Sri Lanka’s Hill Country by Train – Kandy to Nuwara Eliya

[no_toc]

Sri Lanka’s cool climate hill country is a world apart from the rest of the sweltering lowlands. Picture mountainous green hills covered in manicured tea gardens, tumbling waterfalls, misty eucalyptus cloud forests, remote villages, Hindu temples and old English colonial mansions.  There is only one way to experience this majestic part of Sri Lanka – By train.

The charming decrepit railway network dates back to British Colonial times. The carriages, dating back from a bygone era, are pulled by a diesel locomotive that shakes, rattles and chuffs its way slowly up to an altitude of 2000 meters.  It winds its way over old bridges and through narrow tunnels and all the time rewarding you with spectacular views of one of the best parts of Sri Lanka.  A friend had once said to me “If you’re going to the hill country then you must do it on the Expo Rail”

Expo rail is a fairly new addition to the rail experience and it’s largely aimed at tourists.  It’s a private company that provides a first class carriage tacked on to the end of the normal train. The first class experience gives you comfortable leather reclining seats, air conditioning, silver service and an outdoor viewing carriage where you can enjoy and photograph the splendour of the hill country scenery and all for a reasonable price for the both of us of LKR 2200.00 (AU$21) for a 2.5 hour trip. When we went to book we could only get seats from Nuwara Eliya to Ella. The Kandy to Nuwara Eliya leg was fully booked so a tip for anyone wanting to take the Expo – Book Early! 

Kandy to Nuwara Eliya

Having just spent a couple of days in Kandy, (see my previous post “Exploring Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle”) it was time to move on, especially as we had a date with the Expo Rail in a couple of days time.

We had booked the 9am train to Nuwara Eliya.  Our Kandy guesthouse host organised his own taxi to drop us off at the station.  The train which had come from Colombo pulled up at the platform and we made our way to the second class carriages only to find there was a problem, we couldn’t find our carriage! What was printed on our ticket did not match the carriage numbers. We gave up searching and showed a conductor who directed us to third class. What the hell! the ticket inspector had sold us the wrong ticket even though I made it very clear we wanted second class. No wonder it was cheap at only 4 dollars.

The morning didn’t get any better either when we boarded the train and had trouble finding our seats. Finally through the jumble of sour faces and bags we spotted what looked like our seats but wait there is more.. they were occupied! Our patience was now wearing thin especially when the two grumpy men occupying them refused to move and basically told us using grunts and hand signals to go sit somewhere else.  The cheek and rudeness was the straw that broke the camel’s back and they were not getting away with it so we pushed ourselves next to them and very abruptly gave them little space.

Once the train started moving and we left Kandy’s suburbs I got up and made my way to the open doorway. Suddenly the fact we were in 3rd class and two ignorant locals had taken our seats didn’t matter anymore, I had the best seat in the carriage, an open doorway that gave me uninterrupted views of the beautiful green hill country.

The countryside was mesmerising as our journey took us through eucalyptus forests, hills carpeted with tea plantations, villages nestled in valleys and old colonial stations. As we stopped at stations the carriage emptied more and I was able to get a window seat. I spent the rest of the journey leaning out the window, what an experience, third class is actually the best. It’s the only carriage where all the windows are down and the door is open. You get the best views;  it actually turned out to be the best option!

Arriving Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya train station is a little out of town and the journey is along a bumpy dirt road. We were fortunate that the hostel King Fern Cottage we had booked offered free pickup.  The hostel which was our base for two nights was a place of charming, quirky character set amongst beautiful temperate fern gardens and about a 15 minute walk into town.  The owner Wasantha was a keen carpenter and sculptor and had made all his own furniture, including the beds.  We had scored the very large attic room but it wasn’t easy trying to get up the ladder with your luggage!

The temperature was noticeably cooler and not so humid. The evenings especially was quite cold so the roaring evening fire in the hostel was very welcoming.

Horton Plains and Worlds End

Horton Plains is located on the southern plateau of the central highlands of Sri Lanka 32 kilometres from Nuwara Eliya. The plateau sits at an altitude between 2,100–2,300 metres and is covered in Montane grass, cloud forest and many varieties of endemic plants. The main attractions are World’s End and Bakers Falls. Worlds End is a sheer precipice with a 870 m (2,854 ft) drop affording amazing views of the surrounding mountains and valleys and Bakers Falls with its 20 meter drop is named after Sir Samuel Baker, an explorer. A 10k walking circuit takes in all the main attractions and is one of the few National Parks where you don’t need a guide.

Getting to Horton Plains is a little bit tricky as it’s not quite on the public bus route so we hired through the hostel the  driver that picked us up from the train station. Two other travellers staying at the hostel were also interested in joining us which helped divide the cost of $160.  The hostel manager suggested we leave early because cloud moves in quite quickly at Worlds End during  late morning and our views will be obscured. The drive to the plains was around 90 minutes up a winding road through pretty Sri Lankan countryside.  At the entrance we parted with $20 each and  as we drove the road to the parking area we spotted some Sambar deer.

We started off along the easy 10K loop towards our first point of interest Mini Worlds End.  As we followed the well trodden compacted sandy gravel path across the Montane grass plain the sun was coming up over a ridge, the sky was fairly clear so I think we were going to be lucky with our views and the weather in general.  The open grassy plain soon made way to a more rugged and rocky path flanked by bush and trees.

Arriving at Mini Worlds End we were afforded our first views of the surrounding mountains and stunning green valley. It was very hazy but rather that than a total whiteout.  A narrow path lead us through yet more thick native bush to Greater Worlds End.

Once again the views were captivating and not really much different from what we saw at Mini Worlds End just a bigger drop! Even though it wasn’t the best conditions for photography due to the extreme haze it was still beautiful and we enjoyed the moment of soaking up the splendour.  While walking the trail we were pretty much alone but here at the lookout there were a few people, mainly  locals and a small handful of foreigners including our two hostel mates. Having taken some photos we found a spot to park ourselves and tuck into the rest of our picnic breakfast the hostel had prepared for us.

Bakers Falls was our next stop having crossed more open grassy plain dotted with low native bush, small pools and a stream. The plain wasn’t flat but rather undulated, it was all very pretty. Getting to the falls was no easy feat, we had to negotiate a steep natural staircase with only tree branches as a handrail.  The waterfall was lovely so worth the trek down, it was much easier going back up, I have to say.

The last part of the trail was more of the same of lightly hilly open grassland with lakes and a small river shaping the landscape.  Once our group was all back together again we made our way back to town. We discussed with our fellow passengers how much we enjoyed Horton Plains and it was definitely worth the trip.

Little England

We had the afternoon free so we explored the town.  Nuwara Eliya is known as the “Little England” of Sri Lanka and was a retreat for the British to escape the heat and humidity of the lowlands and immerse themselves in their favourite pastimes   such as fox hunting, deer hunting, cricket, golf and polo.  One of the nicest golf courses we have seen was only 5 minutes from our hostel and the road to town went through it.  A little of the town’s buildings retain much of its old colonial history and character but for the most it was very much a typical Sri Lankan town with the usual array of shops and noisy traffic.  Not quite what I expected but not unpleasant either. So far what we have seen of the hill country shared the same characteristics of Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands, it too is the centre of tea growing and has a rich colonial past.

Mackwoods Tea Factory and Ramboda Falls

We had half a day before our 2:30pm Expo Train to Ella so we hired the hostel’s driver for $20 to give us a tour of the surrounding area where we would visit a tea factory and waterfalls.  Mackwoods-Labookelie Tea Estate  is around 10 kilometres from Nuwara Eliya and was founded in 1841 by Captain William Mackwood. The company remained in the family until 1956 when ownership passed to Mr N.S.O Mendis, a visionary Sri Lankan Entrepreneur, these days his daughter heads the company.

The tea picking is mainly done by Tamils and we were able to pull over on the side of the road and watch them nick off the delicate light green topmost leaves of the bush and toss them into the sacks which were supported by nothing more than a strap across their head.  The whole process was fascinating to watch as they do this for hours with such speed and precision. The newer leaves at the top of the bush gives the best flavour while the older darker green leaves at the bottom are left to drop off and produce compost.

Each bush can last up to 65 years and is pruned every so many years to maintain shape and quality. We saw the same process in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia but unlike Sri Lanka where tea is always picked by hand, in Malaysia they have taken to using machines these days to increase productivity but as the Sri Lankans would say – “The best tea is always picked by hand”

At the plantation our driver introduced us to a lady who would give us a free tour.  The tour was very enjoyable and so much more informative and interactive that what we experienced in Malaysia. Here we were able to watch the process without barriers and invited to touch the tea in its different stages. In Malaysia we had no guide only signs to read and you could only watch the process through a Perspex barrier which made it difficult to take photos and see what was going on.

Our guide explained the whole tea-making process from picking the correct leaves to rolling and drying and separating the tea into grades.  I had already learnt from our Malaysia tour that the “dust” and the leftovers from the grading  was what went into tea bags, I haven’t looked at tea bags the same way since! What I didn’t know was that “orange pekoe” was the best grade black tea you can buy apparently it’s a favourite of the Queen and it’s now one  of my favourites, the taste is sublime.

I did ask the question why they don’t use machines and as our guide explained: “Picking by hand ensures that only the best leaves are picked, where a machine just tops the bush and you then have to spend hours sorting and picking out the best leaves!”

After our tour we were offered a pot of free tea in the cafe area.  There was also an opportunity to purchase tea from the shop but I had enough to carry so just enjoyed supping on a refreshing cuppa.  We had thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Mackwoods, it was certainly the best tea tour we had done to date.

There are many waterfalls dotted around the hill country and the most famous of these is the 109 meter Ramboda Falls which was our next stop.  Close to the falls was the aptly named Ramboda Falls Hotel and restaurant. It’s terrace not only bestowed panoramic views of the falls but also of beautiful lush green countryside of rolling hills carpeted with tea bushes and native vegetation. From the hotel we followed a well paved track which brought us to the foot of the falls for closer observation.

Did you like the photos?  then you can see the full gallery in our Sri Lanka Trip Photos

Have you travelled through the hill country? if so would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

In our next instalment our journey continues on the first class Expo rail to the pretty village of Ella where we enjoy cafe’s and a walk to the top of little Adams Peak.