No visit to Sri Lanka is complete without visiting Nuwara Eliya. Nicknamed “Little England” it is famous for cultured gardens, English style architecture and Tudor style hotels. We drove from Kandy to reach Nuwara Eliya. The 2.5 hours journey climbs about 1,400 metres, passing through beautiful rolling hills, Ceylon tea plantations, scenic view points and waterfall. Nuwara Eliya is a great place for families to visit and relax.
Lets Go Bear Travels Top Family Travel Tips For Nuwara Eliya:
- Bring a jacket or scarf – it gets cold at night
- Book your accommodation well in advance – it does get pricey
- Take your family to visit The Grand Hotel – whether for tea, reasonably priced meals or their kids playground
- Visit one of the many tea factories to sample the famous Ceylon tea or go on plantation tour
Booking.com
Things to do
Upon arriving into town, we noticed almost all the buildings are built in the English style Tudor architecture as well as having manicured gardens and hedges. We felt like we were transported back to Stratford-upon-Avon. No wonder this town is nicknamed “Little England”.
Our first stop in the heart of the town was Gregory Lake. The lake is the place to be for local families. Many locals just chilled and went for a boat ride (or Jet Ski ride). We went boating during the weekend so the lake was packed!
Not far from the lake, we spotted a very unique red building which turns out to be the local post office. Younger children will think it comes out straight from Postman Pat! It is one of the oldest in Nuwara Eliya and still very well preserved. We stopped by to purchase some postcards and stamps to send back home to Australia.
Despite staying at a non fancy accommodation, we spent majority of our time at the nearby 5 stars hotel called The Grand Hotel. They welcome non – residents. We hang around for hours enjoying their restaurant, bakery, tea lounge, beautiful restrooms and outdoor kids playground! The friendly staff treated us no differently. This posh hotel also has reasonably priced meals and high tea. Food and drinks at this hotel are priced about the same as other restaurants in town. It is even cheaper than our bed and breakfast – so for us it made no sense to dine elsewhere.
After drinking Ceylon teas, naturally we were intrigued to visit a local tea factory. We went to Pedro tea factory which is only situated 20 minutes out of town. We were greeted by a local tea worker whom showed us around the plantation (almost like getting a private tour) and demonstrated the correct way of picking the tea leaves.
For a simple and quick lunch, Edinburgh Tea Train is worth visiting. They serve simple sandwiches and as always delicious tea. Families will love views from this place is amazing.
Weather
Nuwara Eliya has the coolest temperature in Sri Lanka thanks to its high altitude.
During our visit in January, the daytime temperature was in the low 20s°C and down to about 10°C at night. This was a stark contrast to the warm weather in Colombo and southern part of Sri Lanka. A light jacket or scarf comes in handy when going out in the evening.
Getting there
The drive from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya is a very scenic as you quickly gain elevation up the hills passing through many tea plantations. There are many pit stop areas where you can stop to take a photo of the scenery. The long winding road may be challenging for those with motion sickness though. We brought our car seat with us and luckily our son Berlin slept through most of the way.
Accommodation
This area attracts BIG number of tourists with many big tour buses spotted along the town. Since January is super high season, the cost of accommodation in Nuwara Eliya is a lot more expensive (even more expensive than in Europe). When doing our research, we encountered the 5 stars Heritance Tea Factory Hotel and made plans to stay there. But at $480 per night, we had to give it a miss. We ended up staying at a basic bed and breakfast called Hill Pride City Hotel booked through Booking.com for $130 – it was basic but sufficient.
Great blog post! Looks interesting, would love to do the tea tour 😊
The tea tour will certainly be worth doing =)