Independent Tailor-made Holidays to Sri Lanka & Maldives

Hakgala Gardens

Botanical Gardens of Mythological Origin

The delightful gardens at Hakgala, 10 km southeast of Nuwara Eliya and about 200 m lower, were originally a plantation of cinchona, from which the antimalarial drug quinine is extracted. Later, the gardens were used for experiments in acclimatising temperate-zone plants to life in the tropics, and were run by the same family for three generations until the 1940s. Today, Hakgala Gardens is spread over 27 hectares of land, and is famed for its roses and ferns.

Legend has it that Hanuman, the monkey god, was sent by Rama to the Himalaya to find a particular medicinal herb. Hanuman had been summoned by Rama to ancient Lanka to help him free his wife Sita from the clutches of the devil-king, Rawana, who had kidnapped her. He forgot which herb he was looking for and decided to bring a chunk of the Himalaya back to Sri Lanka in his jaw, hoping the herb was growing on it. The gardens grow on a rock called Hakgala, which means 'jaw-rock'.

A visit to Hakgala Gardens from Nuwara Eliya normally lasts 2 hours.

Horton Plains National Park

World's End and Much More

No visit to the Hill Country would be complete without seeing the breathtaking Horton Plains National Park, an hour away from Nuwara Eliya. Read More

Labookellie Tea Factory

High-grown Broken Orange Pekoe

Fifteen kilometres from Nuwara Eliya on the Kandy road is the conveniently-placed Labookellie Tea Factory, a fully-working, commercial enterprise. Here you will see tea being processed at close quarters, from freshly-picked "two-leaves-and-a-bud" to the finished tea ready for auction in Colombo. You will also see the Tamil tea-pickers in the surrounding tea estates filling their baskets with tea leaves before bringing them down to be weighed. After a tour of the tea factory, Broken Orange Pekoe is on offer, together with delicious, home-made chocolate cake!

A visit to the Labookellie Tea Factory from Nuwara Eliya normally lasts 1 hour.

Nuwara Eliya Golf Course

Reputed to be One of Asia's Finest

Nuwara Eliya Golf Course (5520 m, par 71) is reputed to be one of Asia's finest. The fairways are long and narrow and bordered by fir trees and thick bushes. It demands skillful 'position play', and the hilly terrain makes it essential that players can cope with uphill and downhill lies. Nuwara Eliya Golf Course is ideally located in the centre of town surrounded by swaying trees. The period clubhouse contains a restaurant and bar, with sloping green lawns stretching out endlessly in front of you. Not exactly the type of atmosphere you would normally associate with Sri Lanka? Well, think again!

The 18-hole Nuwara Eliya Golf Course is situated at an elevation of nearly 2000 m. In this cool climate and scenic surroundings, the course was laid out by the Gordon Highlanders stationed here in the late 1880s. A legacy from the British colonial period, golfing in Sri Lanka has many nostalgic links to this era, when wealthy British planters and government officials spent their evenings at clubhouses in an effort to recreate the lifestyle they had left behind. Today, these period relics are put to good use by tourists and travelling businessmen enticed by the calm and soothing atmosphere associated with golf, as well as by locals taking a break from the absorbing national pastime of cricket.

A round of 18 holes at the Nuwara Eliya Golf Course, which includes green fees, golf balls, and the hire of clubs, shoes and a caddy, will take about 4 hours.

Town Walk

British Colonial Heritage

A leisurely walk through the streets and green spaces will take you past the delightful little post office with its pink brick walls, across the golf course, the largest in Sri Lanka and the oldest course in Asia, to the nostalgic Hill Club, where a suit and tie are still required for dinner. On through Victoria Park towards the racecourse takes you past rather quaint planters' houses, some of which have been turned into guest houses. For a panoramic view of the area, a path leads up to Single Tree Hill (2100 m), which is a good alternative to the now out-of-bounds Mount Pidurutalagala, whose peak is a prohibited area for security of the island's first TV transmitter there.  Returning downhill, you will end up at Gregory’s Lake, which has been cleaned of a generation’s accumulation of rubbish prior to having a major makeover including the creation of a lakeside running/cycling track (bicycle rental available), construction of an ice-cream kiosk and a landing stage for boat hire.

Victoria Park Bird Watching

Endemics and Himalayan Migrants

Although in the centre of town, Victoria Park is a particularly good area for spotting Himalayan migrants such as the Kashmir Flycatcher, Pied Thrush, Indian Pitta and Indian Blue Robin as well as some of Sri Lanka’s endemics, including the Yellow-eared Bulbul, Sri Lanka White-eye and Dull blue Flycatcher.