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Trekking Through A Tea Plantation In Sri Lanka

Trekking Through A Tea Plantation In Sri Lanka

Lipton Tea is a staple item in the cupboard of most families around the world. Never did I expect to be trekking with a 60-yr-old local Sri Lankan up and down the steep mountains home amongst the famous Lipton Tea and other highly lauded tea estates. This is my blog review of my experience trekking through one of the famous Sri Lankan tea plantations.

 

BRIEF HISTORY ABOUT TEA PLANTATIONS IN SRI LANKA

Here is a little history about how tea became one of the biggest products of the trade for Sri Lanka.

During the British Colonization, the tea was introduced in 1824 and planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens. Almost 20 years later commercial tea planting began in Kandy. Nowadays there are multiple regions with large tea estates, taking advantage of the humidity, cool temperatures, and consistently high levels of rainfall. Today Sri Lanka is lauded as the producer of the world’s finest black tea and visiting this region is a must-do activity in Sri Lanka.

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BOOKING A GUIDED TOUR OF THE TEA PLANTATION

There are two great tours of the tea plantations. The first is like my tour and includes a 4-5 hour walk through the tea plantations before visiting the factory where it’s all made. This tour includes a picnic lunch and an English-speaking guide.

Book this tour: Tea Plantation Trekking Adventure

The second tour is a great value tour that visits the Dambatenne Tea Factory, and then heads over to Lipton’s Seat for magnificent views

Book your tour: Lipton Seat & Dambatenne Tea Factory Day Tour

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THREE TOURS I RECOMMEND IN SRI LANKA

Before we get into the list of the top things to do in Sri Lanka, I wanted to share with you three of my favorite tours in Sri Lanka.

Golden Hour Safari: The most popular safari tour is the Golden Hour Safari Experience in Yala National Park

Whale Watching: The Morning Whale Watching Tour from Mirissa Beach is one of the most popular activities in the entire country. See a variety of animals including blue whales, sperm whales, and dolphins from the observation deck.

Sigiriya Rock Tour: Discover the Sigirya rock fortress on a 2-3-hour walking trip which will provide an insight into the art, tradition, and history of Sri Lanka. Book your tour: Sigiriya Rock Climb Guided Tour

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MY TREK THROUGH A TEA PLANTATION IN SRI LANKA

At mid-morning I met my local guide, Upali, who was 60 years young and wore a constant smile. From the moment I met Upali, I knew this 14-kilometer trek was going to be as much about the views and tea plantations as it was about the smiling grandfather who was guiding our journey.

The Royal Tea Trail begins innocuously by the roadside before beginning to the wind between steep tea terraces. Although unlike the rice terraces in Bali these are not tiered. There are no steps and the tea-pluckers must scale the sharp incline. The tea plants are scattered with no particular pattern although they are often layered creating a beautiful linear design on the side of the mountains.

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Often locals in cities and villages around the world shy away from the camera or despise its presence. However, in Sri Lanka, I have often experienced a desire to be photographed by many strangers. Upali and I passed by a group of women who were busy picking leaves and throwing them over their shoulders into their sacks.

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The women motioned to my camera and asked me to photograph them, making Upali promise to show them the photos later. Many of the women took quite a serious upright pose but began laughing as their friends teased them. It was when they broke away from this serious character I could truly capture the beauty of charisma of these beautiful women working in the tea estates.

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Upali explained how the women pluck the leaves and the men cut the wooden branches with an incredibly sharp knife. They only get one chance at producing a clean cut to make sure the plant grows back for a second harvest each month.

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Often I travel without a guide, enjoying the views but missing out on the local knowledge that is invaluable to understanding key elements of a location or a region. Upali enjoyed explaining to me not only about the tea plantations but about his family, the eagles, the region, and Sri Lanka in general.

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The trail winds through several tea plantations before giving a view across the valley to the Lipton Tea Estate and the Lipton Chair. It was at this moment I realized what an amazing experience this truly was.

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I was standing on top of a mountain, hardly a noise to ruin the moment, as I marveled at what I was looking at. Too often we just grab a product and don’t stop for even a second to imagine where it came from, how it was made or who were the people behind it.

MY TOP PLACES TO STAY IN SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is a huge region so it depends on where you are and which of the best places to visit in Sri Lanka are on your list as to which accommodation will be the best. For example, when you are visiting Sigiriya Rock, Hotel Sigiriya is clearly the best choice!

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READ MORE SRI LANKA BLOG POSTS

deen, Sri Lanka trekking Club

Monday 27th of November 2023

hello many people looking for the trekking guide but he dint reply to them or he did not recommend us and as i organize his trekking and i send my guide upali to do the trekking also if he say a price for the trekking i will pay him a commission as we pay for the booking sites and i am Deen from Sri Lanka Trekking Club

deen, Sri Lanka trekking Club

Sunday 15th of May 2022

Hi i am Deen i organize the tea plantation trekking and many more trekking programs and i organize the guide Upali for his trekking and he meet me also but he did not say anything about us or our organization and i have write him few times also but he did not reply to me hope he will find this comment thanks deen

15 coisas incríveis para fazer em Sri Lanka - Kanguroo Viagem

Tuesday 18th of February 2020

[…] Leia o post completo do blog: Trekking através de uma plantação de chá no Sri Lanka […]

John

Wednesday 22nd of January 2020

I’m also curious how you found the guide! Did you book through a company? Where exactly is the start of this trail?

Sarah

Tuesday 2nd of April 2019

I'm also curious how you found the guide! Did you book through a company?