As the route: Kandy (Gateway to central highlands), Nuwara Eliya
(Highlands resort), Bandarawela (Colonial retreat), and Ella (Paradise
village)
Sri Lanka's Central highlands rise prominently amidst the country's
richly-varied landscape. Only a few hours from the coast, here is a land
of rushing waterfalls, plunging ravines and tea estates clinging
precariously to steep hillsides. The highlands offer excellent walking
country and a natural setting for activity holidays & adventure. The
cooler climate here is a welcome contrast to the heat of
Colombo and the coast.
Central highlands have a huge
selection of accommodation in all price ranges. Highlands are replete
with excellent eco friendly old style hotels too.
Kandy the Royal City
Hunas Falls, Elkaduwa, Kandy
This hotel is located & designed with a strong ecotourism focus. A
comfortable modern hotel set in a wonderfully rural location up against
the flanks of the
Knuckles Range
& walks are led by an expert residential guide.
Amaya Hills (formerly known as Le Kandyan Hotel), Kandy (An Amaya
resort )
Amaya Hills is located on a grassy slope high in the hills with
superlative views over the surrounding hills. The concept of the hotel
is based on traditional Kandyan palace. 105 very comfortable air-con
rooms are decorated with Kandyan architecture. Inviting swimming pool
with superb views, breakfast on the terrace & well equipped Ayurvedic
center among other facilities serves to your heart's content.
Helga's Folly, Kandy
Utterly maverick & magical place, set high above
Kandy in the palatial
former home of Sinhalese Independence hero George E. De Silva - former
house guests have included Gandhi, Nehru & Laurence Olivier. The
extraordinary interior is riot of colourful invention, with each room
decorated in a different theme and colour, from eye-popping yellow lounge,
with petrified dripping candles, deer heads, Indonesian puppets, and
colonial photos, to the individual bedrooms, each with a unique design
featuring any combination of wacky murals, colonial furniture & unusual
objects of art. The overall effect is entirely quirky & captivating.
Dickoya
Ceylon Tea Trails, Bogawantalawa
Great setting, unbelievably good food & excellent service. Nestled
amidst the seamless tea draped hill, at an altitude of 4000 ft above the
sea level are four luxurious bungalows. These tea planter's bungalows
were luxuriously upgraded & tastefully refurbished to offer the highest
standard of old world luxury. We can land in sea plans in a nearby
reservoir, get away from the demands & torments of daily hustle bustle,
set our own pace for long retreat & unwind in the beautiful gardens.
Full-board.
4 bungalows; Castlereagh, Norwood, Tientsin & Summerville.
Haputale
Kelbourne Cottages, Haputale
Spectacular views. Provide you with superb place to unwind. Kelbourne
"Mountain View" Cottages, which date from the turn of the 19th/20th
century, are three sought-after bungalows perched on a lush escarpment,
near the hill settlement of
Haputale. The Southern Highlands landscape
stirs your senses.
Nuwara Eliya
Set on the slopes of the tea plantation at an altitude of 2000m, this
spectacular five-star hotel was created out of the old Hethersett Estate
Tea Factory, which closed in the 1970s & reopened in 1996. The Tea
factory's original exterior has been completely preserved, with
corrugated-iron walls & green windows & it's not until you step inside
the stunning interior atrium that you realize the place isn't a working
factory at all, although there's still plenty of old machinery still in
good condition lying around, giving the place a look which is at once
industrial & futuristic. Rooms are stylish & extremely comfortable, with
stunning views to all sides, & there are numerous facilities including a
nine-hole putting green, sauna, massage center & gym. The beautiful
surrounding tea estates are good for walking. The resident naturalist
lead you on bird watching walks in nearby "cloud forest" & trips to
Horton Plains National Park & other nearby attractions.
Hill Club, Nuwara Eliya
Founded in 1876, this baronial-looking stone & half-timbered structure
is Sri Lanka's most famous exercise in nostalgia right down to the comfy
lounge, musty billiards room & reading room with battered leather
furniture, stuffed stags' head & dog eared books, lit up with a fire
every morning. Misogynists can retire to the cosy, pub-style men-only
bar (there's also mixed bar). Rooms are characterful & homely, with
creaky wooden floors & dark wood furniture.
St. Andrew's Hotel, Nuwara Eliya
This stately Tudor-style colonial mansion was built in the latter part
of the 19th century. It overlooks a swathe of immaculate lawn & the golf
course, this serenely colonial style hotel is the smartest place in
town, its oak-paneled bar & dining room & gorgeous lounge retaining a
delightful Edwardian ambience. Rooms in the old wing (all twins) are
characterful & pleasantly old-fashioned; those in the new wing are
brighter & more modern, though less atmospheric. There's an excellent
restaurant, while guests have free use of the resident naturalist.
Grand Hotel, Nuwara Eliya
The Grand Hotel is the focal point of
Nuwara Eliya, the largest and most
popular town in the
Central highlands. Once the 19th century residence
of a British governor, this Grand Old Dame of the Highlands seeks to
attune its regular stream of package tourists to its sense of unhurried,
old-time grandeur.
The Hill Club, Nuwara Eliya
Britain's imperial age pervades every part of the Hill Club, from its
green, manicured lawns to its men-only bar, log fires and its insistence
that gentlemen wear jacket and tie for dinner. There has been a certain
refurbishing of facilities and approach to suit the modern age, but do
not look to change it. Value it as living history or look elsewhere.
Bandarawela Hotel, Banadrawela
This gorgeous old hotel is set in a planters' clubhouse of 1893. The
personable rambling wooden structure is brimful of charm, while stylish
rooms combine colonial atmosphere with modern comfort, with polished
wooden floorboards, colonial fittings & quaint old metal bedsteads.
Courtyard garden is home to few tortoises.
Ella
Ambiente, Ella
The most spectacularly located guest house at the paradise village,
Ella. It sits pretty on a ridge high above the village of Ella in the
Central highlands, a stirring land of lush tea plantations, majestic
peaks and rushing waterfalls. Excellent food, relaxed gentle ambience.
Guest house owner's pet dogs are excellent guides & will lead you to the
surroundings, Little Adam's peak, Ella Rock & Rawana Falls.
Hotel Country Comfort, Ella
This converted colonial-style cottage lies close to Ella railway station
in a breathtaking terrain of lush tea plantations, majestic peaks and
rushing waterfalls.
