Nuwara Eliya Things to Do

In the Hill Country there are a few tea plantations open to the Public, areas of viewing are quite restricted. If you have not been to one before its very interesting. Also you have the opportunity to buy their tea, Plus many have pleasant cafes if you fancy a break.

The visit turned out to be very interesting -unexpectedly. It was a real crash course in tea production and we were told about the 7 necessary stages to turn tea leaves into drinking tea : picking, semidrying, rolling, drying, cleaning, fermenting and grading (there are different grades). After the visit we were taken to a little bar to sample a "real" old cuppa. And guess where the bar is located? Right after the shop...

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When you are going to Nuwara Eliya you should visit a te plantation - in fact it's quite impossible not to visit one. You'll be driving through tea plantations for hours and at some point i'm pretty sure you'll desire to stop for a little while. Even if you don't want to visit a facory, wander around by the side of the road to sea tea pickers at work - it's definitely not an everyday's sight.

If you have the chance visit a tea factory,i will never drink a cup of tea without thinking of the tea pickers and the process it goes through to end up in our shops,you can take guided tours which show you the process of making the tea from the minute its picked right through to the end product,you can also buy the tea from the shops onsight.

A colonial legacy, this is as far as I know the only proper race course in Sri Lanka. Horse racing is big business in Sri Lanka - bookmakers make a fortune from people betting on races held in England, and names such as Ascot and the Grand National are well known. I'm not sure how often the course is used for horses but there are plenty of ponies hanging about, cricket matches going on, a rubbish dump in the middle, and it's used as a shortcut through the town!

Lake Gregory, about a kilometre outside the town centre, is a lovely blue mass of water set against the surrounding hills. It's usually fairly quiet, and pedaloes and boats can be hired on an hourly basis from the boat club. It also makes for a pleasant walk round but it's too dirty to swim in.

There're many tea plantations around Nuwara Eliya, and we chose Pedro Tea Estate because we wanted to visit Lover's Leap along the way.

You'll get introduced to the procedure of making tea and finally get to taste a cup of tea. Walk around the plantation and maybe witness the tea pluckers.

The best part of the visit must be the strong scent of tea that hits you (really strong) when you enter the processing room.

Be warned that the sun may be searing if you intend to walk around the plantation so go well equipped.

The entrance fees are a little steep at Rs300 but definitely worth it if you're into landscaped gardens.

Be wowed by the array of colourful flowers and garden.

There's public bus there but we went there in a chartered van amongst 2 other places. Because of the afternoon rain, we had to leave around 230pm, so maybe it's better to go in the morning if you're visiting in late September.