4 best things to do in Nuwara Eliya

An essential guide to the best experiences in and around Nuwara Eliya

Deeply rooted in its tea growing past, Nuwara Eliya is known for its mist covered mountains, immaculately terraced tea plantations and having the coldest climate in Sri Lanka. The city is overlooked by Pidurutalagala, the island’s tallest mountain, and maintains a golf course, colonial era bungalows, pretty gardens, and mock-Tudor buildings that give certain parts of the town a British country-village feel. A trip to Sri Lanka would not be complete without a stop in its hill country and Nuwara Eliya is a great base from which to explore the hills. If you have a few days to spend here, our guide breaks down the best things to see and do in Nuwara Eliya.

A view of Kandapola, near Nuwara Eliya from Goatfell

1. Explore the Nuwara Eliya town

Nuwara Eliya’s town can be explored in a day, and the following places are great locations to spend a few hours in:

• Nuwara Eliya Golf Club – one of the oldest and most beautiful golf clubs in Asia, steeped in history and tradition.
• Seetha Amman Temple – This ancient and colourful Vaishnavite Hindu temple is located in Nuwara Eliya, and its folklore is deeply connected to the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.
• The Post Office – An historical landmark, this Tudor style two-storey red brick building was constructed in 1894 by the British.
• Lake Gregory – a scenic reservoir for water sports and boat rides, and a beautiful lawn for picnics and easy strolls. Street food vendors pop up by the lake front at evening, offering an array of local snacks.
• Bale Bazaar – a local bazaar, popularly known as the ‘winter market,’ where you can get great bargains on warm clothing, as well as lovely, fresh produce including home grown strawberries, pineapples, and mangoes.
• Other notable attractions in the vicinity include Hakgala Botanical Gardens, Galway’s Land National Park, and Moon Plains, which can be combined with a city tour. These parks are home to endemic and migrant birds and are perfect for wellness walks.

Victoria Golf Club, near Nuwara Eliya

2. Culinary highlights in Nuwara Eliya

No visit to Nuwara Eliya is complete without indulging in fresh Nuwara Eliya strawberries, and sampling the diverse home grown produce for which the town is famous. Goatfell in Kandapola, the highest elevated luxury boutique hotel in Sri Lanka, is located just a short distance from Nuwara Eliya, prides itself in using fruit, vegetables and herbs grown on site at the bungalow to create signature dishes that celebrate the region’s bounty. Its signature tea-infused menu features steak using locally raised beef and homemade Nuwara Eliya Strawberry Ice Cream. You might like to join a firsthand cooking lesson with Goatfell’s chef, learning the secrets in recreating the rice and curry dishes served at the bungalow. The lesson includes a walkthrough of the various spices used for flavouring, and the different methods of preparation used for each of the delicious curries. The curries are cooked in clay pots which provide an authentic and distinctive flavour to Sri Lankan cuisine and have been used across the island for centuries.

A spread of traditional Rice & Curry

3. Take a guided Tea Factory tour

Nuwara Eliya is home to tea estates that have been flourishing for over a century, and the region is home to some of the island’s finest upcountry teas. Visiting a local tea factory like Pedro Tea Estate will enlighten you on the tea production process. If you’re up for a little adventure, it is possible to trek to the factory from stage 22 of The Pekoe Trail but if you’re after a tamer experience, a tuk tuk ride will be a fun way to get to the factory. The factories themselves are iconic; vast, atmospheric, and filled with antique, heavy machinery which is still in use today. These multi-windowed warehouses are where the magic process of tea production transpires. A factory manager will host you on this guided tour, showing you the processes, introducing you to the machines and demonstrating how each of them works. At the end, you’ll have the opportunity to taste a few varieties of tea in an insightful tea tasting session.

The withering process of tea leaves at a factory

4. Beyond the ‘city of lights’

Horton Plains National Park offers amazing hikes amongst the shadows of Sri Lanka’s second and third-highest mountains; Kirigalpotta (2,388m) and Thotupola Kanda (2,357m), each of which rear up from the edges of the plateau. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the park is rich in biodiversity and many species found here are endemic to the region.

The recommended and most popular hike is a 7.2km loop that takes you past Baker’s Falls, a stunning 20 metre waterfall named after British explorer, Sir Samuel Baker, and is located on a tributary of the Belihul Oya (river) that flows through the Park; World’s End, where on a clear day the view is incredible; and Mini World’s End, a smaller 270m drop, which presents views of the southeast of Sri Lanka.