Sri Lanka Tea Country and historic Galle combined two-centre holiday
This Sri Lanka holiday combines much that is quintessential to this country. You are immersed in both stunning natural scenery in the hills of the Tea country and the historic charm of Galle.
Nuwara Eliya: Ceylon's Highland Retreat
High in Sri Lanka's misty hill and tea country, Nuwara Eliya remains an enchanting vestige of colonial Ceylon. Your days here unfold at a gentler pace among manicured tea estates where pickers still work the slopes by hand, their colourful saris bright against emerald hillsides. You stay in a heritage planter's bungalow not far from the town; crackling fires ward off the evening chill, and morning tea arrives with views across undulating valleys shrouded in mist. Nearby in Nuwara Eliya, wander through Victoria Park's rose gardens, visit a working tea factory to watch the careful transformation from leaf to cup, or simply relax on your veranda as clouds drift through the mountains. The climate here is wonderfully temperate, offering respite from the tropical heat, whilst the scenery recalls the Scottish Highlands reimagined in verdant green.
Galle Fort: Historic Elegance by the Sea
Within Galle's UNESCO-listed Dutch Fort, centuries-old ramparts embrace a captivating blend of colonial architecture and contemporary boutique living. Your stay here places you in the heart of one of Asia's finest preserved fortified cities, where cobbled lanes lead past art galleries, antique shops and intimate cafés housed in restored merchants' buildings. Walk the ramparts at sunset as cricketers play on the green below and fishing boats return across the turquoise bay. The Fort is home to beautifully restored colonial villas, many designed or influenced by the Sri Lanka architect, Geoffrey Bawa. Beyond your hotel, temple visits, such as of Yatagala Rajamaha Viharaya, whale-watching excursions from Mirissa, (depending on the time of the year of your visit) and pristine southern beaches await, yet the Fort's timeless atmosphere may well tempt you to linger within its protective walls. Within Galle there are traditional cooking classes and mask-painting workshops available.
Highlights
Tea Country • Nuwara Eliya • Ella Gap • Galle
Lovely holiday - thanks. Particularly enjoyed our guide who was fabulous.Mr B, November 2025
Holiday price guide Price per person and includes 10 nights’ based on two people sharing a double or twin room.
From about
£4,280
Holiday Code SLFH01
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Sri Lanka Tea Country and historic Galle combined two-centre holiday
Arrive in Colombo where you are met by your private car and driver. The drive of between five and six hours from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya is one of Sri Lanka's most rewarding journeys, climbing nearly 6,000 feet through dramatically changing landscapes over approximately 180 kilometres.
Leaving the bustling streets of Colombo behind, you first traverse the coastal plains, passing through rubber plantations and villages where daily life unfolds at the roadside. As you begin the ascent into the hill country, the landscape transforms. The road winds upward through increasingly verdant terrain, with glimpses of cascading waterfalls tumbling down jungle-clad hillsides. Roadside stalls selling fresh pineapples, mangoes and rambutans provide ideal stops to stretch your legs and sample local fruit.
Around Kitulgala, the route follows the Kelani River through dense rainforest, a region famous for white-water rafting and as a filming location for The Bridge on the River Kwai. As you climb higher still, the jungle gives way to the first tea estates, their geometric rows of bushes carpeting every available slope. Women tea-pickers dot the hillsides, their bright saris creating splashes of colour against the green.
The final approach to Nuwara Eliya takes you past magnificent viewpoints where the road clings to mountainsides, revealing layer upon layer of misty peaks receding into the distance. The air grows noticeably cooler and crisper. Colonial-era bungalows appear among the tea estates, and suddenly you're in Nuwara Eliya itself, where the temperature can be twenty degrees lower than Colombo, eucalyptus trees line the roads, and the atmosphere feels refreshingly different from the tropical lowlands you left behind that morning.
Check-in to your hotel where you will spend five nights.
You have four days to explore the region and the rich array of experiences it has to offer. Nuwara Eliya, the ‘Little England' of Sri Lanka is set against beautiful backdrops of mountains, valleys, waterfalls and tea plantations. It is one of the coolest places in the island with high rainfall and really feels just like an English spring day (16-20C), although the temperature does drop at night (can be around 10C). Nuwara Eliya is full of British influences with houses like country cottages or Queen Ann style mansions. Things to do in Nuwara Eliya include playing golf at the scenic 18-hole golf course complete with quaint Clubhouse; dining at The Hill Club which is like stepping back in time to British colonial days; and strolling and birdwatching in Victoria Park in the middle of town. Nuwara Eliya is famous for its trotting horse races which take place throughout the year of year with the main event being held is in April. Whilst seasons are absent elsewhere in Sri Lanka, in Nuwara Eliya flowers bloom in springtime (March to May) and autumn (August and September), which is when low-country folk flock here to escape the sea level heat and humidity. To the north of the Nuwara Eliya town rises Pidurutalagala, the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, its peak at 2,524m above sea level. During your stay there is ample chance for rest and relaxation at your boutique hotel. Whilst on the Concordia Estate make the most of the proximity to Finlay’s Tea Factory, an authentic, working tea factory that is within walking distance of Goatfell. One of the butler-guides can accompany you on a walk through the estate, along roads lined with waist-high tea bushes. The chef at Goatfell provides Sri Lankan cookery experience using clay pots to cook the curries you eat at the hotel. Watch or get involved and then enjoy the rice and curry meal you’ve helped prepare. To explore the area and experience the rich diversity of bird-life, a Naturalist is available to accompany you on a birdwatching walk.
This morning you are collected by your private car and driver. The drive from Nuwara Eliya to Galle is one of Sri Lanka's most dramatically varied journeys, descending from the misty tea estates at nearly 2,000 metres to the sun-drenched southern coastline over approximately 200 kilometres. With your chauffeur-guide, this journey typically takes six to seven hours, though the changing landscapes and photographic opportunities make it well worth savouring at a leisurely pace.
Departing Nuwara Eliya in the early morning mist, you wind down through terraced tea plantations where the air is crisp and cool. The descent towards Ella is particularly spectacular, with the road clinging to mountainsides offering vertiginous views across plunging valleys carpeted in emerald tea bushes. Pine forests give way to more tropical vegetation as you lose altitude, and the temperature perceptibly warms with each passing kilometre.
You might choose to pause at Ella, a charming hill station where cafés overlook dramatic gorges and the iconic Ella Rock rises above the town. Just beyond, the Nine Arch Bridge – a magnificent colonial-era railway viaduct set among the jungle – provides an unmissable photo opportunity, especially if your visit coincides with when the blue train crosses its graceful spans.
As you continue descending through Wellawaya, the landscape transforms dramatically. The lush green hills gradually flatten into drier terrain, with rice paddies replacing tea estates and palmyra palms dotting the horizon. This is the transition zone where the hill country meets the lowlands, and the vegetation becomes distinctly more tropical.
The route then skirts Yala National Park, home to elephants, leopards and abundant birdlife. Even from the main road, you may glimpse peacocks, monitor lizards and monkeys in the scrubland.
Approaching the coast near Tangalle, the first glimpses of the Indian Ocean appear – a shimmering turquoise line on the horizon. The final stretch follows the southern coastline, passing pristine beaches framed by coconut palms, sleepy fishing villages where colourful boats are drawn up on the sand, and the occasional stilt fisherman perched above the waves in timeless pose.
As you near Galle, the landscape becomes more populated, with roadside villages, Buddhist temples and bustling market towns. Then, quite suddenly, the imposing ramparts of Galle Fort come into view – the weathered stone walls rising above the harbour, lighthouse standing sentinel, and the promise of colonial elegance and coastal tranquillity awaiting within. The journey from mountain mists to tropical shores is complete.
You spend five nights in Galle.
Within the ramparts of Galle Fort, life unfolds at an altogether more civilised pace. Your mornings might begin with a stroll along the fort walls as fishermen cast their nets below and the lighthouse catches the early sun. The cobbled streets reveal treasures at every turn – antique shops filled with colonial-era maps and Dutch ceramics, contemporary art galleries showcasing Sri Lankan talent, and intimate boutiques selling handcrafted jewellery and textiles.
For cultural immersion, visit the Dutch Reformed Church and the National Maritime Museum, or simply observe daily life as schoolchildren in crisp white uniforms traverse the fort's lanes. The cricket ground within the ramparts hosts matches most evenings, offering quintessentially Sri Lankan entertainment.
Beyond the fort, whale watching excursions from Mirissa (November to April) provide the exhilarating possibility of encountering blue whales and spinner dolphins. The nearby beaches at Unawatuna and Jungle Beach offer excellent snorkelling among coral reefs, whilst Hikkaduwa's marine sanctuary shelters sea turtles. For the adventurous, surfing lessons are readily available.
Closer to hand, Galle's restaurants serve exceptional seafood – from refined hotel dining to charming fort-side eateries where the day's catch is simply but expertly prepared. Sunset cocktails on a rampart-top terrace, followed by dinner in a candlelit courtyard garden, epitomises the Fort's unhurried elegance.
During your stay we can arrange for you to have a walking tour with a private guide, local cooking classes and excursions to nearby temples and beaches.
A private car and driver will collect you from your hotel today and take you back to Colombo airport for your onward flight home. The journey now along the relatively new expressway takes about two hours. Once on the expressway, the experience is markedly different from traditional Sri Lankan travel. The dual carriageway cuts inland through the countryside, elevated on pillars that carry you above the landscape. Rice paddies stretch to either side, punctuated by clusters of palm trees and small villages visible in the distance. Water buffalo graze in flooded fields, and egrets pick their way through the shallows.
Lovely holiday - thanks. Particularly enjoyed our guide who was fabulous.Mr B, November 2025
Holiday price guide Price per person and includes 10 nights’ based on two people sharing a double or twin room.
From about
£4,280
Holiday Code SLFH01
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Our prices include
● Flights from London to Colombo return in economy
● Private car transfers
● 5 nights’ in a Concordia room with breakfast, lunch and dinner at Goatfell, Tea Country
● 5 nights’ in a Library Suite with bed and breakfast at the Galle Fort Hotel, Galle
● Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
Additional information This holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Additional nights can be added at any point on this itinerary. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
Call us on 01392 441245
Lovely holiday - thanks. Particularly enjoyed our guide who was fabulous.Mr B, November 2025
Holiday price guide Price per person and includes 10 nights’ based on two people sharing a double or twin room.
From about
£4,280
Holiday Code SLFH01
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Our prices include
• Flights from London to Colombo return in economy
• Private car transfers
• 5 nights’ in a Concordia room with breakfast, lunch and dinner at Goatfell, Tea Country
• 5 nights’ in a Library Suite with bed and breakfast at the Galle Fort Hotel, Galle
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
The journey and how you get there Fly to Colombo. With Sri Lankan there is an overnight flight from London that arrives about 13.00 hrs the next day. You are met by a car and driver and taken to your hotel near Nuwara Eliya in Tea Country. The drive takes about five hours. If you prefer, we can arrange for you to have a night in or near Colombo upon arrival. There is no use of the car and driver during each five-night stay. At the end of the stay in Tea Country you will be driven by private car with driver to Galle. The journey takes about six hours. On the last day, you are transferred by private car with driver from Galle to Colombo for the flight back to London. This journey time is about two hours.
Additional information This holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Additional nights can be added at any point on this itinerary. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
Call us on 01392 441245
Sri Lanka Tea Country and historic Galle combined two-centre holiday
Goatfell is a luxuriously renovated tea-planter’s bungalow with just four bedrooms surrounded by tea bushes in the hills near Nuwara Eliya
Concordia room
Galle Fort Hotel is an award-winning small luxury boutique hotel located in the old Dutch Fort. Delicious cuisine and serene atmosphere make it a tranquil haven from the bustle of Galle.
Library suite
Lovely holiday - thanks. Particularly enjoyed our guide who was fabulous.Mr B, November 2025
Holiday price guide Price per person and includes 10 nights’ based on two people sharing a double or twin room.
From about
£4,280
Holiday Code SLFH01
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Our prices include
• Flights from London to Colombo return in economy
• Private car transfers
• 5 nights’ in a Concordia room with breakfast, lunch and dinner at Goatfell, Tea Country
• 5 nights’ in a Library Suite with bed and breakfast at the Galle Fort Hotel, Galle
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
The journey and how you get there Fly to Colombo. With Sri Lankan there is an overnight flight from London that arrives about 13.00 hrs the next day. You are met by a car and driver and taken to your hotel near Nuwara Eliya in Tea Country. The drive takes about five hours. If you prefer, we can arrange for you to have a night in or near Colombo upon arrival. There is no use of the car and driver during each five-night stay. At the end of the stay in Tea Country you will be driven by private car with driver to Galle. The journey takes about six hours. On the last day, you are transferred by private car with driver from Galle to Colombo for the flight back to London. This journey time is about two hours.
Additional information This holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Additional nights can be added at any point on this itinerary. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
Call us on 01392 441245
Sri Lanka Tea Country and historic Galle combined two-centre holiday
About Galle and south coast
A stay in Galle and southern Sri Lanka uncovers a world of historic Dutch forts, beautiful beaches and fishermen fishing on stilts, where sleepy villages lie hidden in palms behind the wide sandy bays and sheltered coves. The further east you go, the less populated and the more naturally wild and remote the landscapes become. The lush inland forest reserves in the south-west contrast sharply with the arid south-eastern national parks of Yala, Uda Walave and Bundala, where wild elephants and migratory birds flock around the water ‘tanks’ and where leopards and sloth bear have been known to roam. Between December and April, the south coast is popular for whale and dolphin watching, in the waters off Weligama Bay. Galle, on the south-west tip of Sri Lanka, is a reminder of the Dutch presence on the island. The new town may have the usual urban bustle, but the Dutch Fort, built in 1663, retains a timeless air. Constructed by the Dutch East Indian Company as a fortified town, Galle Fort is a UNESCO world heritage site which is still intact with a thriving community living and working within its walls. You can walk along part of the ramparts with views out to sea on one side and the famous Galle cricket ground on the other. The region around Galle is fascinating and incredibly beautiful with its rainforest reserves and indigenous wildlife, as well as fishing villages and palm-fringed, sandy coves. We have selected hotels in Galle and along the South Coast which are ideally located to visit the many places of interest in the area. These hotels include Jetwing Lighthouse, a classy hotel designed by Geoffrey Bawa; The Fortress, an outstanding deluxe resort hotel; Amangalla, a splendid colonial-style hotel; Kahanda Kanda, a small and elegant countryside hotel; and Taprobane Island, a private island retreat.
Highlights of Galle and the south coast
Fascinating Galle has plenty to offer the visitor: Galle Fort – UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the few living fort cities in the world; Walk around the ramparts of Galle at dawn or at sunset; Arts & crafts shopping – jewellery, lace, rush & reed, home décor, furniture, antiques, batik and boutiques; The Dutch Reformed Church; Galle Literary Festival in January; National Museum; Maritime Museum in the Dutch warehouses of Galle Fort, just re-opened; Galle Markets; Galle Cricket Stadium; Hot-air balloon ride (December to April); River boat trip. A little way inland from Galle/Koggala: Hiyare Nature Reserve (volunteering possible); Kottawe Nature Reserve; Kanneliya Forest; Samakanda (organic farm, visit, walks and lunches available upon request); Village life bike rides; Handicrafts in the villages e.g. lace-making, rush & reed, woodcarving; Yatagala Temple. On the way from Galle to Yala you can enjoy: Stilt Fishermen; Cinnamon plantations; Unuwatuna beach; Martin Wickramasinghe’s house – museum (literary and 20th century life); Koggala Lake; Hinduangoda White tea factory and estate; Lace-making – Weligama, Dickwella; Surfing – popular surfing beaches from Unuwatuna to Mirissa; Weligama Bay; Coastal villages and fishing harbours; Whale Watching and Dolphin Watching (from Mirissa); Diving (from Mirissa); Deep-sea fishing trips (from Mirissa); Provincial town of Matara (Dutch heritage – fort and church); Dondra Head and Dondra Lighthouse; Kudawala Blow Hole; Mulkirigala Buddhist temple (inland); Uda Walawe National Park and Elephant Transit Home (inland); Sea Turtles laying their eggs on the beach, usually February to July (Rekawa Turtle Project); Kalametiya bird sanctuary; Bundala Nature Reserve (bird-watching mainly); Yala National Park; Kataragama – centre for Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim pilgrimages; Tissamaharama - ancient ‘tank’ and dagobas.
Cultural highlights of Galle and the south coast
There are many places to visit in Galle and the area along the south coast of Sri Lanka. In Galle itself, Galle Fort is home to a national museum housing Dutch and Singhalese exhibits of historical interest as well as a newly-opened Maritime Museum, a lighthouse and a 17th century Dutch Reform Church. The narrow streets within the Fort are fascinating for their architecture, lined with official buildings, shops and old town houses, some of which have been converted to stylish villas and boutique hotels. Outside the ramparts, Galle functions busily as a provincial town and port - brightly painted fishing boats line the shore and there is a lively market area with a whole pavilion dedicated to fish. Galle and the surrounding villages are full of artisans – lace makers, jewellers, woodcarvers, painters and people making things out of coir, rush and reed. The National Crafts Council has a centre by the old entrance to Galle Fort and there are plenty of small shops selling crafts, jewellery and antiques, as well as a few designer boutiques. Slightly further afield, there are numerous beautiful beaches and fishing villages including Thalpe, Unuwatuna, Matara, Koggala, Weligama Bay and Tangalle, as well as a number of National Parks with plenty of wildlife.
Festivals in Galle and the south coast
January: The Galle Literary Festival - this 4-day festival brings together Sri Lankan and international authors from around the world for writing workshops, talks, exhibitions and more at various locations in Galle. Past guests have included Vickram Seth and Gore Vidal. July: Unuwatuna Perahera - a 7-day festival commencing on full moon day. Matara/Dondra Perahera - with dedications to Lord Vishnu. Kataragama Esala Festival - a 10-day festival when pilgrims give penance to the Hindu war god, Skanda. July to September: Kite flying on the ramparts of Galle
Climate in Galle and the south coast
The average temperature on the South coast is 32° C with 65% humidity, though it is cooler and more humid in the west, getting progressively hotter and less humid the further east you go, especially the east of Tangalle. The evenings are a little cooler and the coasts enjoy sea breezes. Rainfall is experienced mainly during the south-west monsoon from May to August. The ‘calm’ season is December to April, when the seas are general calm and there is little rainfall. Whilst the sea appears calm out of the monsoons, there are still undercurrents and riptides.
Call us on 01392 441245
Sri Lanka Tea Country and historic Galle combined two-centre holiday
About Tea and hill country
An Expressions tailor-made holiday to Sri Lanka’s Tea Country incorporates the best of this diverse and exotic region. Popularly known as the High Tea Country, the temperate highlands of southern central Sri Lanka are wonderfully scenic with stunning mountain and valley vistas almost everywhere you go, and of course, often carpeted in tea bushes. Thanks to the multitude of micro-climates, the landscape is constantly changing, and it is an incredibly beautiful mountain area, worth visiting for the scenery as well as the tea culture. It is also Sri Lanka’s heartland for market gardens and dairy products; endless rows of vegetables and strawberries hug the slopes, vying for space with the tea bushes. Kandy, the royal capital of the hill country is a UNESCO world heritage site, built beside a placid lake surrounded by hills. This is certainly a thriving cultural capital with its universities and centres for Buddhist learning and the arts. Kandy is home to one of Buddhism’s most sacred sites, the ‘Dalada Maligawa’ Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, as well as a number of other historical and cultural places of interest.
Highlights of Tea Country
Kandy market; Kandy area – handicrafts villages and workshops – brass, musical instruments, basket weaving, batik, painting; Kandy evening cultural show; Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage; Peradeniya Botanical Gardens; Mahaweli River and Victoria Dam; Tea estates; Drive to Nuwara Eliya and around the tea plantations, visiting a tea factory; Hantana mountain and Hantana tea plantations - walks and museum; Buddhist sites near Kandy – Gadaladeniya, Hindagala Vihara, Embekke Divale, Lankatilake; Mahiyangana – Rajamaha dagoba; Aluvihara Buddhist temple; Aluvihara Heritage Centre (Ena de Silva batik art and workshop and Sri Lankan rice & curry lunch); Knuckles Mountain Range - scenic drives and walking; Rubber plantations; Spice farms; Rail journey to Tea Country; Relaxing in the lush tropical hills; Treat your body, mind and soul to a programme of Ayurvedic massage and herbal treatments; Golf at the Victoria Golf course; Riding at Victoria Saddle Club; Walking and trekking; Cycling; White water rafting at Kitulgala.
Cultural highlights of Tea Country
Places of interest in Kandy include the Temple of the Tooth, the sacred Buddhist site which holds the tooth of Lord Buddha which is said to have been brought from India in the third century. The Temple lies within the Royal Palace complex along with the National Museum, the Audience Hall and a museum dedicated to the famous elephant, Raja. British legacies remain in central Kandy, in the form of grand old buildings and hotels, St Paul’s Church and Royal Palace Park. It is possible to walk most of the way around the lake besides which Kandy is built, where you can see the Royal Bathing Pavilion and the royal summerhouse which is on an island in the centre of the lake.). There is a lively market and a plethora of shops, gem showrooms and arts & crafts workshops. There are also several nightly cultural shows that showcase traditional Kandyan drumming, music and dance and the city boasts a fine international cricket stadium. Other highlights of the region include Pinnawela elephant orphanage where abandoned or injured elephants are cared for; Nuwara Eliya, a hill town with many British influences; the mountainous scenery and tea plantations around Ambewela and Bandarawela; the Highland Railway between Kandy and Badulla; and Tea Experience and Tea museums, an essential part of any visit to this part of Sri Lanka.
Festivals in Tea Country
Kandy - Esala Perahera Festival - July or August (depending on the date of the Esala full moon). This spectacular cultural pageant is held over 10 days with the processions and celebrations getting more elaborate and longer each day. Although in ancient times this was a procession to honour Hindu gods, during the reign of King Rajasinghe it was decreed that the procession should be in honour the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha. Each night, dancers, drummers, flute players, whip-crackers and elephants form a procession around the streets and Kandy lake. The ornately decorated elephants increase daily in number to 100 on the last night, the finest of them being the Maligawa Tusker which carries the Sacred Tooth Relic, led by the Chiefs of the Temple in traditional silver and gold ceremonial dress. The Nuwara Eliya season runs from April to June. Horse racing in High Tea Country (trotting) in January, February, April, August and December. Bandarawela Perahera on full moon day in June.
Climate in Tea Country
Climate in Kandy: The daytime temperatures in Kandy and the surrounding hills range from around 22° C to 31° C, with cooler evenings averaging 17° C. It is fairly humid and misty in the evenings with short outbursts of rain. Heavier rainfalls occur during the south-west monsoon from May to August. Climate in the High Tea Country: At an elevation of above 4,000 feet the climate is cooler and less humid with cool mornings, warm days and cool evenings. Daytime temperatures are in the low to mid 20s Celsius and at nights can drop to around 10° C. The driest part of the year is between December and April, and September is normally quite dry. The rainy season is May, June and July, and October and November due to the north-east, south-west and intermediate monsoons, and July is generally the coldest month. February and March are usually dry and around 20° C. Micro-climates exist from valley to valley. The weather at Warwick Gardens, for example, is around 16° C at night and can reach 26° C during the day, whilst the temperature at Bandarawela goes from 12° C to 20° C.
