Tea, Hills and Trekking

Sri Lanka or Ceylon is synonymous with the world’s finest tea. The British first introduced this miracle beverage to the country in 1867 when James Taylor a Scottish planter grew the first sapling of tea at Loolecondera Estate in Kandy. Thereafter many English planters took to tea cultivation, whose names tea plantations carry even today. Along with the growing industry, colonial bungalows, churches, clubs, parks, cemeteries and schools came about in order to sustain the lifestyles of the British planter families. Most of theses English edifices that reflect the colonial grandeur can still be witnessed in the tea growing highlands of Sri Lanka. The highlands of Sri Lanka, a UNESCO recognized World Heritage site is one of the most scenic spots in the country. Adorned with evergreen mist capped mountains, cascading falls, tea and spice plantations, rural villages, endemic fauna and flora and immersed in panoramic views that extend all the way to the southern coast. The Knuckles Mountain is one of Sri Lanka’s major eco-tourism destinations. It’s an exceptional bio-diversity hotspot that possesses savannah, montane and cloud forests that offers great opportunity for hiking and trekking. On the tea trails, trekking through Ohiya, Ella, Haputale and Horton Plains promises scenic routes through tea plantations, remote villages, railroads, tunnels and across the Thangamale wildlife reserve.