Nuwara Eliya

About Nuwara Eliya

At 1,868 metres, Nuwara Eliya is where the British went to stop being hot. Samuel Baker founded it as a hill station in 1846 and the town has never quite let go of the period: a half-timbered post office, a members' club that kept its hunting trophies, hedged gardens, a racecourse, and hotels with fireplaces that get lit most evenings. Around it lies the highest-grown tea in the country, the estates that gave Ceylon tea its name, and factories that will walk you from withering loft to tasting table in an hour. Gregory Lake, dug in 1873, takes the afternoon crowds; Victoria Park is worth an hour in flowering season and is one of the better birding spots in the hills. The real draw is what's within reach - Horton Plains and the 880-metre drop at World's End, best reached before the mist closes in around 9am, and the tea-country rail line north to Hatton and south to Ella.

Top Activities

• ✓Tea plantation tour & tasting
• ✓Horton Plains hike (World's End)
• ✓Gregory Lake boat ride
• ✓Victoria Park stroll
• ✓Pedro Tea Factory tour
• ✓Strawberry farms visit

Nearby Attractions

Closest Places in This Guide

Straight-line distances; allow considerably longer by road, especially in the hills.

• Moon PlainsNature · Family< 1 km
• Ceylon Tea PlantationsNature · Cultural · Family1 km
• Gregory LakeFamily · Nature · Romantic2 km
• Victoria Park, Nuwara EliyaNature · Family3 km
• Lover's Leap FallsNature3 km
• Nuwara Eliya Post OfficeHeritage · Family4 km

Travel Tips

Travel Guides That Cover Nuwara Eliya

• Sri Lanka Itinerary: 7, 10 and 14-Day Routes That Actually WorkThree routes for a first trip, built around realistic travel times, the current state of the hill-country railway and the coast that is in season.
• Best Time to Visit Sri Lanka: A Month-by-Month GuideTwo monsoons take turns on opposite coasts, so somewhere is always in season. Where the weather is good in each month, and the festivals and wildlife worth timing a trip around.
• A 10-Day Sri Lanka Honeymoon: Route, Stays and TimingAncient cities, a tea-country bungalow, a safari and a slow finish by the sea - a realistic ten-day honeymoon route, with where to splurge and where to save.