In Sri Lanka, tea is the national drink. Well it has to be! Every day almost every nationality in the world will sip a liquid that was made from leaves grown here in the mysterious hills of Sri Lanka. I made the trip to the valleys and hills at Haputale in Sri Lanka to the impressive Dambatenne Tea Factory, opened by Thomas Lipton over 100 years ago. It is currently a source of tea for Scottish based company Lipton Tea amongst other worldwide tea companies and distributors. All the tea is grown locally here in the gorgeous mountains and valleys of Sri Lanka's inland region.[]
The Haputale valleys and Dambatenne Tea Factory are in the middle of nowhere! It's a hard place to get too but if you love tea then you need to find a way to get here!
Getting to Dambatenne Tea Factory
It's not going to be easy to get there. There are no rail or bus links directly, so your best bet is to get to the mountain village of Haputale first and get a local bus over to Dambatenne. Tuk tuks/three wheelers are also available. You can also go with a tour group. A local driver was my preferred option and worked a treat. []
How much does it cost to visit Dambatenne Tea Factory?
You will be charged 250 Rupees to enter which is fair enough. You must pay in cash at the main entrance. You might also have a short delay before starting the tour as the workers may be busy and not ready to give you the guided tour yet. However it will be worth the wait.
How long does the tour of Dambatenne Tea Factory take?
It can be split into three parts and takes about 20 - 25 minutes, here are the three parts:
1. Visiting the upstairs rooms where the tea leaves are brought into the building and they are placed into the massive circular machines before going through the refining process.
2. Next you visit a massive downstairs room where the tea is refined in different stages before it is finally heated.
3. The tea is heated and then cooled and put into bags ready for shipment.
You can't take photos inside during parts 2 and 3 which is fine as it's their system. The staff will all be working hard in the background so it's important to respect that. The opening hours of the tours seemed to be 9-5 but double check before you visit.
What else is the tour about?
The tour is fast and will be over in a flash but it's still really worth doing. There is no shop to sit and have a tea though which I found incredible - I wanted a cup! There isn't even a souvenir shop but you can buy packets of Dambatenne Tea to take away with you, which I did. The only real souvenir.
You can buy a packet of fresh Dambatenne tea for 300 Rupees, but the better stuff Simondou, which is tea bags costs an enormous 1,100 Rupees! Ouch! You can get it cheaper in the nearby towns by the way, you're just paying for the packet, the freshness of it and the fact that it was bought there.
What else is there to do nearby?
The region is very hilly so admiring the view is the best thing to do, if you hire a driver they can stop wherever you like:
1. Savour the mountain views
2. Walk round the tea plantations
3. Have a cup of tea with a great view over the landscape
4. Go to the town of Haputale which has hotels, shops, an ATM and markets
So that's really all there is to it - it's a short and sweet tour but definitely worth doing!
OK it's tea time!
The Haputale valleys and Dambatenne Tea Factory are in the middle of nowhere! It's a hard place to get too but if you love tea then you need to find a way to get here!
Getting to Dambatenne Tea Factory
It's not going to be easy to get there. There are no rail or bus links directly, so your best bet is to get to the mountain village of Haputale first and get a local bus over to Dambatenne. Tuk tuks/three wheelers are also available. You can also go with a tour group. A local driver was my preferred option and worked a treat. []
How much does it cost to visit Dambatenne Tea Factory?
You will be charged 250 Rupees to enter which is fair enough. You must pay in cash at the main entrance. You might also have a short delay before starting the tour as the workers may be busy and not ready to give you the guided tour yet. However it will be worth the wait.
How long does the tour of Dambatenne Tea Factory take?
It can be split into three parts and takes about 20 - 25 minutes, here are the three parts:
1. Visiting the upstairs rooms where the tea leaves are brought into the building and they are placed into the massive circular machines before going through the refining process.
2. Next you visit a massive downstairs room where the tea is refined in different stages before it is finally heated.
3. The tea is heated and then cooled and put into bags ready for shipment.
You can't take photos inside during parts 2 and 3 which is fine as it's their system. The staff will all be working hard in the background so it's important to respect that. The opening hours of the tours seemed to be 9-5 but double check before you visit.
What else is the tour about?
The tour is fast and will be over in a flash but it's still really worth doing. There is no shop to sit and have a tea though which I found incredible - I wanted a cup! There isn't even a souvenir shop but you can buy packets of Dambatenne Tea to take away with you, which I did. The only real souvenir.
You can buy a packet of fresh Dambatenne tea for 300 Rupees, but the better stuff Simondou, which is tea bags costs an enormous 1,100 Rupees! Ouch! You can get it cheaper in the nearby towns by the way, you're just paying for the packet, the freshness of it and the fact that it was bought there.
What else is there to do nearby?
The region is very hilly so admiring the view is the best thing to do, if you hire a driver they can stop wherever you like:
1. Savour the mountain views
2. Walk round the tea plantations
3. Have a cup of tea with a great view over the landscape
4. Go to the town of Haputale which has hotels, shops, an ATM and markets
So that's really all there is to it - it's a short and sweet tour but definitely worth doing!
OK it's tea time!
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