Day 12 - Nuwara Eliya, Labookelie Tea Estate, Devon Falls & St Clair's Falls

I headed off early in the morning to explore Nuwara Eliya (1889m above sea level), & walked along Bazzaar Street & made my way to 'De Silva Food Centre' (as mentioned in my guide book) for my breakfast of String hoppers, Dhal, Kirihodi & tea (235 LKR), which was all lovely & served by very friendly staff. Downstairs they had lots of lovely cakes on display at 30 LKR each, so I bought a bag full, & then checked out the local indoor market.


Breakfast at 'De Silva Food Centre'


Cakes at 'De Silva Food Centre'


Cakes at 'De Silva Food Centre'


Indoor market at Nuwara Eliya


I made my way to the bus station to catch a bus to Labookelie, & had no problems finding one & paid the fare of 23 LKR. There were only a few other passengers on the bus and that's how it stayed for the rest of the journey which made a nice change! On route we dropped off a bag of cement for somebody, and a little further a parcel was also delivered! (Shortly after we left, I noticed a sign on the roadside advertising rooms for '500 LKR upwards'.) The journey only took about 30 minutes & I was dropped off right outside Mackwoods estate.


Labookelie (Mackwoods) Tea Estate


Mackwoods Labookelie Tea Centre is the highest tea plantation in Sri Lanka & is therefore deemed to produce the best tea, while it is the women who work in the fields, both men & women work in the factory here. The company gave me an informative tour of the plant, which began with showing samples of the different grades of tea. My photographs are not great as a lot were taken through glass. (I would later visit another tea factory, 'Dambatenne' which was a better tour & better photographs were obtained.) It was also a shame I could not have a tour of the actual estate. I later visited the tea room & ordered some tea & sat outside on the terrace overlooking the tea plantations which was nice. I was served a very large pot of tea & later realised it was free & then wished I'd ordered some cake to go with it! (Although I couldn't grumble at a free tour & a free pot of tea!)



Grading Area - Labookelie (Mackwoods) Tea Estate


Drying ('Withering') the tea leaves - Labookelie (Mackwoods) Tea Estate


Labookelie (Mackwoods) Tea Estate


Fermentation - Labookelie (Mackwoods) Tea Estate


Tea -The actual tea bush (Camellia sinensis) grows to about 10 metres in height in the wild, but they are constantly pruned, producing repeated growth of fresh young buds & leaves throughout the year.

Ceylon tea is divided into 3 main types, depending on the altitude at which it is grown. The best quality (high-grown) is at 1200m in a warm climate & on sloping terrain. The bushes grow more slowly but produce the best tea. Low-grown tea (around 600m) is stronger & less subtle in taste and mid-grown tea (somewhere between the two) is usually mixed to produce the desired flavor. The best tea is grown around Nuwara Eliya.

The entire tea production process, from plucking to packing, takes around 24 hours. The first stage, called 'Plucking the leaves', is still very labour-intensive, providing work for approximately 300,000 workers (mainly Tamil women). They pick about 15 to 20 kg a day & I believe they only get paid about 500 rupees which is less than £3. They select the youngest two leaves & the bud from the end of every branch, bushes are plucked every 7 days in the dry season & twice as much in the wet.

The leaves are then dried in huge troughs while air is blown through them to remove most of the moisture. After which they are crushed for about 30 minutes, this releases juices and triggers fermentation (this bit is crucial to determine the quality of the tea).

Once sufficient fermentation has taken place the tea is fired in a heated chamber to prevent any further fermentation & black tea is produced (which is the staple tea worldwide, except China who still love their green tea).

The tea is then filtered into different sized particles & graded. The finest teas are described as 'leaf' teas as they consist of relatively large pieces of unbroken leaf & are known as 'Orange Pekoes'. Lower grades are indicated by the addition of the word 'broken', whilst at the bottom of the scale is 'fannings' & 'dust' which forms the basis of most commercial tea.

The tea is then sampled by tea tasters (a highly specialist profession in Sri Lanka) before being sent for auction (mainly in Colombo).


 Sacks of tea - Sold at about 30,000 rupees a sack


After my visit to Mackwoods I decided to walk back up the road, where not far from the tea factory I noticed a Hindu temple (next door is a Children’s Development Centre) which made for some interesting photographs. Further along the road I also noticed quite a few of the 'tea pluckers' having their sacks of tea weighed. I asked if I could take some photographs and they were more than happy with this. I finally jumped on a passing bus and made my way back to Nuwara Eliya (25 LKR).


Hindu Temple


They were keen to have their photo taken!


Tea Pluckers


After arriving back in Nuwara Eliya I then looked for a bus (at the station) to take me to Dimbulla for the Devon Falls & St Clair's Falls. The bus I did catch was a minibus & was going to Hatton. The fare I paid was 100 LKR, & I informed the conductor I wanted to go to Dimbulla, however before I reached Dimbulla I noticed the sign for 'Devon Falls' & asked if I could be dropped off (which I later realised was approximately 6kms west of Talawakele). The journey time was about 1 hour & 20 minutes, & I was dropped off right outside the 'Devon Falls' cafe.

After jumping off the bus I noticed I could climb down the hill and get much closer to the falls (there were a few macaque monkeys around). I did have to be careful as it was a bit slippery & some of the trees were charred & so my hands became black as I was hanging onto them as I clambered down! After so far down I took a few photographs of the falls & when I looked up I spotted a few minibuses with tourists, & realised these would be one of the many tours that visit the waterfalls.


Macaque monkey near Devon Falls


Devon Falls


Devon Falls (6km west of Talawakele) is named after a pioneer English coffee planter called Devon, whose plantation is situated nearby. The Waterfall is 97 meters high & ranked 19th highest in the Island. Altitude of Devon falls is 1,140m above sea level.


Devon Falls


After I made my way back up the hill I visited the nearby cafe, where I met the owner. I asked him if there was another way I could get closer to the falls? He told me to continue along the main road (west) and turn right by a temple (the 'Pantana Katu'), & then follow the steps down, & eventually you come to a small shrine (with a sign that says 'Remove Slipper'!) This turned out to be a really lovely peaceful walk down to the falls. Down by the small shrine along the path you can climb over a fence & head towards the falls (near a derelict building), & then clamber on a large rock & take some good photographs.


Temple arch of the Pantana Katu


On my way back up the steps I heard a rustle in the bushes & when I looked I saw a large black snake disappearing into the undergrowth, it was a shame I did not get a photograph! When I reached the temple at the top I just retraced my way back towards the cafe where I met the owner again, & decided to stop & have some lunch. I had a great curry for only 150 LKR, with great views overlooking Devon Falls!



Lunch with Devon Falls in the background!


Bargain (mine was from inside the restaurant!)


After lunch I continued to walk east along the road for a few kms, & eventually spotted St Clair's Falls. I came across a large hotel being built which is where I started the hike down towards the the falls (it was a bit slippery and rocky), walking through the tea plantations. There was a large boulder to clamber on again which gave me some great views of the falls. There was nothing stopping me from going further down I suppose, but I reckon you would have to look carefully in the long grass for snakes! 


St Clair's Falls


St. Clair's Falls is one the widest waterfalls in Sri Lanka. It is situated 3km west of the town of Talawakele & derives its name from a nearby tea estate. St. Clair's Falls is 80m high and the 20th highest waterfall in Sri Lanka.


Near St Clair's Falls


St Clair's Falls


After climbing back up to the roadside I then kept walking for a while in the direction of Talawakele, before being approached by a few children asking for money (which is never great). I jumped on a passing bus which turned out to be only going as far as Talawakele. I think this stretch of road is quite dangerous as I spotted a few gravestones along the way. A few very young school girls jumped on the bus and because they had to stand, one of them stood next to me and just dumped her very heavy school bag my lap! It was quite amusing and they all started laughing when I said 'Such a heavy bag for such a tiny girl'! When the young girl jumped off the bus she turned around and said 'Thank you'!

I arrived at Talawakele bus station where there was a bus waiting & heading for Nuwara Eliya, & this time the fare was only 41 LKR. I asked to be dropped off at 'Single Tree Rd', as I wanted to climb the nearby hill mentioned in my guidebook, as I knew I only had about an hour’s daylight left.

After jumping off the bus at Nuwara Eliya, I started the hike up the nearby hill. It was quite a steep hike all the way to the top with some good views, & it was quite strange to see the mist coming over. At the top there was just a lot of TV aerials and dishes and a couple of guard dogs! I managed to make it back down as darkness was approaching.


Nuwara Eliya


Mist coming over in Nuwara Eliya


Before my evening meal I visited the 'Single Tree' hotel, as I wanted to inquire about a tour to 'Horton Plains' & wondered what they might charge? They informed me it would be 3000 LKR and it would be another 3000 LKR for the entrance fee, I wasn't impressed & just left! I was thinking of using public transport, but knew the chances of me being at 'World's End' before 10am (before the mist) would be very slim.

I had my evening meal in a restaurant very close to 'De Silva’s Food Centre', which was a massive plate of nasi gorreng & decided I would head for Ella in the morning, and perhaps I may try to visit 'Horton's Plains' from here instead?


 A shop in Nuwara Eliya



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