Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya (City of Lights) is a resort city in the Central Mountain Range of Sri Lanka. Blessed a with salubrious climate, breathtaking views of valleys, meadows, mountains and greenery; it’s hard to imagine that Nuwara Eliya is only 180 Km from the hot and humid Colombo.Nuwara Eliya, also known as ‘Little’ England’, was the favorite hill station of the British who tried to create the resort into a typical English Village. The old brick Post office, country house like hill club, with its hunting pictures, mounted hunting trophies and fish, and it’s strict formal dinner attire; the 18 hole golf course, race course etc., evoke nostalgia of Colonial British Ceylon.

Lake Gregory is a picturesque, man-made Lake nestled at the bottom of small hills, bordering the town of Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka’s mountainous, tea-growing region. A visit or tour of Nuwara Eliya would not be complete without a visit to this scenic lake, with perhaps a boat ride or a walk along its shores. Originally a swamp and bog that was described by early residents as an “eye sore”, Lake Gregory was created by diverting the waters of the Thalagala stream which flows from the nearby Piduruthalagala mountain range.

The nearby town of Nuwara Eliya was “founded” by explorer Samuel Baker in 1846 and became a popular holiday spot for British colonials who wanted to get away from the sweltering heat of coastal cities and into the cool climes of the mountains. As the small town grew and expanded, the Governor of the time, Sir William Gregory, decided that electricity had to be introduced to the town and the Lake was originally created to generate much-needed electricity for the rapidly developing town.

Lake Gregory was fashioned under orders of British Governor Sir William Gregory in 1873. The water from the lake is directed to a place named “Blackpool” in Nuwara Eliya using a tunnel, and is used to generate electricity for the town even today. Lake Gregory also serves as an important catchment area for rainwater and mountain stream runoff, preventing flooding of the Nuwara Eliya town suburbs.

One of the benefits of the lake that was not foreseen by Governor Gregory was the recreational space it provided for the colonial holiday makers. Soon, boat rides on the lake became a favoured afternoon activity, a prelude to a picnic tea on the shores of the lake. Horse riding and pony rides for small children also became a popular activity on the shores of the Lake. It became a society icon, with “lake parties” becoming a trendy activity, and a walk to the lake from the racecourse was considered an invigorating activity for the energetic young people of the day. Of course, the muddy shores of the lake ensured that its popularity reigned with the ladies only during the warm, dry months of the year. The die-hard fishing and horse riding males, however, continued to use the lake year-round.

Lake Gregory continues to be a popular place for water-based activities including boat rides, sculling, fishing and paddle boating. Pony rides are still available for children, continuing the tradition started decades ago. Recent developments in the area have resulted in paved walkways being built along the lake, ensuring a comfortable walk as well as seating areas in scenic sites along the shoreline. Lake Gregory is also the landing site for the Air Taxis which fly into Nuwara Eliya from Colombo and Kandy.

The Hakgala Botanical Gardens is the second largest botanic garden in Sri Lanka and is located in a scenic part of Nuwara Eliya along the Badulla Road. Steeped in legend, often cloaked in a soft mist and always filled with colour and fragrance is the Hakgala Botanical Gardens, located around 10kms southeast of Nuwara Eliya. Tours to the gardens are a popular activity if holidaying in Nuwara Eliya, and while the Gardens are open year-round, the best time to visit and enjoy the beautiful blooms are from April to August, during the relatively dry and warmer period of year.

The Hakgala Botanical Garden span around 27 hectares and are built in a series of terraces, with natural streams flowing through it in several places. The Garden was originally created in 1861 by the British Colonial government under the curatorship of three British of the same name – William Nock, JK Nock and JJ Nock. to grow Cinchona – from which the anti-malaria medicine Quinine was extracted. Thereafter, as tea came to be a commercial crop in the mountainous region, the Gardens became an experimental tea growing area. In 1884 it began life as a Botanical Garden with a wide-ranging and systematic gathering of sub tropical and alpine plants from across the Commonwealth as well as experiments in acclimatising temperate-zone plants to a tropical climate.

Take a tour of the Gardens and be amazed at the variety of plants, estimated at over 10,000 different species. Here you will find a range of conifers and cedar trees from Australia, Bermuda and Japan; Cypress varieties from the Himalayas, China, Mexico and some pine trees from New Caledonia and the Canary Islands. Among the other famous trees in the Garden, there are a group of English Oak trees, introduced to the Garden in 1890 to commemorate the “Heart of Oak” official marching music of the Royal Navy. Among the successful adaptations of temperate trees to this sub tropical climate is a Camphor tree, which usually only grows at elevations of 12,000m.

Ancient mythology has a unique story as to its creation, from the epic tale the Ramayana. Hanuman, the monkey god, was sent to the Himalayas by Rama to bring back a specific medicinal herb. But he forgot what he was looking for, and decided to bring back a big chunk of the Himalayas, caught up in his jaw. The Gardens today rest at the foot of this huge rock called Hakgala (jaw-rock) which towers over the gardens and the surrounding Hakgala Nature Reserve.

Laxapana is one of Sri Lanka’s most famous waterfalls, and perhaps the one that has proven the most useful in terms of generating power to the country, the Lakshapana waterfall is located in Nuwara Eliya district in the country’s mountainous region.The Laxapana Falls falls are 129m high and rise from the Laxapana estate and plunges into the Maskeliya Oya via Maoussakelle. The waters of this mountainous river are fast moving, rushing over huge boulders and rocks, gurgling across a multitude of small streams around the mountains before emerging as an awe-inspiring waterfall, especially during the monsoon season when the rivers are swollen and full. 

Located along the pilgrim’s tour route to Adam’s Peak, Laxapana falls is a favourite stopping place for a rest, an open air meal or a quick bathe in the large natural pools formed in the valley below the falls. The pristine jungle that surrounds the waterfall, which falls across a sheer rock cliff face, adds to the picture-perfect quality of the environment. It’s considered Sri Lanka’s seventh highest waterfall and is part of the Laxapana reservoir, which generates hydropower from a number of power stations in the vicinity.The name Laxapana is attributed with many origins: some versions take its literal meaning of “a thousand lamps” in sinhala, and the fact that this waterfall is part of a hydropower system that lights up many homes; others describe the name as meaning “a hundred thousand stones”, pointing to the rock and boulder strewn path that the water follows before it gushes out in a waterfall. One fact though can be agreed on – the old name for the waterfall was “veddah hiti ella” meaning, the waterfall where the Veddah lived. The Veddah, Sri Lanka’s indigenous people, perhaps had a small colony in this area and lived in the many caves and cliff dwellings in this mountainous area.

Most visitors to a country love to learn about local folk tales and nothing makes a good story like a love story. And so, as visitors on tour stop at one of Nuwara Eliya’s most famous landmarks, the stories of the sad end of an ill-fated romance begins. Lover’s Leap in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka’s popular holiday town in the mountains, is a massive rocky cliff with a waterfall of the same name.

Its name is derived from the fate of a young couple who decided to be bound together forever by jumping off the cliff to their demise. But the romantic tale of what brought them to this point, or the manner in which they met their end are woven into a myriad stories, each changing with the storyteller or perhaps even the day on which you hear it. Whatever the reasons behind the lovers plunge, the name has stuck and the entire cliff is now named Lover’s Leap.

The Lover’s Leap waterfall is a breathtaking sight, falling to a height of 30m in a long, cascading sheet of water. Located on a tea estate, the Lovers Leap waterfall is only 2km from Nuwara Eliya town, making it the closest waterfall to the bustling holiday town and resulting in its popularity with visitors and tour groups alike.The waters that feed this waterfall are said to originate on the southern end of the Pidurutalagala mountain range, Sri Lanka’s highest. The waters are taken to brew the famous Nuwara Eliya Beer. Access to the Lover’s Leap waterfall is off the Nuwara Eliya – Kandapola Road.