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1 ights & ActivitiesS
Newburgh Green Tea Factory TEA FACTORY
(map p184; Newburgh Tea Estate, Passara Rd; adult/
child Rs 300/free; h8am-6pm mon-Sat) The tours
at this green-tea factory are fairly rushed,
bu t you can make interesting comparisons
to those factories producing black tea. New-
burgh is owned by Finlays, one of the world’s
la rger tea producers, and there is a notable
di fference in how the factory is run and or-
ganised compared to the private factories. It’s
a half-hour walk from town.
Hiking
Ella is a great place for walking. Most accom-
modation can give you a hand-drawn map of
local paths. Kick off with a stroll to what is
locally dubbed Little Adam’s Peak. Go down
the Passara road until you get to the Ella Flow-
er Garden Resort on your right, just past the
1km post. Follow the track to the left; Little
Adam’s Peak is the biggest hill on your right
and is clearly signposted. Take the second
path that turns off to your right and follow
it to the top of the hill. Part of this path pass-
es through a tea estate. The approximately
4.5km round trip takes about 45 minutes
each way. The final 20 minutes or so is uphill,
but otherwise it’s an easy walk. Get an early
start from your guesthouse – around 7am –
and you’ll meet Tamil families heading off
to work in the tea plantations along the way.
From atop Little Adam’s Peak, waterfalls and
a couple of tea factories shimmer from out
of the mist that’s often welded persistently to
the surrounding hills.
Walking to Ella Rock is more demanding
and a guide is a very good idea (it’s easy to miss
the turn-off from the railway track and get
lost in the forest that covers the upper slopes).
Most guesthouses can organise a guide for
Rs 1500 per group. It’s a three- to four-hour
round trip and the views from the top are
extraordinary. If you do decide to attempt it
yourself, go in a group. Follow the train tracks
in the direction of Banarawela for 45 minutes.
Just after the black bridge there’s a small
shrine on the left. Turn left a metre or so af-
ter this and down a short embankment. Cross
a concrete bridge over the Rawana Falls and
then go right up the dirt track immediately
after the bridge. Now start climbing uphill.
From here on it’s easy to get lost, especially on
misty or cloudy days. Watch for the occasional
faded blue way-marker. There’s often some-
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Passara
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Main St
Ella
Bank of
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A D
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Ella e#^0200 .1 mile00 ms
D
Chamodya Homestay (800m); Waterfall
Homestay (1km); Rawana Falls (2.5km);
Ravanna Ella Temple (2.8km); Ella
Rock (4km); Rawana Ella Falls (6km)
D
Ella Flower Garden Resort (500m);
98 Acres Resort (700m);
Newburgh Green Tea Factory (8 00 m);
View Point Villa (1.4km);
Little Adam's Peak (2km)
Ella
ÿ Sleeping
1 Dream Café Guest House....................B1
2 Eeshani Guest Inn.................................B 1
3 Freedom Guest Inn...............................C 2
4 Green Hill...............................................C2
5 Hill Top Guest House............................B 2
6 Little Folly...............................................C2
7 Okreech Cottages.................................B2
8 Rawana Holiday Resort........................B 2
9 Sita's Heaven.........................................C 2
10 Sun Top Inn...........................................B 1
11 Zion View................................................B2
ú Eating
12 Cafe Chill (Nescoffee Shop)................B 1
13 Curd Shop..............................................B1
14 Down Town Rotti Hut ...........................B2
Dream Café.....................................(see 1)
15 Garden View Restaurant......................A2
Little Folly Restaurant..................(see 6)
þ Shopping
16 T-Sips.....................................................B2