Sri Lanka: Walking the Pekoe Trail through Tea Country

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Colombo

   Bandaranaike International Airport to Colombo, about 35 km

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Colombo
   Détail du jour 1

   Your trip starts at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) at Katunayake, about 35 km north of Colombo. A driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the drive of about an hour, mostly on the airport expressway, to your hotel in Colombo. Long-haul flights land at all hours, so nothing is planned before the evening: sleep, swim, or walk to Viharamahadevi Park and the Colombo Public Library under its old rain trees, or along Galle Face Green, where families fly kites by the sea at sunset. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the walks ahead, with every stage length, drive time and early start spelled out, and a kit check for shoes and rain gear. Then we sit down together for a welcome dinner of rice and curry, hoppers and seafood at a local restaurant.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)
   • Welcome briefing and kit check with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Jour 2 : Kelaniya and up to Kandy

   Colombo to Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, then Kandy, about 120 km

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kandy
   Détail du jour 2

   We leave at about 8 am and stop first at Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, about 10 km out of the city on the Kelani River, one of the most revered Buddhist temples near Colombo. Its image house is painted with twentieth-century murals by Solias Mendis telling the life of the Buddha and the story of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and in the early morning it is full of families bringing flowers. Then we head inland and uphill, about three hours to Kandy, with a coffee stop on the way and a sit-down rice and curry lunch on arrival. Kandy, at about 500 metres, was the last royal capital until 1815 and its centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a rest at the hotel we walk to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the late afternoon and stay for the evening ceremony of drums and offerings. The rest of the evening is free by Kandy Lake.

   Compris

   • Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara
   • Sit-down lunch in Kandy
   • Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, with the evening ceremony

   Option plus facile : Watch the drummers from the hall below instead of joining the queue upstairs past the relic chamber, or rest at the hotel.

   Temps libre : Evening free after the ceremony

   Activité : Light clothing that covers shoulders and knees for both temples; shoes off at the door.

   

3. Jour 3 : Pekoe Trail stage 1: Hanthana to Galaha

   Kandy to the Ceylon Tea Museum at Hanthana, on foot to Galaha, back to Kandy

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kandy
   Détail du jour 3

   The Pekoe Trail starts on the hills just south of Kandy, and so do we. A short drive takes us to the Ceylon Tea Museum, set in the old Hantane tea factory of 1925, where machines that rolled and dried the leaf a century ago still stand on the factory floors. Then we walk. Stage 1 follows quiet estate roads and paths through the Hanthana estate, among the older tea gardens in the country, with shade trees over the bushes and views back down to Kandy. Further on the trail passes through small villages and line houses where estate families live, and drops toward Galaha. Expect about 5 hours on foot with breaks, mostly downhill or level after the first climb, and a picnic lunch on the way. Our vehicle meets us at Galaha for the drive of about 45 minutes back to Kandy, where the evening is free: the lake loop, the market, or a cultural dance show.

   Compris

   • Ceylon Tea Museum at Hanthana
   • Pekoe Trail stage 1, Hanthana to Galaha, with a local trail guide
   • Picnic lunch on the trail

   Activités en option

   • Kandyan dance show in the evening (paid locally)

   Option plus facile : Visit the museum, walk the first estate section through Hanthana, about 2 hours, then ride the vehicle to Galaha.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Kandy

   Activité : About 5 hours on foot; a climb at the start, then mostly level and downhill. The museum is reported closed on Mondays and Poya days, and we plan the day around it.

4. Jour 4 : Into the hills to Hatton

   Kandy to Hatton via Gampola and Nawalapitiya, about 80 km

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Hatton
   Détail du jour 4

   A slower day to let the legs recover. We leave Kandy at about 9 am and climb south-west through Gampola and Nawalapitiya along the Mahaweli valley, then up into tea country, about three hours with stops. The road winds through estates where tea pickers work the slopes, past waterfalls that run hardest after rain, and we stop at viewpoints rather than at shops. Lunch is a sit-down rice and curry in Hatton, the market town of the Dickoya and Bogawantalawa tea districts at about 1,270 metres, cool enough for a jacket in the evening. The afternoon is free at the hotel, or take a short walk with your guide through the town and its busy market. Hatton's hotels and estate bungalows are spread out and restaurants are few, so dinner tonight and tomorrow is at the hotel. On January to April departures your guide also briefs anyone who wants to climb Adam's Peak.

   Compris

   • Drive into tea country with viewpoint stops
   • Sit-down lunch in Hatton
   • Short town walk with your guide
   • Dinner at the hotel

   Temps libre : Afternoon free

5. Jour 5 : Pekoe Trail stage 7: Kotagala to Norwood

   Hatton to Kotagala, on foot to Norwood, back to Hatton

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Hatton
   Détail du jour 5

   A short drive takes us to Kotagala to start stage 7 of the Pekoe Trail, a classic tea-country day of about 5 hours. The trail climbs out of the valley on estate paths, past the old Chrysler's Farm tea factory with its blue roof, then up into the hills for views over Hatton and the Dickoya valley. On a clear morning you can see the cone of Adam's Peak on the skyline to the south-west. Tea pickers work the slopes with baskets on their backs from early morning, and the path drops past line houses and Hindu kovils to Singamalai Lake, the reservoir that supplies Hatton. We finish near Norwood with a rice and curry lunch at a tea estate bungalow, then the vehicle takes us back to the hotel by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is free, and dinner is at the hotel.

   Compris

   • Pekoe Trail stage 7, Kotagala to Norwood, with a local trail guide
   • Rice and curry lunch at a tea estate bungalow
   • Dinner at the hotel

   Activités en option

   • Adam's Peak night ascent with a local guide, January to April departures only: leaves about 1:30 am on day 6, summit for sunrise, back by late morning (guide and transfer cost confirmed at booking)

   Option plus facile : Walk the first hour to the viewpoints over Hatton, then ride the vehicle to lunch.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free

   Activité : About 5 hours on foot with a steady climb in the first half. Adam's Peak is more than 5,000 steps to 2,243 metres, 3 to 4 hours up in the dark; climbers ride to Nuwara Eliya on day 6 instead of walking.

6. Jour 6 : Pekoe Trail stage 6 and on to Nuwara Eliya

   Hatton to Kotagala, on foot to Watagoda past St Clair's Falls, then Nuwara Eliya

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Nuwara Eliya
   Détail du jour 6

   Stage 6 links Kotagala and Watagoda, and we walk it eastward so it ends on the road to Nuwara Eliya. From Kotagala the trail follows estate roads and village paths along the valley, past a large banyan tree by a stream and through Holyrood estate. The highlight is St Clair's Falls, a broad twin cascade dropping through the tea, seen from the trail rather than the crowded roadside lay-by. Expect about 4 to 5 hours on foot, with lunch on the way. At Watagoda railway station the vehicle meets us for the drive of about an hour through Nanu Oya and up to Nuwara Eliya, the old hill station at about 1,870 metres, with its red-brick post office, racecourse and Gregory Lake. It is cold here at night. The evening is free, and anyone who climbed Adam's Peak in the night rides straight to the hotel for a long rest.

   Compris

   • Pekoe Trail stage 6, Kotagala to Watagoda, with a local trail guide
   • St Clair's Falls from the trail
   • Lunch on the way

   Option plus facile : Ride the vehicle to the St Clair's Falls viewpoint and walk the last section to Watagoda, about 1.5 hours.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Nuwara Eliya

   Activité : About 4 to 5 hours on foot, rolling with no long climbs. Adam's Peak climbers skip the walk and go straight to Nuwara Eliya.

   

7. Jour 7 : Horton Plains at dawn, then Haputale

   Nuwara Eliya to Horton Plains National Park, World's End on foot, then Haputale via Ohiya

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Haputale
   Détail du jour 7

   We leave at about 5 am with a packed breakfast to be at the Horton Plains gate when it opens at 6 am. The plateau, at about 2,100 metres, is part of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka World Heritage Site: open grassland, cloud forest and stunted trees hung with moss, often frosty at dawn in the dry months. The loop walk is about 9.5 km and 3 to 4 hours, out to World's End, where the escarpment drops roughly 870 metres to the tea estates below, and back by Baker's Falls. Cloud usually fills the view by mid-morning, which is why we go early. Sambar deer graze near the entrance. Then we drive down through Ohiya and the Boralanda valley to Haputale, about two hours, for a sit-down lunch. Haputale sits on a ridge at about 1,430 metres with views to both sides, home for two nights, and the afternoon is free.

   Compris

   • Horton Plains National Park at opening, with entry
   • World's End and Baker's Falls loop with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Haputale

   Option plus facile : Walk to Little World's End and back, about 2 hours, and wait at the visitor centre.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Haputale

   Activité : About 9.5 km on rocky paths with gentle climbs; dawn is cold, so bring a warm layer and gloves. Plastic bags are checked at the gate.

   

8. Jour 8 : Lipton's Seat on foot

   Haputale to Dambatenne, on foot to Lipton's Seat and back

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Haputale
   Détail du jour 8

   Lipton's Seat is the ridge above the Dambatenne estate where, the story goes, Thomas Lipton sat to look over the tea he bought here in the 1890s. We drive about 30 minutes from Haputale to the Dambatenne factory at about 6:30 am and walk up the estate road and paths through the tea, about 7 km and 2 to 2.5 hours, climbing to around 1,970 metres. Pickers start work as we go, and on a clear morning the view at the top runs across the Uva hills and down to the southern plains; by late morning it is usually in cloud. Tea and roti from the stalls at the top, then we walk back down a different path to Dambatenne for a guided visit of the factory, built by Lipton, to see the leaf withered, rolled and dried. Lunch is back in Haputale, and the afternoon is free.

   Compris

   • Walk from Dambatenne to Lipton's Seat and back, with a local trail guide
   • Lipton's Seat entry
   • Dambatenne tea factory visit
   • Sit-down lunch in Haputale

   Activités en option

   • Adisham Bungalow, the stone monastery outside Haputale, in the afternoon (open on set days, paid locally)

   Option plus facile : Ride the vehicle up to Lipton's Seat for the view and walk down through the tea, about 1.5 hours.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free

   Activité : About 14 km in all, 4 to 5 hours, with a steady climb of about 500 metres; down on estate paths that can be slippery after rain.

   

9. Jour 9 : Train to Demodara, walk to Ella

   Haputale to Demodara by train, Pekoe Trail stage 16 on foot to Ella, then Little Adam's Peak

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Ella
   Détail du jour 9

   After breakfast we take the hill train from Haputale with reserved seats, about an hour to an hour and a half through Bandarawela and down to Demodara, where the line loops under itself in a spiral. From Demodara we walk stage 16 of the Pekoe Trail, one of the shortest, about 3 hours, on village paths and through tea to the Nine Arch Bridge, the 1921 viaduct of stone and brick curving across a forested ravine. Your guide knows the train times, so you can watch one cross from the path above. The trail goes on through the Ella Forest Reserve into Ella for a sit-down lunch. After a rest, we walk up Little Adam's Peak in the late afternoon, about 45 minutes through tea to a grassy ridge, for the light falling across the Ella Gap. Tonight is the farewell dinner, the last evening together.

   Compris

   • Reserved seats on the train from Haputale to Demodara
   • Pekoe Trail stage 16, Demodara to Ella, past the Nine Arch Bridge
   • Sit-down lunch in Ella
   • Little Adam's Peak in the late afternoon
   • Farewell dinner

   Activités en option

   • Ayurvedic massage (paid locally)

   Option plus facile : Skip Little Adam's Peak and take a tuk-tuk to the cafe viewpoints above the Ella Gap.

   Temps libre : Early afternoon free in Ella

   Activité : About 3 hours on foot, then 1.5 hours return for Little Adam's Peak. Stay back from the bridge edge and off the track; there are no railings. The train runs on a post-cyclone timetable confirmed with your itinerary, and if it is cancelled the vehicle drives you to Demodara.

10. Jour 10 : Down from the hills to Colombo

    Ella to Bandaranaike International Airport or Colombo via Wellawaya and the Southern Expressway, about 290 km

    • Environ 6 h de route
    • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
    Détail du jour 10

    The last day is the long one. We leave Ella at about 7:30 am, drop through the Ella Gap past Ravana Falls to Wellawaya, then cross the southern lowlands to join the Southern Expressway for the run north to Colombo, about 290 km and six hours of driving. That is well over our four-hour cap. There is no shorter road out of the hills, and the train is not an option while the Kandy to Nanu Oya line is closed after the cyclone, so we break the day with a coffee stop, a sit-down lunch and a stretch stop. We aim to reach Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) by about 3 pm. Book a flight leaving after about 8 pm; many long-haul flights leave late in the evening. If you are staying on, we drop you at a Colombo hotel instead, and we can add a night in Colombo or Negombo before you fly.

    Compris

    • Ravana Falls on the way down
    • Sit-down lunch on the way
    • Drop-off at Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) or a Colombo hotel

    Activités en option

    • An extra night in Colombo or Negombo (priced at booking)

    Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 8 pm; exact timings come with your final itinerary.

Faune et météo : January to April is the dry season on the western side of the hills around Hatton and Adam's Peak, with clear mornings and cool nights; it is also the Adam's Peak pilgrimage season. July to September is the south-west monsoon: expect showers and mist around Hatton and Horton Plains, while Haputale and Ella, on the Uva side in the rain shadow, are usually drier and windy. Mornings are clearest in every month, which is why the high walks start early. Horton Plains has sambar deer and endemic birds; leeches are common on wet trails.

• Colombo1 nuit
• Kandy2 nuits
• Hatton2 nuits
• Nuwara Eliya1 nuit
• Haputale2 nuits
• Ella1 nuit