RTW Day 74 - Nuwara Eliya

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A day to explore Nuwara Eliya. By the time we finish breakfast it’s 9 am and a blissfully cool 20 degrees. We walk to the tea plantation at the end of the road; Pedro. They have been producing tea here since 1885. We are spotted by two dogs, who decide to accompany us.

We take a guided tour of the tea factory. There’s no production taking place because it’s a full moon, but we are shown the process, finishing with a cup of homegrown tea.

We continue to Lovers Leap waterfall. We take a wrong turn (thanks to Google Maps) so it is a longer, significantly steeper walk than it should be. But it is a Sri Lankan holiday so we meet some very friendly locals along the way.

In the afternoon we take a Tuk Tuk into town and have lunch at Indian Summer; a restaurant overlooking Lake Gregory. The food is very good. Trip advisor reviews complain about the small portions and the restaurant seems to have taken this to heart as they produce a mountain of food. Even the old man has to admit defeat and leave some uneaten.

We walk back along the lake towards town. It’s heaving with people walking, picnicking, taking boat rides. There’s a carnival atmosphere with stalls and pony rides and bouncy castles and ice cream Tuk Tuks.

We decide to take a Tuk Tuk back to our hotel. After consulting a friend, the driver claims he knows where he’s going and sets off in the wrong direction. The old man insists he must know a shortcut – I’m convinced he’s lost. 15 minutes of white knuckle driving later, he flags down another Tuk Tuk and asks the driver for directions. He doesn’t know either. The old man hands him my iPhone, he passes it to his passenger and drives off. Luckily, this was an accident and they bring it back. We retrace our route for another 15 minutes of crazy driving, then he flags down another Tuk Tuk driver who knows where to go. There is an exchange of views (mainly mine) and we transfer to the other vehicle and make it back to our hotel in one piece, if a little stressed.

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