Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Visiting Tea Plantations
A great introduction to the endless rolling green fields of the Hill Country's tea plantations
is riding the train from Ella to Haputale. In just a few hours you'll see dozens of planta-
tions and their emerald-green carpets of plants. Amid it all you'll see sari-clad pluckers
toiling under the sun, busily meeting their quotas for the day.
Tea factories and plantations throughout the Hill Country provide tours to explain the
process, usually using machinery and technology that are largely unchanged since the 19th
century. Some of our favourite places to get up close and smell the tea include:
Ceylon Tea Museum
Near Kandy. An informative early stop in your tea tour.
Labookellie Tea Factory
A factory well positioned by the Nuwara Eliya road if you're in a
hurry.
Hundungoda Tea Estate
Near Koggala. Produces over 25 varieties of tea.
Pedro Tea Estate
Near Nuwara Eliya. Has tours of the factory, which was originally built
in 1885.
Dambatenne Tea Factory
Near Haputale. Built by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1890 and offers
full-on tours.
In the Hill Country you can stay in a variety of colonial-era cottages that were used by tea-
plantation managers. Located in beautiful settings, they are attractive and evocative
places to sleep.
Activities
There are all manner of hikes, treks and rides through the Hill Country's tea regions. Here
are three of our favourites.
A 10km bicycle ride through tea plantations that begins in Nuwara Eliya.
A 7km walk through tea plantations to the lookout Lipton's Seat near Haputale.
A 4.5km walk through verdant hills to the lookout Little Adam's Peak near Ella.
Buying Tea
Tea is inexpensive, easy to pack and much loved by almost everyone so it makes an excel-
lent gift for others at home - or yourself. The tea factories and plantations in the Hill
