Sri Lanka | Nuwara Eliya – The Little England of Sri Lanka

Only a few hours from Colombo, Nuwara Eliya sits in a hill country at 1868m, in eternal temperate winter, where the British once spent their pastimes such as fox hunting, deer hunting, elephant hunting, polo, golf and cricket. Mist-shrouded mountains and terraced tea plantations surround the town, with abundance of local brew for their enjoyment. With many of the British settles building their holiday bungalow in this “city of light” (that’s the meaning of Nuwara Eliya, by the way) during the British colonisation era, the town transform a “Little England” with a vague British-country-village feel to it.

Today, decades after Sri Lanka’s independence, Nuwara Eliya still retains many of its colonial-era bungalows, Tudor-style hotels, well-tended hedgerows and pretty gardens, and is one of Sri Lanka’s most popular holiday destination among locals and tourists alike.  

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Getting To Nuwara Eliya 

It’s very easy to get to Nuwara Eliya from Kandy. Although taking bus is feasible, the best mode of transport is by taking the local train. The nearest train station to Nuwara Eliya is Nanu Oya which is just 30 minutes car ride away from Nuwara Eliya.  

On our car ride from Nanu Oya station to Nuwara Eliya

We read online that the train ride is best taken not later than noon as any late afternoon train will only arrive in Nanu Oya after dusk which defeat the whole purpose of enjoying the scenic ride through the tea country. With that in mind, we took the 11.45am train from Kandy and arriving in Nanu Oya by 4.45pm. However, my experience told me that the best view is the stretch from Nanu Oya to Badulla instead of the one from Kandy to Nanu Oya, so getting a later train will not be such a big deal.  

More about the scenic train ride here >> Sri Lanka | From Kandy to Ella – One of The World’s Most Scenic Train Ride

Kandy Railway Station

Address: William Gopallawa Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka 

Train from Kandy to Nanu Oya: 5 hours (train bound for Badulla, alight at Nanu Oya), LKR 160 per person (second class) 

From Nanu Oya, there will be plenty of vans and tuk tuk waiting to do your business. The drivers will approach you and offer to take you to your homestay or hotel in Nuwara Eliya. We managed to get a van for LKR 250 one way (sharing by 3 persons).  

Nanu Oya Railway Station

Address: Avissawella - Hatton - Nuwara Eliya Hwy, Nanuoya 22150, Sri Lanka 

Van from Nanu Oya to Nuwara Eliya: 30 min, LKR 250 (sharing by 3 persons) 

Recommended time in Nuwara Eliya: half a day or one and a half day (take the morning or noon train towards Ella for the best view)   

What To Do In Nuwara Eliya 

Walk around the town 

As the weather here is cold and chilly, a walk around the town makes for a good day activity. Many of the buildings still retain features from the colonial period such as the Queen's Cottage, General's House, Grand Hotel, Hill Club, St Andrew's Hotel and the Post Office. New hotels are also often built and furnished in the colonial style. Many private homes also maintain their old English-style lawns and gardens.  

Some of the colonial building in Nuwara Eliya

Visit a tea centre

Nuwara Eliya produces some of the world's finest orange pekoe tea. Several tea factories around Nuwara Eliya offer guided tours and complimentary tea tasting and two of the more popular ones among tourists are Damro Labookellie Tea Centre (previously known as Mackwoods) and Pedro Tea Factory. We chose to visit Damro Labookellie Tea Estate (previously known as MackWoods) after asking the opinion of our homestay owner’s as the opinion online are quite equally divided. 

Looks like Malaysia's Cameron Highlands, isn't it?

   

Damro Tea Plantation

   

We didn't walk into the tea field, just took photo at the lounge balcony

Perhaps I should have asked if i could go into the tea bushes

Hollywood style sign

Damro Labookellie Tea Centre (I will use Damro interchangeably here) was founded in 1841 by Captain William Mackwoods, and has been taken over by Damro, a furniture company a couple of years ago. Located at Labookellie, on the A5 up to Nuwara Eliya, the tea centre is at an elevation of about 1500m above sea level. Right in front of the tea centre, in the centre of its lush tea plantation is the huge Hollywood-like white letters of “Damro” (it was previously Mackwoods before the take over). You can’t really miss it as it sits on a bend on the road, all green and white, surrounded by swirling rows of tea bushes, colourful tea pickers amidst the tea bushes.

free guided tour

not so excited this time as we had visited one in Mawanella

silver tip

I think this is orange pekoe

different types of tea

We went on a free guided tour (about 15-20 mins) around their factory where they showed us the process of tea making and at the end of the tour, we were brought to their tea lounge for complimentary tea, while overlooking the lush plantation outside. You can also walk down to the plantation or see it from the perched balcony. I wished I walked down to the tea bushes but as I wasn’t feeling well that day, all I did was some photo at the balcony.  

looking area at their tea selection

tea lounge for complimentary tea, cakes at your own expense though

enjoy tea at their lounge

 

Yea, time for some tea

Orange pekoe

Brownie

Bought this home and it was great!

It was said that the Mackwoods in the past had given a much better service and the setting was more up-market, but I can’t vouch for that as it was already “Damro” when I visited. What is certain is that the tea is definitely more expensive than the ones you can get from the local supermarkets but at higher quality, which is justifiable. Perhaps they can do better with their packaging as it wasn’t really that appealing. I bought some cheap ones from the local supermarket in Galle and the packaging was pretty enough to pass off as a high quality tea (perfect for souvenir) even though they are not.  

Damro Labookellie Tea Centre and Tea garden (previously known as MackWoods)

Address: A5, Sri Lanka 

Opening hours: 8.30am – 6.30pm daily 

Admission: Free 

Check Out The Post Office

Built in 1894, the Nuwara Eliya Post Office is one of the oldest post offices in the Sri Lanka, constructed with the sole purpose of dealing with the mail of the British Colonials at the time. It is also one of the oldest buildings in Nuwara Eliya.

Nuwara Eliya post office

 

Signature red building of the post office

Housed in a beautiful Tudor mansion, complete with spires and a clock tower, the post office roof is in bright orange colour while its brick walls is red. The colourful building is one of the most visited place in Nuwara Eliya after being featured on a 10 Rupee stamp in 1990. It was to commemorate World Postal Day but unexpectedly brought an increase in fame to the post office, making it an attraction in the city.  

Signature tourist pose in front of the building

In 2012 the former living quarters of the post master, which is on the upper floor of the post office, was converted into tourist accommodation. Guests are allowed to experience the charm of this old building by staying in it.  

We never go in because it was closed

Front door, and it's closed

So photo in front of the door it is

Look at the type of stamps on displayed on the window

But you don’t have to stay here to see the charm of the post office. We made a short visit during our trip and if you are into collecting post cards, you can also buy one of the pretty postcards available here as souvenirs. 

Post Office Nuwara Eliya

Address: Queen Elizabeth Dr, Nuwara Eliya 22200, Sri Lanka  

Opening hours: 7.00am to 8.00pm daily, except Sunday 8.00am – 4.00pm 

Admission: Free 

Bonus: Hike Horton Plains to World’s End

Nuwara Eliya is a base for a visit to Horton Plains National Park. Horton Plains National Park, about 2 hours away from Nuwara Eliya. People usually come here to hike to the famous World’s End viewpoint, a 1050m drop-off at the edge of a huge cliff at the end of the Horton Plains plateau. The entire hike is not challenging at all and it would only take you 2 to 2.5 hours to cover. However, the only turn off is the steep price of about US$30-40.  

Early morning visits (between 6am and 10am) are best, both to see the wildlife and to view World's End before mists close in during the later part of the morning, particularly during the rainy season from April to September. All you would expect to see after 9am would be a swirling white wall. You would also want to avoid doing the hike on Sundays and public holidays, when it can get crowded. 

I didn’t tackle this during my trip, but if you have the time and budget, it’s worth waking up early.  

Horton Plains National Park

Address: Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka 

Opening hours: 6am – 6pm daily 

Cost: USD 30-40 per person, including entrance fee, permit, and transport 

  

Getting out of Nuwara Eliya 

The train ride from Kandy bound to Badulla is well known for being the most scenic train in Sri Lanka, but the prettiest section is the stretch from Nanu Oya to Ella, specifically as it is approaching Ella. Therefore, even though it is possible to take a bus from Nuwara Eliya to Ella or Haputale, I would still recommend taking the train. It takes 2 and a half hours to Ella, so be sure to board the morning or noon train, in order to not to miss the scenic view (it turns dark early here in Sri Lanka). Once in Ella, you can take some early rest to rejuvenate.

Nanu Oya station

You may also drop by Haputale first before heading to Ella as it lies in between these two towns (6 stations from Nanu Oya, 7 stations from Ella). We chose to head to Ella and stayed two nights there and in one of the day, made a side trip to Haputale for Lipton Seat. It did sound like we wasted time on the train journey to and forth but since we took the first train, the train was pretty empty, so we ended up getting the best window seat for the scenic view, something you wouldn’t be able to do in the afternoon train. And that train ride experience is the best among the three we took (Kandy-Nanu Oya, Nanu-Oya-Ella, Ella-Haputale-Ella). However, it did take up more time to travel back and forth, so it really depends on your itinerary and preference. 

Want to make the most of your time and doesn’t care about the train ride? Go to Haputale first 

Want to enjoy the train ride and doesn’t mind spending time to do side trip from Ella? Go to Ella and base there 

More about the scenic train ride here >> Sri Lanka | From Kandy to Ella – One of The World’s Most Scenic Train Ride

Nanu Oya Railway Station

Address: Avissawella - Hatton - Nuwara Eliya Hwy, Nanuoya 22150, Sri Lanka 

Tuk tuk around Nuwara Eliya: LKR 1500 for half a day (sharing by 3 persons) 

Tuk tuk from Nuwara Eliya to Nanu Oya: 30 mins, price included in the half day LKR 1500 (sharing by 3 persons) 

Train from Nanu Oya to Ella: 2 hours 30 mins (train bound for Badulla, alight at Ella), LKR 110 per person (second class)  

Train from Nanu Oya to Haputale: 1 hours 30 mins (train bound for Badulla, alight at Haputale), price unknown but roughly less than LKR 100 for second class  

Final Words

Everybody loves cool chilly climate, and that is particularly true for me, who live in “summer” whole year long. As we spent our first couple of days sweating under the sun, Nuwara Eliya is just the right place to chill and unwind. Dubbed the Little England of Sri Lanka, Nuwara Eliya reminds me a lot of a place close to home – our very own Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, particularly with its cool climate, tudor style hotels and buildings, hills and mountains, and tea plantations everywhere.