sri-lanka-13-full-pdf-ebook.pdf

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Belihul Oya

8 Information

National Park Office (h6am-6pm) This is
where you buy entrance tickets. last tickets
are sold at 4pm. it’s near Farr inn.

8 Getting There & Away

m ost people come from Nuwara Eliya, a trip
taking about an hour one way (around Rs 4000
return by van). if taking a tour from Nuwara Eliya
you can ask to be dropped afterwards at Pattipola
train station to catch the afternoon train to
Haputale and Ella (1.20pm; to Ella Rs 90).
You can also get to Farr inn from Haputale. it
takes about 1½ hours by road (Rs 4500 return).
From Ohiya the road rises in twists and turns
through forest before emerging on the open
plains. Keep your eyes peeled for monkeys.

Belihul Oya

% 045
B elihul Oya is a pretty hillside region worth
pa ssing through on your way to or from the
Hi ll Country – it’s 35km from Haputale and
57 km from Ratnapura. From here you can
wa lk up to Horton Plains, a seriously stren-
uous, seven-hour return trip. The path starts
from near the Bambarakanda Falls and it’s a
very good idea to arrange a guide through one
of the towns hotels.

1 Sights

Bambarakanda Falls WATERFAll
About 14km towards Haputale, near Kalupa-
ha na, are the Bambarakanda Falls. Ask the
bus driver to let you off at Kalupahana Junc-
tion. From the main road it’s another Rs 500
by three-wheeler up a barely-there track. A
re turn ride with an hour wait costs Rs 800.
From the town centre it’s Rs 800 one way.

At 240m, the Bambarakanda Falls are the

highest in Sri Lanka. March and April are the

best months for viewing the falls, but any visit

after heavy rainfall should be worthwhile. At

other times the water may be reduced to a dis-

appointing trickle.

4 Sleeping

Bambarakanda

Holiday Resort g UESTHOUSE $

(%057-357 5699; http://www.bambarakanda.com; r incl

full board Rs 2500-4000) A few hundred metres

be fore the Bambarakanda Falls is this rustic

gu esthouse. If you’re looking to get off the

ma p for a few days, here’s your chance. The

rooms are very basic and a bit dingy, but with

a setting like this it hardly matters because

you’ll be outside the whole time enjoying na-

ture in all its glory.

Id eally you’ll need your own transport to

get here.

Belihul Oya Rest House HiSTORiC HOTEl $$

(%052-280 156; http://www.ceylonhotelscorporation.com;

Ratnapura-Haputale Rd; s/d incl breakfast US$61/67;

aW) This resthouse is pleasantly situated

ne xt to the crashing river. It has very faded

ro oms, but the place as a whole has a slight

colonial vibe to it and the garden setting is en-

joyable. Watch out for the monkeys and don’t

leave windows open.

Haputale

%057 / POPULATION 5238 / ELEVATION 1580M

P erched at the southern edge of the Hill

Country, the largely Tamil town of Haputale

clings to a long, narrow mountain ridge with

th e land falling away steeply on both sides.

On a clear day you can view the south coast

SIR THOMAS LIPTON – ONE VERY CANNY SCOTSMAN

His name lives on in the hot-beverage aisle of your local supermarket, but Sir Thomas Lipton

was a major success in business even before he became the biggest player in the global tea

industry.

From 1870 to 1888 he grew his parents’ single grocery shop in Glasgow to a nationwide

chain of 300 stores. Recognising the potential of tea, he cannily bypassed the traditional

wholesale markets of London, and went straight to the source by purchasing his own tea

plantations in Sri Lanka. His network of 300 stores provided him with guaranteed distribu-

tion to sell tea at lower prices to an untapped working-class market. It also inspired the win-

ning advertising slogan, ‘Direct from the tea gardens to the tea pot’.

Lipton’s planet-spanning ambition wasn’t only limited to trade. In 1909 he donated the

Thomas Lipton Trophy for an international football competition 21 years before the first

World Cup, and he was tireless in his (unsuccessful) attempts to win yachting’s America’s

Cup. His well-publicised interest in the two sports ensured his brand became a household

name on both sides of the Atlantic.