The town of Nuwara Eliya has long been a premier region for tea plantations in Sri Lanka since the end of the 19th century, owing to its rich soil and suitable climate at high altitudes. To this day, the town continues to produce the island’s best tea and is now synonymous with the Sri Lankan tea experience. If you’re one among the many looking to get a glimpse of the island’s tea culture, here are some of the top plantations to visit in Nuwara Eliya.
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Damro Labookellie Tea Estate
Known as the island’s 2nd oldest tea plantation this tea estate sprawls across 5000 acres of rolling hills located a little to the north of Nuwara Eliya. The estate remains welcoming to visitors and provides a complete tour of the estate along with its tea production processes.
Pedro Tea Estate
This historic estate is known for being built on the very site where the first tea bushes were planted in Ceylon by James Taylor. The estate was inaugurated in 1885 and its functions were run by the British before being nationalised in 1975. Today, the estate continues to thrive in the east of Nuwara Eliya just a short distance from hotels like Araliya Red.
Blue Field Tea Factory
With a history dating back to 1921, the Blue Field Tea Factory is the most popular tea estate in Nuwara Eliya. Spanning 193 acres of lush gardens, the factory is known for its production of 30,000 kilograms of tea every month.
What to Expect
All of these tea estates provide guided tours to visitors that last a few hours. Guests are typically taken on a walk through the plantations where they learn how the tea plant is cultivated and the tea leaves are selected and plucked by hand. The tours often include a visit to the factory for a tour of the production process whereby the leaves go through various processes before being sorted.
This is followed by taste testing, where different tea varieties are sampled, each with their subtle variations. This makes it the perfect chance to enjoy a unique tea-tasting experience outside those provided by the best cafes in Nuwara Eliya.
