Nuwara Eliya Trips & Tours

Adopt a British sensibility with a Sri Lankan zest for life in this rose-tinted, colonial hill town.

The entire Hill Country scores pretty highly in the photogenic stakes, but stealing the top rank is probably the ‘capital’ Nuwara Eliya. Translated as ‘city on the plain’, the hill station was once the favourite spot for imperial Brits to holiday (perhaps it was that familiar climate?!) and today, there’s still a strange sense of home around. On a wander, you’ll spot crimson letterboxes and croquet lawns next to estates of sari-clad tea pickers, and many of the mansions and mock-Tudor houses have been turned into fabulous boutique hotels, ideal for a G&T or three. Pottering and tea-drinking aside, Victoria Park offers excellent sightings of numerous, multi-coloured birds and the crystal waters of the dramatic Aberdeen Falls are worth a visit too. And how about rounding things off with a different type of ‘tee for two’ and a spot of golf on one of Asia’s oldest courses?

Things to do

What to do in Nuwara Eliya

With a breath of mountain-fresh air, Nuwara Eliya provides a respite from Sri Lanka's sticky coast. Have a nosy round the main town, where croquet lawns, tea estates and grand houses all sit just as they did 150 years ago. If you don't fancy venturing too far from your comfortable abode, do a little bird watching in Victoria Park, admire the orchids at the ancient Hakgala Botanical Gardens, wander through local tea fields or simply let the tranquil atmosphere soak in. Explore the natural surrounds, standing beneath the beautiful Aberdeen Falls or searching for elephant, sambar deer and giant squirrels in Horton Plains National Park before arriving at World's End - we'll leave that to your imagination…

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