The British found Nuwara Eliya in the 1820s, decided it reminded them of home, and built a hill station complete with a racecourse, a golf club, a post office in mock Tudor and a great many rose gardens. Then they planted tea on every slope around it. Both survive.
Tea
The estates around Nuwara Eliya produce high-grown Ceylon tea — lighter and more delicate than the low-grown leaf from Ratnapura. A factory tour takes about 45 minutes and covers withering, rolling, oxidation, firing and grading, ending with a tasting where you learn that the tea you buy at home is mostly dust. Pedro, Damro Labookellie and Blue Field all do this well.
Horton Plains and World’s End
A high plateau at 2,100 metres of open grassland and cloud forest, unlike anywhere else in Sri Lanka. The circular walk is nine kilometres and takes around three hours, passing Baker’s Falls and the small World’s End before reaching the main viewpoint — a sheer 870-metre drop with, on a clear morning, a view all the way to the south coast.
Practical notes
- Horton Plains entrance is around USD 25 per adult plus a vehicle charge. Take the ticket seriously — plastic is banned and bags are checked.
- April is the “season”, when Colombo society decamps here for horse racing and the town is packed.
- Many older hotels have no heating. Ask for a hot water bottle; they will have one.
