Guide to Tea Plantation Tours in Nuwara Eliya – delve into the heart of a nation’s most popular pastime
Nuwara Eliya is the premier tea growing district in all of Sri Lanka where mist-cloaked mountains and colonial wonders are found. Outlined below is where you need to focus your tea tours to.
1. Damro Labookellie Tea Estate
Credited with being the island nation’s 2nd oldest tea plantation, the grand Damro Labookellie Tea Estate – a 1-hour drive from Araliya Green City Hotel and Araliya Red Hotel – is nestled on 5,000 acres of lush green environs and rolling hills that sure does add to its identity. Located some 20 km north of Nuwara Eliya, the Estate is one of the more appealing of attractions that you will have the privilege of discovering and understand that guided tours can be had at no cost whatsoever. Also, advanced bookings are not the norm and no sooner you set foot within its charming setting, you will be assigned a knowledgeable guide who will take you through the ins and outs of tea production. The purpose of this tour will be to educate patrons on the importance involving a host of practices that range from tea plucking, rolling, fermenting, and grading which are pre-requisites en route to manufacturing the perfect blend. Further, you can delight in a cuppa freshly brewed tea paired with a selection of melt in your mouth cakes which are sold at the nearby Damro Tea Lounge.
2. Pedro Tea Estate
What makes the Pedro Tea Estate a standout among tea estates across the nation can be attributed to the fact that it was built on the very site where James Taylor planted the first tea bushes in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Inaugurated in 1885, the Estate’s functions were managed and overseen by the British before it was nationalised in the year 1975; a status which it enjoyed for one whole decade prior to the property being reprivatized. The Pedro Tea Estate found 3 km east of Nuwara Eliya is one of the easiest tea estates to reach, especially when based at Araliya Green Hills Hotel or Araliya Green City Hotel that are amongst the top hotels in Nuwara Eliya to holiday at. Generally speaking, you will only have to allocate 20 minutes of your time to cover the entirety of the Pedro Tea Estate where you will have the best seat in the house to witness as to how the freshly plucked tea buds go through a series of complex processes that cover the disciplines of grading and packaging of same.
3. Blue Field Tea Factory
With a storied history that goes back to 1921 which is when the Blue Field Tea Factory entered Sri Lanka’s tea industry, the visitor will be escorted across 193 acres of beautiful scenery where a nation’s pride and deep-rooted passion will be hard at work. Situated in the town of Ramboda and a short distance from Nuwara Eliya en route to the hill capital of Kandy, the Blue Field Tea Factory is known to produce a staggering 30,000 kg of some of Sri Lanka’s finest high grown teas every month. Perceived as the perfect day trip when based at Araliya Green Hills Hotel, average tours here are not known to last for more than 20 minutes but in turn, an informative and insightful experience is all but assured. After the conclusion of your tour, be sure to beeline for the splendidly positioned onsite restaurant where you can grab a quick bite to eat, savour the distinct aromas and flavours of black tea ahead of witnessing the tea pluckers attending to their daily duties out on the terraced fields.