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APUTA
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fr om this ridge, and at night the Hamban-
to ta lighthouse pulses in the distance. On a
no t-so-clear day, great swaths of mist cling
ma gnetically to the hillsides. Either way, it’s
a spectacular part of the country.
The town centre itself is a dusty ribbon of
tr affic, three-wheelers and small-scale com-
merce. But take a short walk and you’ll be re-
warded with extraordinary views. The railway
hugs one side of the ridge in a minor victory
for 19th-century engineering.
Haputale now mainly shows the influence
of the Sinhalese and Tamil cultures, but the
legacy of the British tea planters also lives on.
Tea estates blanket the hillsides, punctuated
by graceful planters’ bungalows, all enveloped
in a damp and heavy climate that must have
ma de the British settlers feel right at home.
The pretty Anglican church (St Andrew’s) on
the Bandarawela road has a graveyard filled
with poignant memories of earlier times.
In recent years Haputale’s popularity with
to urists seems to have mysteriously dimin-
is hed, but the town has an array of good,
ch eap accommodation and makes an excel-
lent base for visiting Horton Plains National
Pa rk, exploring other places in the area or
just taking pleasant walks in cool mountain
ai r. It also has a more authentic Sri Lankan
air to it than that of nearby Ella and its inter-
na tional traveller feel. Guesthouses arrange
vans and 4WDs to Horton Plains for Rs 4500.
See the privately run website http://www.haputale.
de for more information.1 ights & ActivitiesS
oDambatenne Tea Factory TEA FACTORY
(a dmission Rs 250; h7.30am-6pm) A few tea
fa ctories in this area are happy to have vis-itors. The most popular, Dambatenne, was
built in 1890 by Sir Thomas Lipton, one of
the most famous figures in tea history. The
tour through the works is an education on
the processes involved in the fermentation,
rolling, drying, cutting, sieving and grading
of tea. The tea-factory tour here is probably
the most comprehensive around, and after-
wards you can sip on a cuppa. On Sundays no
processing takes place so there’s little to see.
Although it’s 11km from Haputale, the fac-
tory is easily accessible. Get a bus from the
bus station to Bandarawela and get off at
the tea factory (buses both ways are every 30
minutes, Rs 23). A three-wheeler there and
back costs between Rs 500 to 600.oAdisham Monastery mONASTERY
(adult/child Rs 100/50; h9am-12.30pm & 1.30-
4.30pm Sat & Sun, poya days & school holidays)
This beautiful Benedictine monastery once
belonged to tea planter Sir Thomas Lester
Villiers. To recreate his English lifestyle he
developed some English country-cottage gar-
dens which are still enchanting visitors today.
Inside, visitors are allowed to see the living
room and library, which is filled from floor to
ceiling with dusty tomes – the Love Affairs
of Mary Queen of Scots was the raciest book
we could find. If that makes you blush try the
History of the Tory Party 1640–1714.
Today, Adisham is one of only 18 monaster-
ies in the world belonging to the Sylvestrine
Congregation, a suborder of the Benedictine
fraternity founded in the 13th century.
There’s a small shop selling produce from
the monastery’s lovely gardens and orchards.
Buy some real strawberry jam or wild guava
jelly to enliven your next breakfast.6
#£#ÿ#ÿ#ÿ
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Thambapillai d
AveTempleRdTempleMosqueTaxisAmarasinghe
Guest HouseOlympus Plaza
HotelSri Lak View
Holiday InnHaputaleHaputale e
D
Leisure Mount View Holiday Inn (400m);
Tangamalai (1km);
Adisham Monastery (2km)D
Kelburne Mountain
View (2km);
Dias Rest (3km);
Dambatenne Tea
Factory (11km)D
Idalgashinna
(7km)02 00 m
00 .1 miles