Haputale

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We left Ella and caught the train to Haputale. It was only a 10km ride but we were in the observation carriage and it was a lovely view out the huge back window of the train, through the tea plantations and around the hills. From Haputale we jumped on the local bus to go to the Dambatenne Tea Factory. It is 11km out of Haputale and the rough road clings to the hills as it weaves around and passes through all the tea estates. Tea plants are grown as far as the eye can see. When we got to the factory, they were not giving any tours that day so we wandered around the estate and spoke to a couple of the tea pickers. The Tamil tea pickers, who are mainly women, move through the bushes, which are pruned to about 1m in height, and pluck the leaves and buds. They have to pick at least 20kg a day and are only paid a megre US$3 per day. The housing on the estate was seriously substandard and they work long hours in the heat of the day with no shade. Despite these conditions, they were all very friendly and enjoyed having their photo taken.

We caught a taxi at 5am with our new friend Wolfgang from Austria to go to Horton Plains National Park. We arrived there at 6.30am just as the sun was rising. It is hard to believe that we are in Sri Lanka, the landscape could be NZ. The plains form an undulating plateau at 2000m and is covered with patches of thick forest, grasslands, lakes, mountains and waterfalls. We first walked to Mini World's End, then to World's End itself followed by Baker's Falls. In total it was about a 10km walk. It was a beautiful view at World's End where the plateau comes to a sudden end and the escarpment drops plunge 880m. From here you can see down the valley and a great view out to the south coast. Unfortunately we did not spot any leopards!

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