Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
verandaed planter's bungalow on the
Tumsong estate near Ghoom, just south of
Darjeeling (it's the highest stop on the Toy
Train route). Tumsong is owned by the
Chamong Tea Company, which has 13
estates in the Darjeeling district; similar
lodgings are planned for four others. All
stays, of course, will include a tea estate/
factory tour.
In Darjeeling town, jostle your way
through the thronged lower section of
Darjeeling's bazaar, lined with small shops
and tented stalls, where the aroma of tea
hangs tantalizing in the air. Don't miss the
stunning sunrise view from Tiger Hill, 13km
(8 miles) from town. Watching the sun
burst over the peaks of the Himalayas is
the sort of transcendent experience you
get very few times in life.
&
91/34/54050;
www.wbtourism.
com/darjeeling.
(
Bagdogra Airport, Siliguri (90km/56
miles).
L
$
Makaibari,
Kurseong (
&
91/354/
233-0181
or 91/33/2287-8560; www.
makaibari.org). $$$
Glenburn
(
&
91/33/
2288-5630;
www.glenburnteaestate.
com). $$
Goomtee,
Hill Cart Rd., Kurseong
(
&
91/354/233-5066
for reservations;
www.darjeelingteas.com). $$$
Tumsong
Retreat
(
&
91/33/3093
6400;
www.
chiabari.com).
Tour Operator: Fair Trade Teas
(
&
615-
335-4063;
www.fairtradeteas.com).
Help
Tourism Heritage Tours
(
&
91/353/
2535893
or 91/33/24550917; www.help
tourism.com).
Tea
446
The Plantations of Old Ceylon
A Peek at Pekoe
Nuwara Elia, Sri Lanka
Maybe the mention of Sri Lankan tea
doesn't ring a bell—but call it by its colo-
nial name, Ceylon tea, and tea drinkers
around the world perk up. Check inside a
Lipton teabag and what will you find? Cey-
lon orange pekoe.
Fifteenth-century Portuguese and Dutch
traders were the first Europeans to exploit
this tropical island off India's south coast.
It became a British colony in 1796, but at
first it was coffee the British planted on its
cool, moist hills. Then came the coffee
fungus of the 1840s, and Ceylon's planters
desperately switched to tea, knowing that
the East India Tea Company had just been
shut out of China and needed new sources.
Luckily, the crop thrived, and Sri Lanka—a
sovereign state since 1972—is now one of
the world's prime tea producers.
Just outside the atmospheric hill city of
Kandy, known for its Buddhist shrines and
botanical gardens, the Sri Lanka Tea Board
(Look for the tea board's lion logo stamped
on certified Ceylon tea.) Small but compre-
hensive, the museum features restored
tea-processing machines, and the restau-
rant serves several local tea varieties, also
for sale in the museum shop.
Nuwara Eliya is the heart of Sri Lanka's
premier tea-producing region. The sensa-
tional train ride there from Colombo climbs
through jungle-clad slopes with cascading
waterfalls. Soon you'll notice acres and
acres of vibrantly green tea fields along-
side the tracks and tea workers bending
diligently over the low bushes. The steep
final segment of the journey, from Nanu
Oya, is accessible only by bus. Once you
finally reach Nuwara Eliya, it may take you
by surprise, it looks so bizarrely British.
Expatriate tea-planters created a nostalgic
mini-England for themselves here, with tidy
hedges and lawns and Georgian-style villas,
along with the requisite cricket pitch, polo
field, and manicured golf course.
