In Sri Lanka, tea is the national drink. Well it has to be! Every day almost every nationality in the world will sip a liquid that was made from leaves grown here in the mysterious hills of Sri Lanka. I made the trip to the valleys and hills at Haputale in Sri Lanka to the impressive Dambatenne Tea Factory, opened by Thomas Lipton over 100 years ago. It is currently a source of tea for Scottish based company Lipton Tea amongst other worldwide tea companies and distributors. All the tea is grown locally here in the gorgeous mountains and valleys of Sri Lanka's inland region.[]
The Haputale valleys and Dambatenne Tea Factory are in the middle of nowhere! It's a hard place to get too but if you love tea then you need to find a way to get here!
How do you get to the Dambatenne Tea Factory?
It's not going to be easy to get there. There are no rail or bus links directly, so your best bet is to get to the mountain village of Haputale first and get a local bus over to Dambatenne. Tuk tuks/three wheelers are also available. You can also go with a tour group. A local driver was my preferred option and worked a treat. []
What price is it to visit Dambatenne Tea Factory?
You will be charged 250 Rupees to enter which is fair enough. You must pay in cash at the main entrance. You might also have a short delay before starting the tour as the workers may be busy and not ready to give you the guided tour yet. However it will be worth the wait.
How long does a tour of the Dambatenne Tea Factory last?
The tour is basically split into 3 parts and takes roughly 25 minutes:
1. First of all you visit a room upstairs where the tea has just arrived in from the mountains. Here the tea leaves are put into machines ready for the process.
2. Visiting the downstairs room where the tea goes through different levels of refining and is eventually left out to rest before being heated.
3. Finally the tea is heated, later cooled and put into large bags ready to be shipped worldwide!
Photos are banned inside for parts 2 and 3 of the tour which is fair enough as it's their secret factory and the staff are also busy working. In terms of opening times for the tour, then it's probably 9 - 5 but just make sure you check before you head there!
What else can you do on the tour?
The tour is fast and will be over in a flash but it's still really worth doing. There is no shop to sit and have a tea though which I found incredible - I wanted a cup! There isn't even a souvenir shop but you can buy packets of Dambatenne Tea to take away with you, which I did. The only real souvenir.
To buy a packet of Dambatenne tea is 300 Rupees. The more expensive tea for sale is Simondou which costs a ridiculous 1,100 Rupees. You might actually be better buying them in the towns and villages in markets.
What else can you do near to the Dambatenne Tea Factory?
The region is very hilly so admiring the view is the best thing to do, if you hire a driver they can stop wherever you like:
1. Savour the mountain views
2. Walk at leisure round the endless tea plantations on the hills
3. Enjoy a cup of tea in a cafe with an impressive view
4. Visit Haputale town and stay in a hotel, check out the markets and shops (there is also an ATM in the town)
I was just trying to see if the post could be stretched out any more and extra details added, but basically like I said, it's a short and basic tour and that's really all there is to it. If you have any questions on it, do leave a comment below or get in touch. They don't even have their own website, despite the enormity of their production, and for once I'm not even going to bother linking to a site about it!
Time for a cup of tea!
The Haputale valleys and Dambatenne Tea Factory are in the middle of nowhere! It's a hard place to get too but if you love tea then you need to find a way to get here!
How do you get to the Dambatenne Tea Factory?
It's not going to be easy to get there. There are no rail or bus links directly, so your best bet is to get to the mountain village of Haputale first and get a local bus over to Dambatenne. Tuk tuks/three wheelers are also available. You can also go with a tour group. A local driver was my preferred option and worked a treat. []
What price is it to visit Dambatenne Tea Factory?
You will be charged 250 Rupees to enter which is fair enough. You must pay in cash at the main entrance. You might also have a short delay before starting the tour as the workers may be busy and not ready to give you the guided tour yet. However it will be worth the wait.
How long does a tour of the Dambatenne Tea Factory last?
The tour is basically split into 3 parts and takes roughly 25 minutes:
1. First of all you visit a room upstairs where the tea has just arrived in from the mountains. Here the tea leaves are put into machines ready for the process.
2. Visiting the downstairs room where the tea goes through different levels of refining and is eventually left out to rest before being heated.
3. Finally the tea is heated, later cooled and put into large bags ready to be shipped worldwide!
Photos are banned inside for parts 2 and 3 of the tour which is fair enough as it's their secret factory and the staff are also busy working. In terms of opening times for the tour, then it's probably 9 - 5 but just make sure you check before you head there!
What else can you do on the tour?
The tour is fast and will be over in a flash but it's still really worth doing. There is no shop to sit and have a tea though which I found incredible - I wanted a cup! There isn't even a souvenir shop but you can buy packets of Dambatenne Tea to take away with you, which I did. The only real souvenir.
To buy a packet of Dambatenne tea is 300 Rupees. The more expensive tea for sale is Simondou which costs a ridiculous 1,100 Rupees. You might actually be better buying them in the towns and villages in markets.
What else can you do near to the Dambatenne Tea Factory?
The region is very hilly so admiring the view is the best thing to do, if you hire a driver they can stop wherever you like:
1. Savour the mountain views
2. Walk at leisure round the endless tea plantations on the hills
3. Enjoy a cup of tea in a cafe with an impressive view
4. Visit Haputale town and stay in a hotel, check out the markets and shops (there is also an ATM in the town)
I was just trying to see if the post could be stretched out any more and extra details added, but basically like I said, it's a short and basic tour and that's really all there is to it. If you have any questions on it, do leave a comment below or get in touch. They don't even have their own website, despite the enormity of their production, and for once I'm not even going to bother linking to a site about it!
Time for a cup of tea!
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