After spending 10 years in Australia, Roshane returned to Sri Lanka to be closer to family and build a new future. He had dreams of launching an engineering business and exporting horticulture machinery — but life had other plans.

​

His mother had just retired and dreamed of opening a small hotel in Ella. Alongside his father, they bought an old tomato farm and transformed it into a cozy retreat where she could cook for guests and his father, with his international experience, could entertain them. But just two months after the hotel opened in 2016, tragedy struck. Roshane's mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away in August 2017. His father, grieving deeply, couldn’t return to the property — so Roshane put his own dreams aside to keep the hotel running, honoring the vision his mother had started.

​

It was there, in that same hotel, that he met Jarnal — a traveler and entrepreneur who instantly connected with the beauty of Ella and Roshane’s story. When Roshane organized a local tour for him, they both saw the same gap: there was no easy, reliable way for international visitors to book guided experiences online in Ella.

​

That moment sparked Alpine Activities. Together, they founded a company built on genuine local connection, shared values of sustainability, and a passion for showing travellers the real Ella — beyond the guidebooks.