Taking the Train to Tea Plantations in Sri Lanka

Choo Choo! It was time to take the train north to tea country. We nestled into our seats and spent the next three hours looking out the window at all the rolling hills, waterfalls, and tea plantations. Danny was able to take a few great landscape shots with his camera. As we climbed slowly and steadily up the mountains to Nanu Oya, we relaxed to the sway of the boxcar.

We arrived at Goatfell Hotel late-afternoon and went out to explore the grounds.  The view from the infinity pool was out of this world: that alone is worth a trip to Sri Lanka. Seeing the sunset over the Goatfell grounds is breathtaking. While cozying up to the crackling fireplace, we were surrounded by terraces and terraces of tea trees.

As we met with Salinda, our guide for the day, he explained to us step-by-step how tea is grown, picked, and processed. Meandered through the tea trees, I had no idea the amount of labor that went into making that perfect cup of tea. Even though Salinda had retired from the tea industry, you could tell he never lost his passion for tea and the people who produce it.

We didn’t know that “all teas come from the same plant” that the different types of tea differ on when they are harvested and how they were processed. After some hard decisions on which teas to bring home, we made our final choices, packed up to settle down at the Dutch House for the evening.

As we pulled up the long and winding driveway, the Dutch House came into view and it was truly an idyllic storybook cottage. The house butler made quick work of settling us in. With the house to ourselves, we roamed the rooms and played with Conor in the game room. It was nice to have all that space and we felt right at home.Our next leg on the journey will take us to Yala National Park: it considered one of the best places to go on safari in Sri Lanka. If you have any questions about seeing the tea plantations of Sri Lanka, please contact us at [email protected].