We had flown away to an Island far away. Our flight landed in Columbo, the capital of Sri Lanka. A friend who had lived in Sri Lanka for a while had advised hiring a chauffeur driven car from the airport for the whole trip. It was a very good advice indeed, saved us from a lot of hassle, especially considering the language barrier.
We decided to see Columbo on our way Back to India and we headed straight to Nuwara Eliya, we wanted to start with the hills. Although I do recommend spending a day in Kandy if you have the time, and I highly recommend trying Sri Lankan fruits on your way, Durian and mangosteen are my favorites.
Nuwara Eliya is a small scenic city in the central province of Sri Lanka. It’s cool climate and breathtaking hilly countryside covered in tea plantations and light fog is almost dreamy and a perfect escape from the summer’s heat.
We had booked a room in this place called The log through Air BNB, a small wooden house in the middle of the hills with all things made of woods. It had a cozy, nostalgic, hobbit house vibe to it and the view was magnificent.
The city has an English Countryside feel, there is a Racecourse, a Golf Club, colonial-era bungalows, in fact, the whole city has a colonial-era theme going on. There are hotels that are made to fit the theme, The Grand of Nuwara Eliya is on such hotel and a lovely property I must say.
We were more interested in the countryside, strawberry farm, New Zealand cow farm, the windmills in the fields, the Malgudi days look alike train station we came across, the cloud covered mountains and the serenity one finds in those hills in a distant part of the world.
All that beauty, the freshness of the air, the view of lush green hills cradling the clouds, were even more romanticized by the sudden rain and the intoxicating smell it left behind. I love the smell of the earth after it rains.
For dinner we went to Heritance Tea Factory, it is an old tea factory converted into a luxury heritage hotel, being there was like visiting the 19th century Ceylon instead of today’s Sri Lanka. We sat in the bar for some drinks, we hadn’t booked a table beforehand in the restaurant and it almost felt like we won’t get one now, the place was full of tourists from all over the world. Luckily they gave us a table by the time we finished our second drinks, I ordered some Sri Lankan dish made with local spices. It looked so exotic and traditional at the same time and smelled of lovely subtle flavors of South India. The food was amazing, but since I had just spent some time in South India, I found myself wishing I had ordered something else, I made up with desserts. 🙂
We took a tour of the hotel and bought some organic tea grown in their in-house tea plantation from the tea shop before we left. Heritance Tea Factory for me was more about the experience than the food. It was one of those time travel experiences where a place suddenly teleports you to another time and life, and you feel like you have seen that time, that era, maybe just for one evening but you have lived there, you have been a part of it.
By the time we drove back to The Log, my mind was swooning with joy, the beauty all around me was getting to me or maybe it was the alcohol? Nah, I didn’t drink much, I didn’t need too, I was high on hills, on clouds, on the greenery, on the rain, on the little waterfalls we crossed on our way. Nuwara Eliya will do that to you.
Love,
N
Previous post on Sri Lanka – Chapter Zero
Next Stop – Arugam Bay Ella. 🙂
Daily Prompt – Distant
Images and write-up ©2017Opinionatedhead.com
June 5, 2017 at 12:04 am
Loving the style of your post, the pictures that you have taken signifies the variety of your trip that you are willing to share with us, readers. I could say that the picture of the tea factory is the best among all, it has the throw back feeling. Hope to see more from you. Have hope, write on!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 4:35 am
Thanks Bryan, for stopping by and sharing your feedback. The Tea factory was even more beautiful than it’s pictures. Had I known back then that I am going to start a blog and write a post about it, I probably would have done a better job of clicking pictures. 🙂
LikeLike
June 5, 2017 at 5:03 am
You are welcome 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 1:09 am
My husband and I visited Sri Lanka last year and your post brought back so many memories. We stayed at Nuwara Elisa and also went to the Heritance Tea Factory 😃🦉
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 4:39 am
How nice, I am so glad I could do that. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed your Sri Lanka Trip, and really I hope you enjoy my upcoming Sri Lanka posts too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 2:13 am
Glad to see your Asia explore!! When is the India travel and what’s the itinerary? Lovely pictures.. Asian countries are always full of surprises! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 4:41 am
You are right, they are full of surprises.
I have already been traveling India, but there is so much more left to see, I have my next destination in mind already, I will keep you posted. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 5:37 am
If at all visiting near Managalore (Karnataka) if you have time do let me know. 🙂 Enjoy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 5:37 am
I meant.. “Mangalore”
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 5:41 am
I will definitely do that. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 6:50 am
That railway station looks nice. Perhaps the beginning of a small adventure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 5, 2017 at 10:06 pm
Yeah, it does look like that… Thank you! 🙂
LikeLike
June 5, 2017 at 10:37 pm
Really loving your posts and advice on travelling in Sri Lanka!
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2017 at 6:38 am
I am so glad you are. Thank you, it means a lot!
LikeLike
June 5, 2017 at 11:25 pm
Love the pictures! It is great to read such good descriptions specially for a mom in Ohio who can’t travel far.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 6, 2017 at 6:41 am
I am so glad I could bring Sri Lanka to you. Thank you for you kind words Chrissy! 🙂
LikeLike
October 26, 2017 at 2:16 am
Such lovely pictures you have here, N. And that’s one colourful railway station. 🙂
– Amor
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 26, 2017 at 8:30 pm
Thank you!! I am glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
LikeLike