Tea is the national drink of Sri Lanka! They produce tons of the stuff and all over the world everyday people drink tea that comes from Sri Lanka. A great place to see where it comes from is the valleys and hills at Haputale in the hill country! Haputale is home to the famous Dambatenne Tea Factory which was opened by Scottish man Thomas Lipton more than a century ago! The tea is all grown locally in the mountains![]
It's in the middle of nowhere in fact so visiting Dambatenne tea factory is an off the beaten track gem. If you've grown up on drinking tea it's a place not to be missed though I must say.
Getting to Dambatenne Tea Factory
Getting to the Dambatenne Tea Factory is tricky for tourists. Up in the mountains and valleys there is no rail system here. The bus system does run, but the roads are so narrow you are better off finding a local driver. Get a local driver to take you and save the hassle! He will know what he is doing! []
How much does it cost to visit Dambatenne Tea Factory?
The entrance fee is a simple 250 Rupees, payable in cash only at the front door. You may have to wait until one of the workers is available to take you round. It's not busy at all - despite being a great place to visit and one of my travel highlights, this is still well off the normal traveller's trail - worth getting out to.
What length of time is a tour of Dambatenne Tea Factory?
Your tour will be split into three main parts and should take around 25 minutes:
1. A visit to the rooms upstairs where the tea arrives in from. They are put into machines to begin the refining 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. The tea is heated and then cooled and put into bags ready for shipment.
You can't take photos inside during parts 2 and 3 which is fine as it's their system. The staff will all be working hard in the background so it's important to respect that. The opening hours of the tours seemed to be 9-5 but double check before you visit.
What else can you do on the tour?
It's a very basic and quick tour and that's really all there is to it. I was surprised to learn that there is NO tea shop or even souvenir shop there - I'd have thought they would have made money from something like that, but alas the only thing you can do is buy a fresh packet of Dambatenne Tea!!
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. Admire the views of the mountains
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. Go to the town of Haputale which has hotels, shops, an ATM and markets
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!
OK it's tea time!
It's in the middle of nowhere in fact so visiting Dambatenne tea factory is an off the beaten track gem. If you've grown up on drinking tea it's a place not to be missed though I must say.
Getting to Dambatenne Tea Factory
Getting to the Dambatenne Tea Factory is tricky for tourists. Up in the mountains and valleys there is no rail system here. The bus system does run, but the roads are so narrow you are better off finding a local driver. Get a local driver to take you and save the hassle! He will know what he is doing! []
How much does it cost to visit Dambatenne Tea Factory?
The entrance fee is a simple 250 Rupees, payable in cash only at the front door. You may have to wait until one of the workers is available to take you round. It's not busy at all - despite being a great place to visit and one of my travel highlights, this is still well off the normal traveller's trail - worth getting out to.
What length of time is a tour of Dambatenne Tea Factory?
Your tour will be split into three main parts and should take around 25 minutes:
1. A visit to the rooms upstairs where the tea arrives in from. They are put into machines to begin the refining 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. The tea is heated and then cooled and put into bags ready for shipment.
You can't take photos inside during parts 2 and 3 which is fine as it's their system. The staff will all be working hard in the background so it's important to respect that. The opening hours of the tours seemed to be 9-5 but double check before you visit.
What else can you do on the tour?
It's a very basic and quick tour and that's really all there is to it. I was surprised to learn that there is NO tea shop or even souvenir shop there - I'd have thought they would have made money from something like that, but alas the only thing you can do is buy a fresh packet of Dambatenne Tea!!
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. Admire the views of the mountains
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. Go to the town of Haputale which has hotels, shops, an ATM and markets
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!
OK it's tea time!
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