Ceylon Tea Trails, Hatton, Sri Lanka

Ceylon Tea Trails is one of the most charming places to stay in Asia: five restored colonial tea planters' bungalows spread across the emerald hills of Sri Lanka's tea country. Sri Lanka's first Relais & Châteaux property, each bungalow has its own butler and chef, and stays are all-inclusive, with high tea on the lawn, walks through the plantations and views over Castlereagh Lake.

Location: Hatton, Sri Lanka

The bungalows are scattered around Castlereagh Lake near Hatton, in the Central Highlands, connected by walking trails through the tea estates.

Sri Lanka's hill country is a landscape of emerald tea plantations, waterfalls and misty peaks, crossed by one of the world's most beautiful railway journeys, from Kandy to Ella. The tea estates were planted by the British in the nineteenth century, and many of the old planters' bungalows survive. The climate is cool and fresh compared with the coast, and the region is famous for its hikes, from the pilgrimage climb up Adam's Peak to the gentle trails of Ella. Colombo is several hours away by road, and Adam's Peak, the sacred mountain climbed by pilgrims through the night to see the sunrise, is nearby.

The hill country is full of things to see: Kandy, with its Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Nuwara Eliya, with its colonial buildings and racecourse, and Horton Plains National Park, where the cliffs of World's End drop hundreds of metres to the lowlands. Sri Lanka's tea industry began here in the 1860s, when the Scottish planter James Taylor established the first commercial plantation near Kandy, and tea factories across the region welcome visitors.

Bungalows and rooms at Ceylon Tea Trails

There are five bungalows, Summerville, Castlereagh, Dunkeld, Norwood and Tientsin, with 27 rooms between them. Built for British tea planters, they have been beautifully restored with antiques, four-poster beds, fireplaces and verandas, and three of them overlook Castlereagh Lake. Each has its own butler and chef, so it feels like staying in a private home.

Each bungalow has its own personality: Castlereagh, by the lake, is grand and gracious; Norwood, high in the hills, is cosy and intimate; Tientsin has wide views over the valleys; and Summerville and Dunkeld are both set above the water. Many guests move between two or three bungalows during their stay.

Facilities at Ceylon Tea Trails

Stays are all-inclusive, covering meals, high tea and drinks, and menus are tailored to each guest by the bungalow's chef. Guests can walk between the bungalows on trails through the tea gardens, visit a working tea factory, take tea tastings, cycle, play tennis and, for the adventurous, climb Adam's Peak. Every bungalow has a large swimming pool with views over the lake or the tea-covered hills.

The mountain moment

The Tea Trails moment is afternoon tea on the lawn of your bungalow, looking out over Castlereagh Lake and rolling hills of tea bushes, as tea pickers in brightly coloured saris move slowly along the slopes and the mist gathers on the peaks.

At dawn, the mist rises off Castlereagh Lake, the tea pickers begin their work on the slopes, and the distant summit of Adam's Peak appears above the hills, glowing in the first light.

Why Ceylon Tea Trails is one of the best mountain hotels

Ceylon Tea Trails earns its place for its charm, its history and its service. Staying in a planter's bungalow, with your own butler and chef, is one of the most memorable hotel experiences in Asia. It is expensive, and it is a quiet, gentle retreat rather than an adventure base. But for couples, families and anyone who loves tea, history and hills, it is a delight.

For Ella, further into the hill country, see 98 Acres Resort.

Two or three nights is ideal, perhaps moving between two bungalows to experience different settings. Many guests combine Tea Trails with Kandy, the cultural triangle of Sigiriya and the ancient cities, a safari in Yala or Udawalawe, and the beaches of the south coast. Bring warm layers for the cool evenings and good walking shoes for the trails.

When to go to Ceylon Tea Trails

The hill country is best from January to April, when the weather is driest and clearest, and the Adam's Peak pilgrimage season runs from December to May. The south-west monsoon brings rain from May to September, and the hills can be misty, though the tea gardens are lush and green. October and November bring the inter-monsoon rains.

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