Does the idea of rolling hills and lush flora blanketing the countryside as far as the eye can see sound like you’re cup of tea? Well then, the quaint hill town of Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka’s central provinces may be a place you’ll come to love dearly. Coincidentally, this town is also one of the country’s principal tea producing regions. When you make a journey to Nuwara Eliya along the winding roads that spiral along hilly inclines, you will find the tea plantations and the tea-plucking ladies attired in traditional garb, quite hard to miss. Once popularly known as ‘Little England’, in this town can still spot traces of the island’s colonial past. From Victorian post offices decked out in brick, to rustic colonial-style mansions complete with blooming rose gardens and prim and proper hedgerows, there still remain little bits of proof here and there as to the fact that this town was dearly loved by the British of times past. Of course, the foremost reason they frequented this charming city was, undoubtedly, to relish in the caresses of the chilled breezes that are so hard to come by elsewhere in Sri Lanka, but which freely grace this town with their cooling presence.
Like the idea of beating the eternal summertime heat of Sri Lanka? Look out for flights to Nuwara Eliya from the capital or whatever major city you might be staying at. Domestic carriers such as Cinnamon Air provide the perfect means to skip town and head to your reprieve in the cooler climes of this hillside haven in a jiffy! Things you can do while you are in this town include: going on tours of the many tea plantations; checking out the gardens here that grow cool-climate plants that wouldn’t be able to survive elsewhere on the island; making an excursion to the rather macabrely named Lovers Leap waterfall; and if you’re lucky, gaining access to one of the many commercial strawberry fields from where the rest of Sri Lanka’s strawberry supply stems.
Damon Starky is a creative nomadic travel writer, who is well informed and experienced on a wide range of interests that would connect to the needs of any type of traveler. Google+
