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Nuwara Eliya is located in the heart of Sri Lankan hill country. Home to the famous Ceylon tea, it has many plantations, interspersed with streams and waterfalls, writes
D.B.N. Murthy
There is magic in the fresh cool air. The fragrant smell of tea and spices permeates the air coming from the nearby tea estates. After hot-and-steamy Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, ‘A garden city’ as the Sri Lankans proudly call it, seems like a haven of peace and tranquillity. But this is not surprising as it is located 1890 metres above sea level and compared to the Capital Colombo it has little traffic. Nuwara Eliya is situated 180 km away from the capital. As one walks along the streets, one can easily saunter out of the town and enjoy the verdant forests and the green carpet-like tea estate, which adorn the neighbouring hills. “No loitering,” a notice board put on the golf course need not deter one from walking on the well-trodden path through the golf course to the other side of the town. A little stream gurgles as one takes a leisurely walk on the mountainside. There is a small waterfall, too, but it requires a long walk. However, it is not advisable to venture far into the Pidurutalagala Forest Reserve, as one might get lost in the wilderness. Some of the residential areas of the town look like English countryside. That’s exactly what the British intended and wanted when they colonised Sri Lanka (Ceylon as it was known then). There are colonial houses built in Georgian or Queen Anne style. Most of these have been preserved with little additions or deletions to the original structure. Some of the houses have well maintained lawns with the neatly trimmed hedges. Sri Lankans still retain some of the old names of streets like – Lady Macallum’s Drive, Glenfall Road, Longdon Road, Havelock Drive and so on. The lake is called Lake Gregory. The beautiful residence located on a gentle slope, amidst trees, is an ideal place for the President of the nation to enjoy peace and tranquillity among nature. He visits this town when it gets hot in Colombo or whenever he wants to relax and unwind. Obviously, due to security concerns, visitors do not have access to this magnificent residence, with its lovely gardens. The air at Nuwara Eliya owes its cleanliness to its citizens, as they are conscious of the need to keep it clean. A small step in this direction is the monitoring of air quality at the city bus-station from 11 am to noon. To maintain the overall cleanliness in the town different-coloured garbage bins are provided for dumping paper, plastic and general waste. But the bazaar has open drains, which makes life difficult with flies and bad smell. The bus station, too, is quite noisy, crowded and full of smoke of buses, about to set off to various destinations, especially in the morning and hence avoidable. Sri Lankans care and respect their clergy (monks) and senior citizens and show it by reserving a few seats for them in the front rows of state-run buses. There are many eateries in and around the main bazaar a few metres away from the bus-station. Vegetarians have a limited choice of food while the non-vegetarians have a wide choice, including seafood. One can even have masala dosa, idli and vada in the vegetarian restaurants run by Tamilians. Hotel accommodation tends to be a tad expensive with the hotels, guesthouses located on the outskirts of the town. Nuwara Eliya has a number of vihars, temples, mosques, and churches, indicating the multi-religious nature of the population. The presence of a large number of people of Tamil origin is an indication of their work connected with the many tea estates in this part of the country. Victoria Park is a small but beautiful park having many lawns, flowering plants, ponds and many big trees. This park, located in the town, has completed 100 years of its existence. A small fee is charged for entrance to the park. A pine tree planted in 1915 is still flourishing. The park has a play area for the children. There is Japanese rose garden, which is small though eye-catching. Victoria Park is an attractive and well-used oasis. It is popular with birdwatchers at quieter times because of the good opportunities it gives to see various species, particularly the Indian Blue Robin, Pied Thrush or Scaly Thrush lurking in the denser undergrowth. Kashmir Flycatcher is another attractive bird species found in the park. This small town also has a boat club, golf club and a turf club. These are reminders of how the Britishers had made themselves comfortable, a home away from home. The town is a base for visits to Horton Plains National Park. This is a key wildlife area of open grassy woodland. Species found here include leopard, sambar and the endemic purple-faced langur. Endemic highland birds include Dull-blue Flycatcher, Sri Lanka White-Eye, and yellow-eared bulbul. The Horton Plains is the island’s highest and most isolated plateau. The trek takes one through grasslands, which harbour many species of birds and some wild animals. The adventurers can have a field day in trekking on the bridle path that leads to the precipice known as “the World’s End”, a sheer drop of 1050 metres. One of the distinctive features of Nuwara Eliya’s countryside is the widespread growing of vegetables, fruit and flowers usually associated with temperate Europe. ‘Little England’ has a somewhat incongruous conjunction of terraces growing leeks, beetroot and roses, interspersed with tea bushes on the steeper slopes. The slow-growing tea bushes of this highland region produce some of the world’s finest Orange Pekoe tea, and several tea plantations around Nuwara Eliya offer guided tours and the opportunity to sample or purchase their products. Since Lanka is also famous for its spices it is recommended to buy spices like cardamom and pepper from there. After all, Sri Lanka is known as “Spice Island” too.
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