Tea Country

Australian Cricket Tour To Sri Lanka 2022

The 2022 Tour Is Completed.
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Tour: Tea Country
When: CANCELLED
Hotel: Cinnamon Red - Colombo 2nts
Hotel: Cinnamon Citadel - Kandy 2nts
Hotel: Grand Hotel - Nuwara Eliya 4nts
PP: Twin: £1000 or A$1800* | Single: £1390 or A$2500*
Includes: Breakfast Daily | Dinner In Kandy & Nuwara Eliya | All Travel
Book:
Visit: Sri Lanka Tourism

Tea Country Sri Lanka

**We Are No Longer Hosting A Tea Country Tour And Apologise For Any Inconvenience. If You Would Like Advice On Travelling Independently Into The Glorious Hills, We Are Happy To Help**

It is cliché, but no Australian Cricket Tour to Sri Lanka is complete without taking a slow train into the glorious tea country south of Kandy. Cool climates, waterfalls, and mile after mile after rolling lush hills carpeted with tea bushes, dotted with colourfully dressed ladies picking fresh tea-tips.

The beauty of taking the train is the speed at which you travel. 135km and 3-hours by road from Kandy to Ella, whilst the tranquil railway takes 7.5-hours to wend through the plantations, offering plenty of impossible to miss photos. Leisurely stops at pristinely kept hill stations and a ride in the engine cab (just ask the driver) will tell you why we insist on taking the train.

We visit this amazing region before the 1^st Test and include 2 nights in Kandy, so you can see the ancient capital of the Kandyan Kingdom.

This awesome 8-night trip starts with 2 nights in Colombo to help when you land in Sri Lanka, and one ODI to give you a cricket fix. The day after the ODI we leave Colombo by train to Kandy at 0830am; the gentle climb starts as the train leaves Rambukkana.

Arriving at 11am, and staying on the river outside Kandy, our bus will shuttle you into town for casual sightseeing, such as the ever-popular famed ‘Temple of the Tooth’, where Buddhists and visitors the world over visit a shiny gold box holding Buddha's Tooth, a shiny gold box holding a replica of Buddha's Tooth, or an empty shiny gold box. Optional entry is Rs500 (AUD$2 on 11/04/22).

If not 'the tooth', take a long walk around Kandy Lake and up to Vihara Buddha Temple for nice views over the city. A stroll through Kandy must include the old Test Cricket venue, Asgirya College Ground. We loved cricket there, but when you see it, you may wonder how any cricket was played there, let alone Test Cricket.

With 48 hours in Kandy, you've time to visit Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, or the splendid Royal Forest of Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, or do the lazy 7km 3-temples walk, or the Pinnewela elephant orphanage. There's no time to do everything so pick your poison ivy.

We leave Kandy on the 11am train (that you arrived on 2 days before) for the journey into the beautiful hills before arriving at Nanuoya at 2.15pm. The railway does not service Nuwara Eliya, the cool summer retreat for well-to-do Colombo society, so our driver will meet us at the station and take us (10mins) to the town's most famous and regal hotel, the Grand Hotel.

Check-in and kick back for 4 nights as we will use this gorgeous old hotel as a base to travel the region. Our first stop in Nuwara Eliya has always on the terrace of Nuwara Eliya Golf Club for a cool Lion Lager, overlooking the 1st tee. There’s no reason not to do the same, though dragging one self away from the Grand Hotel is never easy.

With much to see including waterfalls, forest walks, colonial buildings (the Post Office is stunning), Lake Gregory, tea estates, and gardens, Nuwara Eliya is a good place to stay, especially for Horton Plains National Park and the easy 3-hour circle walk to 'World's End'. The 5am start is worth the sunrise views from the escarpment (above).

We’ll be back from World’s End by 1pm for an afternoon as you wish, which can include Pedro Tea Estate; excellent for strolling the famed tea plantations where photos of the ladies picking tea are virtually limitless.

The following day is entirely at your leisure and pleasure. Our driver will happily take you around the town to Lover’s Leap waterfalls, Moon Plains, or viewpoints over Nuwara Eliya. You may prefer a round of golf, or lazing by our pool or the ponds of Victoria Park.

On our last day, we'll take the train through the plantations to the cute town of Ella for lunch before visiting Ella Waterfall and the famed 9 Arch Bridge; known as 'Bridge In The Sky'. It's an easy 3km walk to the viewpoint of this 24m high gorgeous brick viaduct across the forest. Our driver will meet us in Ella for the swift journey downhill to Nuwara Eliya for dinner, which is included nightly.

After 4 nights in the cool hill-station retreat, we hit the road through the forest via 'Bridge on the River Kwai' film location for lunch, and onwards to Hikkaduwa for the 1st Test to end what is always a splendid adventure.

If your Australian Cricket Tour of Sri Lanka starts with the Tea Country, your transfer from Bandaranaike International Airport, is included.

If you've questions about our Australian Cricket Tour To Sri Lanka 2022, please ask!

Thank You!