Nuwara Eliya or Sri Lanka’s ‘Little England’ is a picturesque city, nestled high away in the mountains of the hill country. Colonial-style buildings are dotted all over Nuwara Eliya city and it feels like it isn’t belonging to Sri Lanka. Nuwara Eliya earned the nickname as Sri Lanka’s ‘Little England’, due to the presence of these ancient British colonial-style buildings. They are now serving as major hotels, guest houses, restaurants, and public places.
Nuwara Eliya sits at around 2000 m altitude, surrounded by lush green mountain ranges in Sri Lanka. It is a lovely city with spellbinding greenery. Nuwara Eliya is the coolest town in the country with a year-round spring-like mild climate. With temperatures ranging between 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, the climate is so relaxing and chilly to the optimum level of comfort.
Due to the pleasant climate and its scenic beauty, Nuwara Eliya is the most famous holiday destination in Sri Lanka. Both local and foreign visitors prefer it for spending some relaxing time while enjoying spectacular sceneries. As well as it is one of the most family-friendly destinations with many attractions suitable for kids.
There are lots of lovely places to visit and many unique attractions to see in the Nuwara Eliya area. Since my husband Kalum was born and raised in this beautiful Nuwara Eliya city, we are quite knowledgeable about the city. Here’s our list of the top 21 lovely things to do in Sri Lanka’s ‘Little England’. Don’t forget to enjoy these wonderful activities in Nuwara Eliya city, while you are visiting Sri Lanka.
How to reach Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya sits between major touristic cities. Ella and Kandy. If you are riding the scenic Kandy-Ella train, remember to get off at Nanuoya to reach Nuwara Eliya. You can find out all the best methods to reach Nuwara Eliya from Colombo on the 12goAsia website.
1. Gregory Lake
Lake Gregory is one of the major attractions in Nuwara Eliya, located at the heart of the city. It is a large manmade lake constructed in 1873 by then-governor Sir William Gregory. It has a lovely park with beautifully manicured lawns. You can enjoy an afternoon stroll along the boardwalk that runs alongside the lake. It offers a splendid and peaceful environment for sightseeing and boating. Several water sports including paddle boats, Jet Ski rides, and cruises, as well as other recreational activities, can be enjoyed there.
Speed boat riding is one of the best things to do in Gregory Lake. It is one of the best family-friendly destinations, with a wide array of things children can enjoy. Kids can play in the large open spaces along the boardwalks. Swan paddle boats can hire for a fun-filled boat ride in the lake.
Pony riding is a popular activity among the kids and they will enjoy it very much. Indeed, Gregory Lake is a quiet place with great scenic beauty perfect for a fun-filled family trip.
2. Nuwara Eliya Downtown
While you are touring in Nuwara Eliya, don’t forget to walk downtown. Nuwara Eliya town isn’t a large city and you can take a slow stroll watching the beautiful old buildings in the city. With many European cottages and bungalows, you’ll feel like walking in a British country village. Remember to see the iconic Nuwara Eliya post office. It is an amazing ancient building considered the epitome of colonial architecture in Nuwara Eliya.
There are several British-style public buildings in the city, including banks and supermarkets. Enjoy these beautiful sights, as well as Nuwara Eliya town filled with vegetable, fruit, and food markets. You can always go and shop your heart out and take some souvenirs from Nuwara Eliya as memories back home.
3. Hike in Tea Trails
Since hill country is the country’s tea production capital, the whole countryside is covered with lush green tea fields. The cooler temperature in the hill country provides optimal conditions for tea plantations. Therefore, the tea plantations are the major highlight in the Nuwara Eliya area. You’ll find these plantations run as far as your eyes can see.
Visiting a tea trail is the best way to learn about the tea production process and buy some world-famous Ceylon tea. You can tour a one or few of these tea plantations and see tea making process. Don’t forget to taste a cup of tea made from freshly plucked tea leaves during the tour.
4. Damro Labookellie Tea Centre
Damro Labookellie Tea Centre is the most famous and touristy one in Nuwara Eliya. It is easily reachable since it is located in close proximity to Kandy-Nuwara Eliya main road.
Damro Labookellie Tea Centre formerly known as Mackwoods Labookellie Tea Centre, which initially started in 1841 by Captain William Mackwood. You can taste a nice cup of tea, made from freshly plucked tea leaves there.
5. Bluefield Tea Factory
Bluefield Tea Factory is also a popular tea plantation to visit in Nuwara Eliya. It is one of the most visited tea trails that boasts of a stunning landscape encircled by tea estates among misty mountains. The tea estate spreads in a wide area of 191 acres in Ramboda. It was founded in 1921, and it has established a strong reputation for producing top-quality Ceylon Tea. Since it is on the route to Ramboda Falls, remember to visit the both Bluefield tea factory and Ramboda Falls at the same time.
6. Pedro Tea Estate
Pedro Tea Estate is located about 3.5 km east of Nuwara Eliya and it is accessible by vehicle. It was originally built in 1885 and still working with ancient engineering. At the Pedro Estate factory, you will see the full process of how tea is manufactured and then graded and packed to export to all corners of the world. Pedro tea estate has located near the Lover’s Leap Fall; therefore you can enjoy both sights during your visit.
7. Victoria Park
Visiting Victoria Park is one of the best things to do in Nuwara Eliya. Victoria Park named after Queen Victoria in 1897, is a great place to go for a relaxing walk. It covers a pretty large area spanning over 25 acres. The garden is an elegantly landscaped one with an astonishing variety of plants, ranging from tropical rain forests to English country gardens.
Victoria Park has lawns that grow to perfection and brightly colored flowers, making it a wonderful destination to visit. The park is open year-round, but the best time to visit it is during the spring festival in April.
The Spring festival period is the most crowded time of the year. If you need some peaceful and quiet time, it is better to select August or September. There are many colorful blooms in this period also, while it is far less crowded.
Victoria Park is one of the most family-friendly destinations in the country. It has separate kids playing area and a kids train to have fun. They will love playing around the garden in the nice weather.
8. Hakgala Botanical Garden
Nuwara Eliya is one of the best vacation destinations to get away from the city and relax. The calm and serene environment in Hakgala Botanical Garden is ideal for nature lovers. Taking a walk through the Hakgala garden gives the best opportunity to get closer to beautiful nature.
It comes alive with millions of flowers during the spring festival in April. You’ll be amazed by colorful flower beds and pathways surrounded by spectacular blooming. During the rest of the year, there aren’t lots of blooms, but still, it is a great place to walk around leisurely.
9. Galway’s Land National Park
If you are interested in bird watching, Galway’s national park is the best place to go in Nuwara Eliya. This is one of Sri Lanka’s smallest and newest national parks declared in 2006.
It is a renowned bird sanctuary for many varieties of birds, including several endemic bird species. There is a long walking trail to wander along, watching these fascinating birds in Sri Lanka.
You’ll see many hill-country bird species in this park. Witnessing these lovely birds is one of the best things to do in Nuwara Eliya for bird lovers.
There are many lovely waterfalls dotting in the Nuwara Eliya area, further accentuating the beauty of the city. They offer eye-pleasing views to the visitors, you should visit one or a few of them. Here we are going to mention the most beautiful waterfalls that you shouldn’t miss during your visit to Nuwara Eliya.
10. Ramboda Falls
At the top of the beautiful waterfalls list, to visit in Nuwara Eliya is Ramboda Waterfall. It is 109 m high, one of the loveliest waterfalls in Sri Lanka. It is situated in the Pussellawa area, on the A5 highway at Ramboda Pass. You cannot miss it, as it locates alongside the main road. There are two waterfalls attached to the Ramboda Waterfall. The one you can see from the main road calls as Lower Ramboda Falls. It can easily access through the Ramboda Falls Hotel.
The upper Ramboda Falls is located around a 20-minute short hike up the mountain along a rough staircase. Although this part of the waterfall is trickier to reach, it is the most gorgeous part of Ramboda Falls. At the foot of the upper waterfall, there is a large pool where you can swim and a large rocky area where you can picnic. On weekdays there are very few people, so you can enjoy a peaceful time relaxing and swimming all day.
11. St. Clair’s Falls
This is a lovely waterfall located in Talawakele, close to Hatton-Nuwara Eliya main road. You’ll find it on the way to Nuwara Eliya; even it is visible from the road. The name St. Clair’s is derived from the nearby tea estate. St. Clair’s waterfall is so beautiful, that most people call it the ‘Little Niagara’, which is an undoubtedly worthy place to visit in Nuwara Eliya.
This fall is a cascading one, with two falls. The large one is 80 m high and 50 m wide, while the small one is 50 m high. It cascades over rocky outcrops into a large pool and then runs through the tea estate. Although the water volume of this fall has decreased significantly after starting the upper Kotmale hydropower project, it becomes beautiful in the rainy season.
12. Devon Falls
Devon falls is a 97 m high glorious cascading waterfall situated 6 km west of Talawakele. It is one of the most popular waterfalls in Nuwara Eliya, due to its clear view from the Hatton–Nuwara Eliya Road. The fall was named after a pioneer English coffee planter called Devon, who owned the plantation. Although you can view it clearly from the main road, it needs around a 1 km walk from the main road to get closer to the waterfall. There is a lower viewpoint, where you can get a glimpse of both Devon falls and St. Clair’s falls.
13. Aberdeen Falls
Aberdeen fall is a spectacular 98 m horsetail waterfall near Ginigathena, in Nuwara Eliya. It is definitely among the most picturesque waterfalls of the island, named after the nearby tea plantation, Aberdeen. You should walk about 1 km through the lush wilderness to discover the beauty of Aberdeen Falls. This waterfall is covered with large granite boulders behind.
It’s got a beautiful deep blue pool right at the bottom. Finding access to the pool requires climbing down some boulders, it needs to be careful that it might be slippery in the wet climate. Although it stays off the beaten path, it is one of the best waterfalls in Nuwara Eliya city.
14. Lovers Leap Falls
Lovers Leap is a 30m high, impressive waterfall located in Hawa Eliya, just a few kilometers from Nuwara Eliya city. The fall begins from the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, Pidurutalagala Mountain. It flows over hard granite edges and the water collected in a tank used for drinking. Although the Lovers Leap fall stays off the beaten track, you may combine the trip with visiting Pedro Tea Estate which is located closer to this waterfall.
Although this fall is a beautiful sight, there is tragic folklore related to the Lover’s leap Waterfall. An old legend says there was a prince who fell in love with a village girl and the royal family didn’t allow them to marry. The saddened lovers leaped to their deaths from this waterfall and hence it got the name Lovers Leap.
15. Dunsinane Falls
Dunsinane waterfall is also an off-the-beaten-path waterfall in Nuwara Eliya. It situates in Pundaluoya village, between the tea estates known as Dunsinane and Sheen. It creates by the river Pundalu Oya, a tributary of Kotmale Oya. This impressive 100 m high Dunsinane fall cascades in a spectacular sequence of steps before flowing to the Pundalu Oya.
This lovely waterfall looks majestic with the statues of gods. It flows in 2 segments bisected by the road bridge. The top segment falls over a wide rocky ledge creating a sheet of water falling a 30 m drop with stunning scenery for the visitors.
16. Horton Plains National Park
Horton Plains is the highest altitude national park in Sri Lanka, located at 2200 m above sea level. It is a key tourist attraction in the country, widely popular among both locals and foreigners. Horton Plains is a large beautiful plateau spread over a vast area.
The plateau comes to a sudden end with a sheer cliff of thousands of meters drop. This place calls as world’s end since it gives you a feeling that the world is ending here. From the cliff at World’s end, you can have a panoramic distant view of lower-lying plains, running until the southern coast of Sri Lanka on a clear day.
Horton Plains is one of the most breathtaking hiking trails in Sri Lanka. World’s End, Little World’s End and Bakers Falls are the famous and most visited places in Horton Plains. Little World’s end is a viewpoint with a smaller cliff than the main World’s End. The Bakers Fall is a lovely attraction you will find during this journey, located on a circular road 4 km away from the entrance.
17. Single Tree Hill
Singletree Hill is the best place to see amazing views of the Nuwara Eliya town and the surroundings. It offers fantastic aerial views of beautiful Nuwara Eliya city depending on the weather of the day. Singletree hill stands at 2100 m from sea level and rises 250 m above the Nuwara Eliya city. The trail is around 5 km, while it takes around 2 hours of leisurely hike to reach the summit.
It is the most panoramic vantage point in Nuwara Eliya, where you can immerse in the beauty of Nuwara Eliya and its surroundings. The views from the top of Singletree hill are unparalleled to any hiking trail in the country. As well as, the summit gives a panoramic view of the Hakgala, Pidurutalagala, Lake Gregory, Sri Pada, and Hatton areas. There is a Buddhist temple called, Swarnagiri Temple, in the middle of the path.
18. Seetha Amman Kovil
You will find several ancient religious places in Nuwara Eliya that have come to famous tourist attractions. Among them, Seetha Amman Temple is one of the most popular historical religious places in the city. It is located around 5 km from Nuwara Eliya in the village of Seetha Eliya.
This place is one of the best Ramayana sights in Sri Lanka and believed as the place where Seetha Devi was held captive by King Ravana. On the rock face across the stream, there are circular depressions call as the footprints of Hanuman. Seetha Amman temple is a unique, legendary temple with a history going back approximately 5000 years ago.
The temple is easy to reach since it is located very close to the Nuwara Eliya-Kandy road. It has built according to South Indian architecture. This temple is quite famous among Hindu devotees who come from all over the world.
19. Christ Church Warleigh
Christ Church Warleigh is an Anglican church in Sri Lanka built in 1878 by the British. It is one of the top historical churches in Sri Lanka that remained from the colonial period. located in Dickoya, on Hatton-Norwood Road. The church borders tea estates and the Castlereagh Reservoir in a lovely environment, which considers as the most scenic church in the hill country.
It was built in typical old British church architecture and the walls of the church were made from granite stones. The church interior has stained glass windows depicting the paintings of Jesus Christ, imported from England.
20. Nuwara Eliya Grand Hotel
Your visit to Nuwara Eliya won’t be completed without stepping into the luxurious Grand Hotel which is located in the center of Nuwara Eliya town. Although it was founded as early as 1891, it is well-maintained with excellent facilities and a beautiful garden. This epic colonial hotel has made completely British architecture with a lovely appearance.
It has a big green lawn with beautiful flower beds in the garden. There are beautiful blooms all along the walkways and garden, making a lovely and relaxing environment.
The high tea at the Grand Hotel is highly famous among visitors. It is one of the best tea experiences in Nuwara Eliya and you should try it for yourself. Sipping a Sri Lankan high-grown tea with delicious cakes and sandwiches in Grand Hotel will be a truly blessed moment in your Nuwara Eliya trip. Grand Hotel has not only the best high tea in the town but also the best restaurant according to customer reviews.
21. Nuwara Eliya Golf Club
Are you an avid golf player interested in playing golf? Then you’ll get the most excellent opportunity in Sri Lanka at Nuwara Eliya Golf Club. The picturesque Nuwara Eliya Golf Club is the best place to play golf while enjoying the spectacular scenery of the hill country. It is a pristine golf course located at the heart of Nuwara Eliya city.
Nuwara Eliya Golf Club is one of the oldest golf clubs in Asia, founded in 1889. Despite being located in the middle of a bustling town, the golf club offers a calm and serene environment with a great view for golf players. Apart from playing golf, you can enjoy horse riding here. This place is a must-visit destination for golf lovers, as you would love to spend hours there playing in the beautiful surroundings.
Accommodation in Nuwara Eliya
For those who are vacationing in Nuwara Eliya, there are a number of holiday resorts that are perfect for relaxing and unwinding in a cool climate.
To sum up, Nuwara Eliya or Sri Lanka’s Little England is an unmissable destination in the country. Walk around the colonial downtown and gardens filled with flowers enjoying the views. The fine weather and cool climate will give the feeling of being in spring forever. If you like to see the spring festival, visit there in April. Since this is the busiest time in Nuwara Eliya, the best times to visit the city are the months of February/March or August/ September. Welcome to the lovely Nuwara Eliya city and have the best holiday ever in Sri Lanka.!
Text by Magnificent Sri Lanka. Images from Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay, Grand Hotel, Flicker, and Lakpura.lk. All copyrights reserved by original authors.
Wow. Excellent again! Thanks
Thank you very much Lisa.! I really appreciate your support.