Nuwara eliya , “The little England of sri lanka” ; is un doubtfully a place that has attracted most of the tourists around the world with its extraordinary beauty and, the pleasing environment which makes you feel the breeze of Europe, will give you a new experience to explore the beauty of sri lanka.
Nuwara eliya is situated in the central province of Sri Lanka which is now the administrative capital of nuwara eliya district. The city was founded in the 19th century by Samuel baker; an explorer and was a home town for the British colonialists at that time, as this was the coolest area in sri lanka which made them feel as they are in their own country. An imperturbable surrounding with a spectacular atmosphere will make you feel relaxed in your busy life. A perfect place to spend your vacation in a highland place which has a subtropical climate with overall annual temperature of 16C reporting no dry season in the year. You’ll be astonished to explore the natural beauty of water falls surrounding the city with rivers flowing around and by hills which touches the sky and the beauty of tea plantations along with old buildings in colonial period which still exists and old English style houses with lawns and gardens and lots of places to visit in nuwara eliya which gives you a list of things to do in nuwara eliya. So that nuwara eliya – Sri Lanka has become a famous place to visit for travel explorers in the world.
Travel to nuwara eliya
How about a trip to nuwara eliya? The exact location of nuwara eliya could be defined as following. The city is a highland which is located in the central province which has an altitude of 1868 m (6128 ft.\). . Since “nuwara eliya tourism” is famous in the country, whoever visits Sri Lanka, a nuwara eliya tour has become a definite stop for them. Sri Lanka is proud to have the city as it carries number of beautiful places to visit in nuwara eliya. Distance to nuwara eliya from Colombo by road is approximately 171.6 km and it will take about 5 hrs. on a road trip. You can travel either by intercity buses which you can take from the central bus station in Fort or by hiring a taxi if it’s affordable to you. You can travel by the train as well and there are luxury train facilities available in affordable prices. The bookings of the train tickets can be done either online or from the Fort railway station as well. There are number of reputed and comfortable taxi services available for you in affordable prices for a nuwara eliya travel.
Travel to nuwara eliya by train
Travelling to nuwara eliya from colombo by train is yet another extra ordinary experience for the tourists and something significant about sri lanka. The upcountry rail way route and the train Udarata Menike is such a thing that a man would wish to travel at least once in his life time because of the natural beauty of the environment of Sri Lanka. You’ll get the opportunity to witness the natural beauty of the area and the railways which were built by the British colonialists which are still in use and to have a marvelous experience in travelling in a train. The nearest station to nuwara eliya is Nanu Oya and from there you can take a bus or can hire a taxi or a cab in affordable prices.
Nuwara eliya weather
Nuwara eliya has a subtropical climate with an annual temperature of about 18C – 20C. There’s no any dry season reported in the city. It has a monsoon like cloudy season which has a mean temperature of about 16c.In winter season, there can be frost at night but there is no any reportage of a high frost condition yet. April has the most pleasing environment in nuwara eliya where lots of tourists visit in April season. It is known as the season of flowers where there’s no rain and people can visit around freely. December – January is another season which tourists visit a lot to celebrate New Year where there’s a pretty much cool atmosphere in the windy season.
Places to stay in nuwara eliya
Since nuwara eliya is well known for tourism, there are thousands of places to stay in affordable prices. There are pretty god five star restaurants to stay in nuwara eliya if it’s affordable for you and there are more other hotels which are in very good conditions and with good facilities. The bookings for the hotels can be done online or by call. If you are visiting nuwara eliya in the season time, the bookings should be done at least three months prior to the date because there will be a huge crowd in the season time visiting nuwara eliya and there won’t be any hotels vacant at the last moment of bookings. There are even houses that you can take in rent for the season time which is a much cheaper mode than staying in a hotel and with pretty much good facilities. If you are travelling as a gang, booking a house would be the best place to stay in nuwara eliya for you as it is much cheaper. In the season time the city is awake whole night and you can experience lots of varieties of street food and other food items which are significant to Sri Lanka in affordable prices.
Places to visit in nuwara eliya
Exploring the beauty of Sri Lanka would give you a tremendous experience by visiting the most beautiful places in nuwara eliya. With an ideal climate to wonder the beauty, you will get the opportunity to visit places which has a unique beauty of nature in Sri Lanka. As it is a high land you will have the opportunity to visit some famous water falls which is significant to upcountry areas in sri lanka, hiking trips, rivers flowing around, tea plantations, lakes, plains, and many more places which would make you feel love within. And also places which has a historical importance as well as a religious importance which may tend you to explore the culture of Sri Lanka as well. You may find some unique places to visit below.
Nuwara eliya Attractions
Attractions in nuwara eliya city includes number of beautiful places. When it comes to the nuwara eliya town, it has the Gregory lake, Golf course, Victoria park, and many more places which has a historical value. Whereas apart from the town there are a list of places which has attracted number of tourists towards it.
Gregory Lake and Park
Lake Gregory is the most prominent attraction of nuwara eliya now a days because it has been renewed by establishing lots of recreational activities in order to attract local as well as foreign visitors towards it. In nuwara eliya, special places to visit includes many gardens as this. The lake was built by Sir William Gregory who was a governor at that time supposedly to provide electricity to the town. But now it has been recreated to a sort of Lake Park by including lots of relaxing as well as adventurous activities which would make you feel as if it is an ancient British park which are for relaxing picnics. Since it’s situated in the middle of the city, lots of visitors have attracted towards it. It is the best place for you in nuwara eliya city to relax from your busy life. You can enjoy a swan shaped peddle boat rides in the lake which two people can enjoy riding it, and there are motor boat rides too to enjoy with your gang. You can have a ride around the park in a bicycle and there’s a special play area for kids as well. You can have a ride on a pony around the park and more over you will get the chance to go on a ride in a jet ski as well. Wind surfing is another great adventure you will find in Gregory park. Gregory Lake is also a landing location for the domestic flights which provides you amazing rides around Sri Lanka. There is a separate helipad too in the park which you can have a helicopter ride in an affordable price and you’ll get the chance to visit significant tourist attractive points in nuwara eliya including the highest mountain in Sri Lanka; the Piduruthalagala as well. Even if someone wants to reach Colombo very urgently, the helicopter service provides you with such facilities as well which makes you reach Colombo in less than half an hour.
Victoria Park
Queen Victoria Park is another park situated in the middle of the town which is a tourist place in nuwara eliya just near the post office. The park was named to commemorate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897 and It was first established as a research field for Hakgala botanical garden. The park was established by planting an Oak tree which was the first tree of the park by a German princess who visited the island. The river Nanu Oya which flows through the park has added an extra beauty by creating small lakes around the park. Here too you can find a separate play area for kids and many more recreational activities for adults as well.
Hakgala botanical garden
Hakgala botanical garden is one of the main five gardens in Sri Lanka as well as the most famous one when it is about nuwara eliya gardens which has a historical value as well. It’s situated in the nuwara eliya – Badulla main road 16 km away from nuwara eliya town. It was established in 1861 as a tea plantation site first and after several years; in 1884 the place was transformed into a botanical garden. Since it’s situated in a subtropical climate, lots of flower species have been grown well in the garden. The annual temperature of the area ranges in to 16C o 30C where from December to February it has a cold temperature and the warm climate last from April to August.
There are about 10,000 species of plants planted in the garden and some plants could be found only in this place. Plants which are unique to Sri Lanka and foreign plants that grows only in the garden (in a subtropical climate) holds a great value here. The garden is a sort of famous for the species of roses and orchids grown here. During the spring season, which is in April, thousands of tourists visit the garden to explore the beauty there.
Not only the natural value, it has a historical value as well. It is said in “Ramayana” that king Ravana; a demon who ruled the country once abducted princess Sita from India and kept her hidden in the area the garden is located and he named the area as Sita eliya. The present Hakgala garden is a garden which he gifted to princess Sita as a relaxing place for her. You’ll find it amazing to witness the beauty of the garden in the spring season where the garden will be full of flowers.
Horton plains
Horton plains is a national park in sri lanka which is situated in nuwara eliya district, 32 km away from the nuwara eliya town and it takes approximately one hour to travel from nuwara eliya to Horton plains on road. It is one of the famous when it comes to nuwara eliya – travel places. Nuwara eliya is the base town for visitors to Horton plains. A serene environment with a pleasing climate riche with phenomenal biodiversity gives another remarkable experience to the visitors to explore the beauty of Sri Lanka. The park is rich with lots of endemic species of plants and animals. Horton plains is the highest mesa in the island consists of lots of grasslands. Another special feature of the park is the worlds end point (where the southern Horton plains end suddenly) view which has an extra ordinary beauty of its own. It’ll be a paradise for all the nature lovers and hikers where you can witness the panoramic beauty of the hill side of the country.
Endemic species of srilanka that are in Horton plains includes lots of animal and plant species namely, purple faced langhur, and highland birds such as sri Lankan white eyed and yellow eared bulbul, dull – blue fly catcher etc. A visit to Horton plains would be an ideal choose for nature lovers, biologists, photographers and zoologists too. You’ll get the opportunity to visit beautiful water falls in Horton plains too. Most of the tourists choose the morning time to walk along the Horton plains to get a marvelous glimpse of the worlds end before mist could catch it.
Flora – there are around 750 species of plants belong to 20 families have been recorded in Horton plains. There are nearly 54 species of woody plants have been recorded in Horton plains where almost 50% of them are endemic to Sri Lanka. The trunks and branches of huge trees in the plain are accessorized with lots of endemic ferns and other species which adds an extra picturesque beauty to the entire park. Old man’s beard is a kind of special feature in the garden which hangs from the branches of the trees and it has been able to take the eye of all the nature lovers who visits the park. About 16 orchid species which are endemic have been reported in the plain that grows naturally. You’ll find it amazing to see the conflicting views of plants in the plain as it is doubtful whether they were man made or grown naturally.
Fauna – there are a wide range of animal species in the plain which most of them are endemic and has a range of bio diversity. The range includes about 24 species of mammals, 87 species of birds, nine species of reptiles and eight species of amphibians. Now a days the most common mammal that is to be seen in the plain is the Sri Lankan sambar deer and a huge number of this kind is reported in the park. Horton plains is one of the important bird areas in Sri Lanka. It has been reported that there are about 21 bird species which arise only in Sri Lanka where four of them are only reported in Horton plains. Other than that, there are many bird species that migrate to Sri Lanka in particular seasons and some of them resides only in Horton plains.
Adam’s peak
Adam’s peak; a hill which has a great historical as well as a religious value would give you a great opportunity to witness the spectacular beauty of the sunrise which a man would wish to see at least once in his life time. The historical value of the place is that it is believed that lord Buddah’s left foot print has been placed on top of the peak whereas lots of local visitors visit to worship the sacred foot print and lots of foreigners visit there to witness the unique beauty of the sun rise which is a significant feature to Adam’s peak.
The mountain is located in central highlands of the island covering the reagents of nuwara eliya district and Rathnapura district. There are about six trails to access the mountain but the most common and the safest ways are the Hatton route and the Palabaddara route which is in Rathnapura. The base of the Hatton route is in Hatton town (nallathanniya) which is just a ride of two hours from nuwara eliya. It is located about 7359 ft. high from the sea level and approximate temperature ranges from 16C to 30C overall. It takes approximately about six hours to climb the mountain in a moderate speed via Hatton.
Hatton route, which is closer to nuwara eliya has the shortest distance to the mountain and it is the most commonly used one by the pilgrims as well as by the foreigners. Adam’s peak is known as “the Sri Pada” among the locality and the main 4 rivers which flows around the island namely, Mahaweli, Kelani, Kalu and Walawe starts their journey from sri Pada mountain which is a significant thing in the mountain. You can witness lots of other springs in the mountain with pure water. Tourists and pilgrims visit the mountain a lot on the season time which starts from the full moon day (as known as Poya Day) of December and lasts till the full moon day of May. Very rarely people visit it on the off season. In the season time there will be small shops, resting places and medical camps as well for the people who climb the mountain. Most of the people starts climbing the mountain in the evening or night time in order to reach the top in the dawn to witness the phenomenal beauty of the sun rise.
Sri Pada is also another area rich with bio diversity where you can find lots of birds and other reptilians and amphibians and a less number of mammals too which are endemic to Sri Lanka.
Nuwara eliya golf club
Nuwara eliya golf club is one of the oldest golf clubs in Asia which has a reputed name in the world. It was established in 1889 by the British planters for the purpose of entertainment and relaxation for them. It’s situated very close to the town in just a stone throw from the town and is maintained well even today assuring the quality standard of the club. The club still maintains an air of exclusivity so that whoever enters from the gates would feel as if he’s transferred in to another sophisticated world of classy British people. A 6399 yards wide area with an 18 holes course surrounded by eucalyptus trees and cypress trees will give you a prodigious experience that exceeds you expectations and this is known as one of the friendliest clubs in the country which has attracted hearts of many tourists both on the golf course and in the golf house.
Tea estates in nuwara eliya
When it is about tea plantation in Sri Lanka, nuwara eliya is one of the famous places in the country. Highlands in the island is significant for tea plantations which has been established by British planters in the colonization periods. Nuwara eliya is also one of the famous cities for tea plantations where you can find tea estates, factories in all corners of nuwara eliya. The lifestyle of most sri Lankan Tamil people who resides in nuwara eliya are based on tea plantation that even today also generations and generations of those people depend on tea plantation industry where they work as tea pluckers.
One of the famous tea plantations in nuwara eliya is Pedro Tea Plantation and Factory which is a picturesque tea plantation that offers rides in their tea factory which was established in 1885. This is the closest tea plantation that you can visit and its just 3.5 km away from the town where you can reach within 10 to 15 minutes. You can enjoy a ride in the tea estates as well and capture the phenomenal views of tea estates. And of course you can have a fresh cup of tea which is produced in the factory.
Mack woods Labookellei tea factory is also another famous tea factory that is situated away from the town in Peradeniya – Nuwara eliya main road where one can find easily. It is one of the first few tea factories established in Sri Lanka. You can visit the tea factory there too and also the tea plantation estates which is in a very pleasant and a picturesque environment. There is a tea center too which has been built according to old British architectural aspects and you can have a cup of fresh tea which is manufactured in the factory. There is a separate tea museum too for you to visit. And you can buy different kind of tea products which are manufactured in the factory and tea related souvenirs too in affordable prices which will make great gifts for family and friends.
St. Clair’s tea center
St. Clair’s tea center was established in 1887 by Sir James W Ryan who was passionate about tea planting and his passion made him promote tea plantation in nuwara eliya by managing his own tea center. Needless to say, the ideal climate, good maintenance and even the good soil added up to make the tea grown here rich in quality and taste than other places. This has become one of the unique tourist’s attractive places because you can have a better view of st.clair’s water fall which is close by the tea center. St. Clair’s is composed to continue the legacy of producing world’s finest pure Ceylon tea rich in quality which is exported to lots of countries around the world.
Hiking and tracking in nuwara eliya
Why not a hike in nuwara eliya? A visit to Sri Lanka will become incomplete without a hiking trip in such a picturesque place like nuwara eliya where you can find lots of places for a hike.
Kirigalpoththa Mountain
A marvelous place for people who loves hiking is the Kirigalpoththa Mountain. Kirigalpoththa is the second tallest mountain in srilanka which is located in Hatton (just about 32 km away from nuwara eliya town) where the trails to climb starts from Horton plains. The mountain is 7835 ft. above from the sea level and the trail to kirigalpoththa is about 5.6km long. It will take around 3 to 4 hours to climb the mountain in a moderate speed. Most of the local and foreign visitors visit the mountain in the dry season which is on February to march most often because the route is a bit slippery and dangerous to travel in the winter season as it rains generally and cold too. The trail is a kingdom of leeches and you need to take safety precautions against that too. You will get an unforgettable view of the Horton plains and the city from the top of the mountain.
Piduruthalagala Mountain
Piduruthalagala Mountain which is also known as mount Pedro is the highest mountain in Sri Lanka. It is situated in the central province north – east to the town of nuwara eliya. The mountain is surrounded by a forest reserve and hiking to the top of the mountain is currently not allowed where as you can have a drive to the top of the mountain which is maintained very well by the Sri Lankan army. You’ll get the opportunity to witness the widest and the most beautiful view of Sri Lanka on the highest mountain of Sri Lanka.
View point of shanthipura
This is the point where you can have a clear view of the phenomenal city nuwara eliya and you’ll get the chance to have a visit in the village which is situated in the highest point of Sri Lanka.
Waterfalls in nuwara eliya
If it is a visit to nuwara eliya, water falls are a significant feature. And most of the famous water falls in Sri Lanka which has a highest number of tourist attractions are located in nuwara eliya, adding an extra value to the beauty of the city.
Lover’s leap falls
This is the closest water fall to the town that you can visit in just about 15 minute’s journey which is about 3.5 km far from the town. You can go by a vehicle and then you have to walk about 400m from the road to have glimpse of the water fall. This is one of the most beautiful water falls in Sri Lanka. There are so many historical values in the place and some mythological believes as well. The fall is about 30m high and 2524m above the sea level.
Bomburu Ella
The beautiful Bomburu Ella falls is another marvelous creation of the nature which has been created by collecting about 10 small water falls together. Which means that this is a collection of about 10 small water falls. It’s located between 1500 – 2000 feet above the sea level and tourists find it an amazing place to have a bath from this pure water falling down. It is situated in the Nuwara eliya Badulla road, close to Welimada town.
Devon’s fall
Devon’s fall which is situated in nuwara eliya district has become one of the most famous tourist’s attractions because of its clear view from nuwara eliya Hatton main road and a special view point too has been built to enjoy the view of the fall. The water fall is about 97m high. You can find the famous Mlesna tea center just in the opposite of the view point and you can have a fresh cup of tea from there.
St. Clair’s fall
St. Clair’s water fall is situated in nuwara eliya district where you can get a clear view of it from the Hatton – Thalawakele main road. The twin water falls which cascades over three rock stages adds a unique beauty to the fall and it collects to a massive pool which then flows away as a misty trail. St. Clair’s; the widest water fall in the island as well as the most beautiful one in the country carries a huge amount of water among the tea plantations.
Ramboda falls
Ramboda falls is another famous falls that is located in nuwara eliya district close to the nuwara eliya Peradeniya main road. This is an enormous fall which falls into three parts. The first and second parts of the fall is not much visible to the road where as we could only see the third and the lowest part of the fall which is about 329 ft. high. Whoever passes through the road would never miss the opportunity to witness the hidden beauty of this gigantic water fall which would make a picturesque memory for those who visit.
Apart from these main water falls there are number of water falls around the city nuwara eliya such as Lakshapana falls, Gerandi Ella, Helboda Ella, etc. and each and every water fall has its unique features and a hidden beauty of its own. You can visit all of them within the reach of a couple of hours and witness the ultimate beauty of them.
A road trip from nuwara eliya to Ella is also another journey that you can enjoy many more beautiful places in Sri Lanka that will be an unforgettable memory for the tourists.
Conclusion:
Nuwara Eliya is a captivating destination that offers a unique blend of natural beauty, colonial charm, and thrilling adventures. From the serene tea plantations to the bustling market streets, every corner of this hill station has a story to tell. Whether you’re a nature enthusiast, history buff, or adventure seeker, Nuwara Eliya promises unforgettable experiences and lasting memories. Plan your trip today and immerse yourself in the enchanting allure of this Sri Lankan gem!
