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Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya is the heart of Sri Lanka' tea country. The highest town in all of Sri Lanka at 6,187 feet (1,886 meters) above sea level, Nuwara Eliya is nicknamed "Little England" and was planned from scratch by the British in the 1840s as a hill station, or holiday town, after they discovered this small basin, surrounded by mountains, with a cool climate afforded by its high elevation. The driving force in its founding was Samuel Baker, a British explorer who also discovered the source of Africa's Nile River.

EXPERIENCES

Billiards Lesson

Have a private billiards lesson on one of the Grand Hotel's three enormous tables with the property's resident marker (of 21 years) and an expert with the pool cue.

Hill Club

Have dinner at the members-only Hill Club, which is like stepping back in time into a 19th-century exclusive British country club. Before dinner, enjoy cocktails and a game of billiards, or perhaps learn the rules of Rangoon Snicker posted on the recreation room wall.

Horton Plains National Park

Take a day trip to Horton Plains National Park and spend the day trekking in the nearly 20-square mile preserve. The most beautiful nature park in all of Sri Lanka, Horton Plains offers breathtaking landscapes and is home to a host of indigenous Sri Lankan wildlife: leopards, the hulking Sambar deer – the male of which can weigh nearly 600 pounds – the purple-faced Langur monkey, wild boar, and many endemic species of Sri Lankan highland birds. Must-see sights in Horton Plains include “World’s End,” a sheer precipice that drops more than 3,000 feet, and the scenic Baker's Falls.

Nuwara Eliya Golf Club

Play golf on one of Asia’s most picturesque courses. Founded in 1889, the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club, adjacent to the Grand Hotel, offers a challenging 18 holes with narrow fairways that demand one’s best driving.

Seetha Amman Temple

Take a day trip to the outskirts of Nuwara Eliya and visit the Seetha Amman Temple, an important temple connected with the Hindu epic Ramayana. Have a private blessing for long life and prosperity with the temple’s chief priest, a ceremony that lasts approximately one hour, and is accompanied by traditional Hindu music typically played in temples, at weddings, and during other cultural events.

Tea Plantation Tour

Visit one of Sri Lanka’s foremost tea estates, which was founded in 1841 and features 1,200 acres of high-grown tea cultivated at nearly 5,000 feet above sea level. Have a private tour of the tea fields and processing factory, meeting pickers and chatting with them about their lives and work.

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