Sri Lanka Holidays

Nuwara Eliya (The Little England), the prime hill resort of Sri Lanka

Tea plantations (Ceylon Tea), waterfalls, golfing, bird watching, horse riding, boating, hiking, exploring landscaped gardens.

Altitude: 1800 m (5960 ft) above sea level
Temperature: January to April 31/17, May to August 29/21, September to December 28/18 Centigrade
Distance from Colombo: 180 km

Such an inspiring journey as Kandy - Nuwara Eliya Road of Sri Lanka Holidays builds up your expectations of Nuwara Eliya, the city with the highest altitude in the beautiful tropical island. And true to the expectations, we find breathtaking views of valleys, meadows, mountains and greenery in salubrious climate. It's hard to imagine that Nuwara Eliya is only 180 km from hot and humid Colombo. And you will fall in love with Nuwara Eliya as did the British settlers. The consummate combination of salubrious climate & the breathtaking landscape is a soothing balm, as Sir Edward Barnes discovered when he was governing the island in 1828 & used it as his up-country retreat.

John Davy, Samuel Baker & Governor Edward Barnes
Nuwara Eliya region was "discovered" by the colonial administrator, legendary Major John Davy in 1819. However, it took another decade for Nuwara Eliya to develop into a commercial & coffee-planting center: it was only in 1930, Colombo- Kandy road was extended to Nuwara Eliya under the guidance of then Governor of Ceylon (1824-1831), Edward Barnes. Nuwara Eliya became the prime highland retreat of the colonialists in Ceylon.

In 1846 a young Englishman by the name of Samuel Baker (1821-1893), who had taken a liking to hunting elephants, sambar & boar in the island, resolved to convert Nuwara Eliya, the regular retreat of the colonialists into a model English village. Baker imported Hereford cows & planted strawberries, carrots & leeks which thrived in the eternal spring climate. He planned to build a brewery & sent for all he would need including an arsenal of sporting firearms, farm hands, artisans, a bailiff, a blacksmith with forge, farming machinery & horse-drawn carriage. The only means of transport then was through the Ramboda Pass using bullock wagons & elephant carts. Yet it all arrived safely. The hunter went on to become the discoverer of Lake Albert, the explorer of the Nile and interior of central Africa, Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt & most of all a distinguished writer.

An English village, almost.
All these English vegetables are still grown in abundance today. Also grown in abundance are flowers. The town still boasts of fine colonial hotels, along with scattered atmospheric villas & guest houses. The town is also brightened up with luxuriant green spaces of 18-hole golf course, trout streams (brown trout in the lake for anglers), the Victorian style old pink-brick post office, race course & English-country-house-styled Hill Club. The club displays an array of hunting pictures, mounted fish & hunting trophies. Houses with mock Tudor half-timbering & hedges, extensive private gardens where dahlias, snap dragons, petunias & roses grow amongst well-kept lawns are scattered around.

Intensively cultivated field of vegetables
The road out of Nuwara Eliya towards Hakgala Botanical Gardens of Sri Lanka Holidays passes through intensively cultivated fields of vegetables. A short walk up the surrounding hillsides shows the extent to which the intensive cultivation methods have transformed Nuwara Eliya into one of Sri Lanka's most productive agricultural areas. Vegetables grown in Nuwara Eliya are still distributed all over the island. Flowers are extensively cultivated for export to Colombo & abroad.

The railway connection
The key to Nuwara Eliya's prosperity lay in the railway connection from Colombo to the hills. The hill country railway line of Ceylon was extended from Talawakele to Nanu Oya in 1885, & very steep narrow gauge line right into Nuwara Eliya was opened in 1910, but subsequently closed to passenger traffic in 1940 as busses began to provide effective competition.

Sinhalese New Year holidays in April
Even to date Sri Lanka's affluent still rush to Nuwara Eliya not simply to see but to be seen by the affluent during the Sinhalese New Year of Sri Lanka holidays in April. With mountains, forests, wilderness areas & national parks are all within easy reach, starting only 8km (5 miles) from the centre, Nuwara Eliya is a very popular base for bird-watchers & eco tourists. There are attractive walks round the small town, which has lawns, parks, an Anglican church & the nostalgic Hill Club. To the south of town are the racecourse & Lake Gregory. Boats are hired from Chalet du Lake.

The Tea Country
Sri Lanka is one of the world's largest exporters of tea. The finest tea in the world, Ceylon Tea is cultivated & processed in Sri Lanka. Since the introduction of tea to Sri Lanka in mid 19th century Nuwara Eliya has been the capital of the tea country of Highlands of Sri Lanka.

Sports and Adventure in Nuwara Eliya
Victoria Park in the town itself is good for strolls. Pony and Horse riding is available at the turf club of Nuwara Eliya also situated within the city. Regular monthly races are scheduled.

Gregory's Lake - Nuwara Eliya
This lake was fashioned by then British Governor Sir William Gregory in 1873. A boat yard now allows visitors to go boating and rowing.

Water Falls around Nuwara Eliya

There are many popular water falls around the town. Many could be visited as a part of trekking and/or hiking expeditions.

• Ramboda Falls - 329 ft. is also an attraction in this area.

• Devon Falls (named after Devon, a pioneer coffee planter) - Falls drops 97 meters and is It is 6 Km west of Thalawakelle and there is a special parking and viewing spot at the 20th mile post.

• Lakshapana Falls - off the Nuwara Eliya - Kandapola Road. The Nuwara Eliya beer is brewed from the water of the stream. Lakshapana Falls rise from the Lakshapana estate and plunges into the Maskeliya Oya via Maoussakelle. Viewing this fall is easy if you camp down at Upper Glencairn, Dickoya.

• Lover's Leap (It is said how an eloping couple, pursued by an irate father, threw themselves over the falls.) This is off the Nuwara Eliya - Kandapola Road. The waters are taken to brew the famous Nuwara Eliya Beer.

The Ceylon Breweries - Nuwara Eliya
The brewing of beer was started in Nuwara Eliya by Sir Samuel Baker in 1881 at Lover's Leap. It is an interesting visit, for the brewery is one of the finest in the island. It's been in business since 1884.

Victoria park: Bird watching & stroll
Nuwara Eliya is popular bird watching country, & there are two excellent areas close to the town. Galway Land Bird Sanctuary covers 60 ha to the north of Lake Gregory, while in Victoria Park, in the centre of town, 38 species have been identified. Victoria Park also has an unusual ornithological distinction: despite its proximity to the town centre, it's a sort of an ornithological hotspot, being visited by a number of rare Himalayan migrant birds, including the yellow-eared bulbul, Kashmir flycatcher, Indian blue robin & the Pied thrush, Grey tit, Pacific swallow as well as Sri Lankan endemics such as the Sri Lanka white-eye. Along the stream that runs through the park are green sandpipers.

Nuwara Eliya Golf Club
Nuwara Eliya 18 hole golf club built by colonial British Tea Planters in 1891 is maintained by Nuwara Eliya Golf Club. The Club & the golf course is open to tourists. The club's facilities include a wood-panelled bar, a dining room, a badminton hall & billiard room.

In the grounds of the golf club are the remains of an old British cemetery. Sadly neglected is the grave of Major Thomas William Rogers. His reputation as an empire builder (by virtue of his role in the development of hill country) was besmirched by his savage slaughter of 1400 (& lost count) of elephants.

Pedro Tea Estate
Pedro Tea Estate at Boralanda, 3 km away, still uses some original machinery & is less commercialized than other estates. There are some very pleasant walks through the plantations here, especially down to the tank and to Warmura Ella.

The Tea Factory Hotel at Kandapola, Talawakele
The stunning & spectacularly located Tea Factory hotel stands some 6,800 feet above sea level, just six degrees from the equator, in the lush green misty mountains of Kandapola, in Colombo-Kandy-Nuwara Eliya road. The views from the Tea Factory are breathtaking.

Virtually a sight in its own right, the hotel is an ideal location for some lunch & a walk in the beautiful surrounding estates. Built in the days of British Raj, it has been ingeniously converted into a five star hotel so that much of its original style & machinery remains intact. Its reception area is where the factory's leaf drying process was carried out, the tea packing room is the hotel bar & the grading & sifting area is the restaurant. The original oil driven engine, now powered by electricity, is still in place & switched on occasionally..

Labookele Tea Estate
The Labookelle tea center on Kandy road offers guided tours of the factory free of charge and also runs a sales outlet and a restaurant on site.

The Tea Cup Restaurant
Enroute to Colombo via Hatton, about 10km from Hatton town towards Colombo. The restaurant is maintained by the Watawala Plantations Limited. The Tea Cup offers brewed tea and snacks in addition to being a tea sales centre.

Horton Plains National Park
Horton Plains is a National Park and the highest plateau in the island consisting of grassland interspersed with patches of forest, with some unusual high altitude vegetation. The Plains are a beautiful, silent, strange world with some excellent walks. The most stunning place is the World's End, where the southern Horton Plains suddenly ends, and drops off to 1056 Meters, which is an awesome sight indeed. This is a favourite place for trekkers, as there are plenty of soft and hard trails.

Hakgala Gardens, the highest set Botanical Garden in the world
The Hakgala Botanical Gardens was first established in 1861 under the curatorship of William Nock, JK Nock and JJ Nock. It lies under the Hakgala Peak, between 5000 - 6000 feet in elevation - the highest set Botanical Gardens in the world. It boasts 100 year old Monetary Cypress trees from California, Japanese Cedars, Himalayan Pines and English Oak.

Mount Pedro (Pidurutalagal Kanda)
Sri Lanka's highest peak, densely forested Pidurutalagala rises 2524 m (8281 ft) above sea level, immediately behind the town. The path to the summit, which is the site of Sri Lanka's main television transmitter, is closed to public for security reasons. The dense cloud forest which covers the lower slopes of Pidurutalagala is treasure trove of flora & fauna, with myriad bird species (including several endemics) & even the occasional leopard. We can arrange a walk with a resident naturalist at St. Andrew's Hotel, since the hotel owns much of the land. For a view of the summit, & a superb panorama of the surrounding hills & plantation, we can walk to the top of the Single Tree Mountain, south of town off the Badulla road, in about 90 minutes.

Oliphant Estate - Nuwara Eliya
This Tea Estate is between Ramboda & Nuwara Eliya. It was in this estate that the first thirty tea plants brought from China to Ceylon were planted by Laurence Oliphant Esq. The patch of plants was to become an estate of 100 acres.

The Pilgrim's Path to Adam's Peak
This is through Gampola and Ginigathhena and you will find the story of this old path carved on two rocks off the 28th milestone at Akuruketupana on the Nawalapitiya - Ambagamuwa road. The inscription dates to around 1100 AD. Today there are four other roads to the Adam's peak.

The Nissangala Lena on the road to Adam's Peak
This is believed to be the cave in the mountainside, where King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe buried a great treasure, including his regalia. Passing this cave the pilgrims enters the forest to find Sita Gangula, a holy river of ice cold water, where they bathe and put on white garments, before continuing their journey to the peak.

From Nuwara Eliya, we can continue
(a) east to Badulla or Ella via Welimada or
(b) southeast from the Horton Plains National Park to Haputale & Bandarawela or
(c) west to Adam's Peak & then return to Kandy, or back to Colombo via Kitulgala of Sri Lanka Holidays.