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Nuwara Eliya and the tea country, the back story
The back story
About Nuwara Eliya and the tea country, the back story
At about 1,900 m, Nuwara Eliya was the hill station where British planters escaped the heat, and it keeps its colonial buildings, a golf course and a lake.
Ceylon tea
Tea was planted on a large scale in the 1860s and 1870s, after coffee was destroyed by disease. Today the hills around Nuwara Eliya, Hatton and Dimbula produce some of the world’s best-known black teas.
Nuwara Eliya
Nicknamed “Little England”, the town has a racecourse, a golf course founded in 1889, Lake Gregory and colonial hotels such as The Grand Hotel.
In the tea country, the hills are green to the summits and the mornings are cool enough for a fire.
Tea factories
Several estates welcome visitors to their factories and tea rooms, where you can see withering, rolling and drying.
Our advice: bring a fleece, take the train for at least one stretch, and visit a working tea factory in the morning.
Why it's on our list
- Ceylon tea
- Little England
- Tea factories
- Hatton
- Horton Plains
- Getting there
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Nuwara Eliya and the tea country, the back story before you go.