Nuwara Eliya is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is at an altitude of 1,868 m and is considered to be the most important location for tea production in Sri Lanka. Due to its highland location, Nuwara Eliya has a subtropical highland climate having no pronounced dry season, a monsoon-like cloudy season and with a mean annual temperature of 16 °C. In the winter months, there can be frost at night, but it warms up rapidly during the day because of the high sun angle. The city was founded by Samuel Baker, the discoverer of Lake Albert and the explorer of the Nile in 1846. Nuwara Eliya’s climate lent itself to becoming the prime sanctuary of the British civil servants and planters in Ceylon. Nuwara Eliya, called Little England, was a hill country retreat where the British colonialists could immerse in their pastimes such as fox hunting, deer hunting, elephant hunting, polo, golf and cricket. Nuwara Eliya is now a modern, busy city with department stores, fast food chains. Nevertheless the further away you are away from the busy town the more you will be revisiting the past. Tourists will find a variety of recreational activities to do in this beautiful city, Nuwara Eliya is known to have the best 18-hole golf course in Asia and that’s not all horse-riding, boating, bird-watching and hiking are few of the many fun things you can do. Though the city of Nuwara Eliya has no Railway station, the highland railway line that winds past the city of Nanu Oya makes the journey by train one of the most scenic and memorable experiences. The journey to Nuwara Eliya from Kandy by train as well as by car is equally spectacular.
