Our itinerary for today was to check out from the Thilanka Hotel at Kandy and head to Nuwara Eliya. Nuwara Eliya is a quiet, peaceful town about 100 Km from Kandy. It is a tea-growing region, well known for its plush green tea-estates, and its quiet serenity. The weather report indicated rain, so we needed to be prepared for some bad weather.
As we were leaving the hotel, we heard traditional drumming and saw that a wedding ceremony was about to take place in the lawns of our hotel. We stopped for a while and saw the dancers preceding the groom’s family, welcoming them to the venue. Unfortunately, we could not stay for too long and we were not invited guests anyway, so we left after taking a few pictures.
Our first stop during the trip was at a Tea Factory, where they explained to us the process of manufacturing tea. Of course, purchasing various types of tea from their retail outlet was an obligatory necessity. We stopped next at the famous Shri Bhakta Hanuman Temple where there is a 14 Foot Statue of Lord Hanuman. We briefly paid our respects to the Lord, but could take pictures only from the outside. Again, a neat clean place, not crowded and well kept.
As Nuwara Eliya is at a higher altitude (about 1,900 mtrs) than Kandy (500 mtrs) , we encountered hilly terrain and several beautiful waterfalls en-route. The road was very good and we stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch before proceeding further. Fish n Chips it was, but not exciting at all.
At around 2:30pm we reached our Hotel – the Mirage Kings Cottage. This is another Colonial Style Hotel with a rich history. It was once owned by F.R. Senanayake, brother of Hon. D. S. Senanayake the first prime minister of Sri Lanka. Various sessions for the drafting of the Sri Lanka Constitution were held in the premises of this hotel. The hotel itself is small, peaceful, and surrounded by green lawns as well as Lake Gregory. We had a Cottage Room, Cottage No. 10, and standing outside the door with a ’10’ reminded me of the pictures one sees of the British Prime Minister outside 10 Downing Street, where also the 10 is similarly seen.
We rested in the afternoon, took a stroll through the hotel property later in the evening and retired for the night after an early dinner. Just as well, because there was a heavy rain shower soon after.