Nuwara Eliya

The road from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya twists and turns constantly for 76 kilometres, climbing all the time. It was a fascinating few hours, passing through numerous small townships built along the ridges of the hills, all bustling and offering more opportunities for road carnage.

We stopped for a tour of the Damro Tea Factory, which was interesting. From green leafy bush to tiny browny-black particles is quite a journey, and the free cuppa at the end of the tour was welcome, too.

Nuwara Eliya is sometimes called “Little England” for the numerous colonial buildings and institutions that remain from the days of sweaty white people who ran the tea plantation or who would journey up the hill for respite from the heat of Colombo. When we arrived, around six o’clock, these were nowhere to be seen. We found only a typical Asian shopping area, with the supermarket next to the tyre fitter and the ladies’ dress shop between a tattoo parlour and a battery shop, all with traffic at a standstill and vehicles parked on every scrap of ground.

The following morning, we ventured up to Moon Plains. We boarded a Jeep and drove up through extensive potato farms to a magnificent 360-degree viewpoint, with Sri Lanka’s highest mountain in clear sight. Well, not all that clear - the weather was very hazy and any distant sights were completely obscured. There were native buffalo in the distance, and rumoured to be leopards in the adjacent jungle.

Finally, as we exited Nuwara Eliya, we did take a turn around some of the quite attractive buildings from the English period. The Post Office - still in use, the very exclusive-looking Hill Club and numerous fancy-looking villas.

As we left, also, our driver pulled over to the side of the road and after a rapid-fire conversation Sharon and Kim found themselves with bags on their heads, learning to pluck tea. Suffice to say it’s not a skill that can be learnt in a few minutes, even when taught by a bunch of laughing women with very bad teeth.

After our short stay here we are moving on to Ella.Read more