Nuwara Eliya
- January 12th, 2020
Having checked out of the Hotel Melheim by around 9 in the morning, we commenced our drive towards Nuwara Eliya with a plan to stop by at a few places of interest enroute. A distance of 75 kms in all to be traversed through the day. The drive was through lush green tea plantations and through an uphill terrain and was very pleasing to the eyes. The temperatures also got relatively cooler as we reached the Bhakta Hanuman temple, built by the Chinmaya Mission and housing a pretty large statue of Lord Hanuman.
Being a weekend, lot of locals from in and around Nuwara and Kandy had come there to offer their prayers and once we were done with the prayers, we had our lunch at Annapoorni, a small outlet attached to the temple where there was a good vegetarian buffet spread on offer.
A lovely view of the valley from the approach to the Temple
The Bhakta Hanuman Temple
The Ramboda Waterfalls
Our next halt was just about 10 Kms away at the Ramboda Waterfalls. Here one had to get ferried down a steep slope into a private property where this waterfall is located and the descent to the place is through an elevator and then a walk down an alley leads to this lovely sight of water gushing over.
There are no charges for visiting the fall save for tipping the person who does these up and down sorties. The backdrop of the lush green mountains and the sights of the milky white water cascading its way down makes for some very compelling viewing.
The rushes from the waterfalls and around
The Gregory Lake
We then commenced our drive towards Nuwara Eliya which was around a further 25 kms away and the last pit stop was at a very picturesque and bluish coloured lake by the name Gregory created by a British Governor as early as 1873 for the sole purpose of generating electricity but which got later on used only for recreational purposes and including some boating.
The temperatures had dropped considerably and with a nice wind blowing across the lake, it was becoming quite nippy. Post the customary walk around the lake and the photo sessions done around the lake, a small wooden arch bridge and a nice statue of Snow White and 7 statuettes of her Dwarfs. A small fee of 200 SLR is levied per head to walk around the lake.
Hotel Grand Camelia in Nuwara Eliya
Having roamed around the lake, we stopped by for some tea and commenced our short drive up a small hill to Hotel Grand Camelia which was to be our halt for the night. There was some semblance of Indian food on offer at the hotel itself and while the family had the luxury of Dal Makhani, Pakodas (a kind of Onion fritter) and Vegetable Curries along with breads, I stuck to the Sri Lankan Veg and Rice Curry with Dal.
The Ambewala Farms
Located close to Nuwara Eliya, the idyllic settings of Ambewala Farms was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of city life.
A picturesque green landscape with the backdrop of the mountains and dotted with the Jersey brand of cows grazing around in the open offered a majestic view as we entered the gates to explore what lay ahead of us.
One gets to see stud bulls, rabbits and goats in different enclosures where they are reared.
There is a very nominal charge of 50 cents levied for visitors.
More pictures from the Animal Farm
A lovely view of a Windmill Farm Enroute
The Ramayana Trail
A short drive of around 15 kms from the New Zealand Farms and we were next up for some bit of mythology. On the cards next was a visit to the Seetha Amman Temple. The very same place where Seetha was supposedly locked up and Lord Hanuman discovered here at this very spot.
A few random clicks from around the Temple
Lunch at Welimada
The prayers duly offered at Seetha Eliya, we grabbed a quick bite at a small Indian restaurant Thushara and drove on towards a Buddhist Monastery .
A visit to The Mahanevmawa Buddhist Monastery
A tough climb up a steep hillock led to a Monastery in the making. Maybe we were 6 months early for it but looking at the models of construction on display, am sure this would turn out to be a great piece of architecture.
We were running behind schedule and realized that we would late in reaching Haputalle station to catch the train to Ella. A sudden thought of trying for tickets from a station further on cropped up and off we headed for Bandarewala.