Tea Trails of South India and Sri Lanka

Coimbatore airport is compact and quick to clear, and the person holding a card with your name outside arrivals is your driver for the Indian leg. Most travelers reach this textile city on a connecting flight from Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore or a Gulf hub, so the plan for today is simply to get you up into the cool air. The road heads north through the plains to Mettupalayam, a busy trading town where the plains end and the Nilgiris begin, before climbing a ghat road of hairpin bends through forest, areca palms and the first scattered tea bushes. Your driver stops wherever you would like a photo or a cup of roadside chai.

Coonoor sits at about 1,800 meters, a little lower and quieter than Ooty, and many tea lovers prefer it as a base for that reason. Its steep valleys are covered in neat green rows of tea, broken by silver oak trees planted to give the bushes light shade and to act as windbreaks. You check in to a planter's bungalow or heritage hotel on the edge of town and have the rest of the afternoon to settle in. The air can be cool enough for a light sweater after sunset even in the warmer months, so keep one in your hand luggage for the drive up.

Before dinner, a short walk around your hotel gardens or along a nearby estate lane loosens the legs nicely after hours of sitting. The Nilgiris, meaning the blue mountains, are thought to take their name from the haze that hangs over the slopes or from the kurinji shrubs that flower in blue waves every twelve years. In the evening your host can brew a pot of local tea for you, and our team goes over the plan for tomorrow morning, including your train timings and the tea factory visit. Overnight in Coonoor.

A tea garden is at its liveliest before lunch, as plucking starts early and the factories are busiest from mid-morning. Your guide leads a walk through a family-run Nilgiri tea estate near Coonoor, where pluckers move steadily between the bushes, a basket slung from the forehead, picking only the soft new growth at the top of every shoot. You learn why Nilgiri teas are often called the fragrant cousin of Darjeeling and Assam, and how the cool climate and frequent winter frost give the leaf its bright, brisk character. Inside the small factory you follow the stages of withering, rolling, fermenting, drying and sorting.

A tasting at the factory gives you a first lesson in reading a cup. Your host sets out several grades side by side, running from delicate whole-leaf grades down to the stronger dust grades used in Indian masala chai, and shows how professional tasters slurp loudly to spread the liquor across the tongue. Some estates also make green, white or frost teas in small quantities, and the factory shop is a good place to buy fresh packets direct from the grower. A short stroll in Sim's Park, the town's hillside garden from the Victorian era, comes before an early lunch in Coonoor.

Early in the afternoon the little blue carriages of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway pull out of Coonoor station with you on board for the climb to Ooty, while your car and luggage go ahead by road. This upper section takes a little over an hour, running through tunnels, over viaducts and past tea gardens and eucalyptus plantations, stopping at small stations such as Wellington and Lovedale. UNESCO groups this line with two other historic hill railways in the north of India, and because seats go quickly, we reserve yours the moment your dates are fixed. On the platform at Ooty, your driver is already waiting to take you to the hotel. Overnight in Ooty.

Ooty, or Udhagamandalam, was where the colonial administration of Madras moved each summer to escape the heat, and parts of the town still have the look of an English hill station, with stone churches, cottages and old club buildings. The town lies at around 2,240 meters and is cooler than Coonoor, with crisp mornings in the winter months. After breakfast your guide takes you up to Doddabetta, the highest point in the Nilgiris at about 2,640 meters, where a viewing tower looks out over folded hills, tea slopes and on clear days the plains of Mysore. Mornings are best, as mist often rolls in by noon.

On the way back down you stop at a tea factory and small museum on the Doddabetta road, where machinery from different eras is on display and the processing line runs most days. Panels explain how the tea industry spread here from the mid-1800s and how it changed the lives of hill communities such as the Badagas, many of whom now grow tea on small family plots and sell the leaf to cooperative factories. Ask how orthodox leaf differs from CTC, the crush-tear-curl method, and you will hear why the granular second type fills most Indian teapots.

After lunch you walk through the Government Botanical Garden, set on terraced slopes and planted with ferns, conifers, rose beds and a petrified tree trunk of great age near the entrance. Before dusk you might hire a rowing boat on Ooty Lake or wander through the town's covered market, where stalls sell homemade chocolate, eucalyptus oil and loose tea by weight. The Toda people, one of the oldest communities of the Nilgiris, still live in small hamlets around Ooty, and your guide can describe their barrel-roofed homes and buffalo-herding traditions. Overnight in Ooty.

The road from Ooty to Munnar is too long for a single day, and an overnight stop in Valparai turns that problem into one of the highlights of the trip. Leaving straight after breakfast, you wind down out of the Nilgiris to Mettupalayam and the Coimbatore plains, then runs past coconut farms and wind turbines to Pollachi, a hub of the coconut business. Lunch here is usually a Tamil meals plate, with rice, lentil curry, peppery broth and three or four vegetable dishes laid out on a leaf. At Aliyar, below the wall of the Anamalai range, the serious climbing starts.

The Valparai ghat road is famous among Indian drivers for its 40 hairpin bends, counted off one by one on roadside markers, and the views back over the Aliyar reservoir grow wider as you climb. Lion-tailed macaques, an endangered monkey with a silver mane found only in the Western Ghats, are sometimes seen in the rainforest fragments along the route, and your driver will stop if a troop appears. Please do not feed them, as this is harmful to the animals and forbidden by the forest department. Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat, can occasionally be seen on the rocky slopes near the top.

Valparai lies on a plateau at around 1,100 meters and is ringed by tea and coffee plantations, with strips of rainforest left standing along the streams. It is much less visited than Ooty or Munnar, and the town has a working, slightly rough character rather than a polished hill-station feel. You check in to a planter's bungalow or estate stay in the late afternoon. With daylight left, a stroll on the plantation lanes is pleasant, where elephants sometimes pass through at dusk, so follow your host's advice on where and when it is safe to go out. Overnight in Valparai.

After an early tea and breakfast in the bungalow, you set out on the road from Valparai down to Pollachi and then east to Udumalpet before turning south-west into the Kerala hills. It is a long day in the car, but the scenery changes often enough to keep it interesting. The descent from the plateau shows the Anamalai range in morning light, and the lowland stretch passes windmills, coconut farms and small temples. Near Udumalpet the road enters the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, a dry forest where grizzled giant squirrels, spotted deer and elephants are occasionally seen from the road.

Past Chinnar you cross into Kerala at Marayoor, a village known for its sandalwood forest, sugarcane fields and jaggery made in small family units by the roadside. Your driver can stop for you to watch the cane juice being boiled down into dark blocks of jaggery, a sweet still used in many Kerala desserts. The road then climbs steadily into Munnar, and the slopes around you turn into a sea of tea, with every hillside cut into contour rows and dotted with silver oaks. Above the estates stand the tallest summits of the Western Ghats, including Anamudi, the tallest mountain in South India.

Mid-afternoon brings you to your Munnar base, a plantation resort or hillside hotel set above the town, where the evenings are cool and often misty. Munnar sits at roughly 1,600 meters at the confluence of three mountain streams, and its name is often said to mean three rivers in Malayalam. The British planted tea here in the late 19th century, and today most of the land is still managed by large tea companies, with workers' quarters, schools and small hospitals built into the estates. Your host can arrange a short walk on the estate paths before dark. Overnight in Munnar.

Your morning begins at the KDHP Tea Museum at Nallathanni estate, which shows clearly how a large plantation turns leaf into tea. A documentary screening traces how planting began in the High Ranges, and a collection of old machinery, photographs and a rotor from an early factory show how the industry grew. The guided part of the visit takes you along a working processing line, where freshly plucked leaf goes through withering, rolling, oxidation, drying and grading. At the end, a tasting lets you compare several Munnar teas, and the shop sells fresh packets from the factory.

Later in the morning you drive out to the high slopes for a closer look at a working estate. Depending on the season and road conditions, your guide may suggest a jeep trip up to the very high gardens of Kolukkumalai on the Kerala and Tamil Nadu border, where the views stretch over the plains on clear days, or a walk through gardens nearer town. Plucking teams work from early morning, and photography is usually fine as long as you ask first. Many tea workers in Munnar are descendants of Tamil families brought here by planters more than a century ago.

The afternoon is free to relax or to visit Eravikulam National Park, the main stronghold of the endangered Nilgiri tahr, though the park usually closes for some weeks in February and March during the calving season. Alternatively, a drive to Mattupetty Dam and Echo Point offers lakes, grassland and the dairy farm run by the Indo-Swiss project. Back at your hotel, watch the mist fill the valleys at dusk with a cup of Munnar tea, and keep an eye out for the giant Malabar squirrel, a large reddish-brown squirrel found in these forests. Overnight in Munnar.

You leave the high tea country after breakfast and descend towards the Kerala coast on a winding road through spice gardens, rubber plantations and waterfalls that run strongest in the months after the rains. Cardamom grows in the shade of the forest on these slopes, and a halt at a family spice plot lets the grower walk you past pepper vines, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon still on the plant. The Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls are close to the road and make easy photo stops. Lower down, the landscape opens into paddy fields, coconut groves and the busy towns of central Kerala.

Ships have loaded cargo at Kochi since long before the Portuguese arrived, and tea became one of the goods that passed through its harbor on the way to London. The city still hosts one of the major tea auction centers in India, where brokers and buyers bid on the leaf from the Nilgiris, Munnar and Wayanad. Once your Fort Kochi room is ready, a guide leads you through the old warehouse district of Mattancherry and Jew Town, where traders still sell spices, ginger and tea from long, narrow godowns that have lined these streets for generations.

As evening comes, your guide walks you along the waterfront to the Chinese fishing nets, huge wooden frames that crews dip into the water by shifting heavy stones tied to ropes. At sunset the nets stand in silhouette against the harbor, and small stalls nearby will cook fresh fish to order if you would like a seaside dinner. Nearby St. Francis Church is tied to the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, buried inside for a time after his death on his third voyage to India. Tonight is your last night in India, so check that your passport and India e-Visa printout are ready. Overnight in Kochi.

Breakfast is early today, since getting out to the airport at Nedumbassery from the old town can take ninety minutes or more, and the short hop to Colombo leaves in the morning on most schedules. Air time is roughly an hour, with direct or one-stop services depending on the day. Arrive at least three hours before departure for international check-in and emigration. Well before departure, our team checks what travel authorization Colombo currently requires for holders of your passport, as the system has been revised several times recently, and we suggest carrying printouts of all bookings for the immigration desk.

In the arrivals area at Colombo, your Sri Lankan driver-guide is waiting beyond the customs hall to start the drive inland to Kandy, the last royal capital of the island. The road climbs gradually past rubber estates, pineapple stalls and cashew sellers at Cadjugama, a village famous for its roadside cashew stands. Kandy comes into view towards dusk, and your hotel looks out over the lake or the wooded hills. After a day of travel, dinner and an early night at the hotel are a good plan. Overnight in Kandy.

Sri Lanka's tea story begins near Kandy, where a Scottish planter named James Taylor started the first commercial tea plantation in the 1860s after coffee rust destroyed the island's coffee farms. Your guide takes you first to the Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane, set in a converted old tea factory on the hills above Kandy. Its floors hold rolling machines, dryers and sorting equipment from the colonial period, along with Taylor's personal items and displays on how Ceylon tea became one of the best-known brands in the world. The top-floor tea room has wide views over the Kandy hills and serves a cup of local tea.

From Hantane you drive to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, which date back to royal pleasure gardens and were expanded by the British in the 19th century. The gardens are known for an avenue of royal palms, a huge Javan fig tree with spreading roots, an orchid house and a spice garden. Huge colonies of fruit bats hang from the tall trees and fly out at dusk. Lunch can be taken at a restaurant near the gardens or in Kandy town, where your guide can recommend a good spot for rice and curry with local vegetables and a fish or chicken dish.

Towards evening you head to the Temple of the Tooth, or Sri Dalada Maligawa, a UNESCO-listed temple that houses a relic believed to be a tooth of the Buddha. Wear clothing that reaches past the elbows and knees; footwear goes into a supervised rack before the entrance. The evening puja, held with drumming and offerings of flowers, is a good time to visit, when the inner chamber doors are opened and pilgrims queue to pay their respects. If you are here in July or August, the Esala Perahera festival brings processions with dancers and drummers through the streets. A short cultural show of Kandyan dance is optional. Overnight in Kandy.

One of the best-loved train rides in Asia starts today. Following a quick breakfast you are dropped at Kandy station, and your bags travel on to Nuwara Eliya in the car. The Kandy to Nanu Oya train climbs through some of the most scenic stretches of Sri Lanka's hill country, passing tea estates, pine forests, waterfalls and small stations with colorful wooden shelters. Expect around four or five hours on board, and reserved seats in the observation or first-class carriages sell out quickly, so we book as early as the railway allows. Timetables can change, and we confirm your seats before departure.

As the train climbs, the views change with every bend. Tea pickers in bright saris work on steep slopes beside the tracks, children wave from village paths and small towns such as Gampola and Hatton come and go. Many travelers stand at the open doors for photos, but please follow the advice of the railway staff and keep a firm hold at all times. Snack sellers walk through the carriages with spicy chickpeas, vadai and tea, which makes for a simple lunch. Near Hatton the line passes some of the oldest and largest tea districts on the island.

At Nanu Oya station your driver meets you for the short drive to Nuwara Eliya, a hill town at roughly 1,900 meters that the British developed as a cool retreat in the 19th century. Its mock-Tudor buildings, red-brick post office, racecourse and golf course give it the nickname Little England. You stay two nights in a colonial-era hotel or a planter's bungalow outside town. Evenings here can be chilly, and many hotels light fireplaces after dark, so bring a warm layer. A walk around Gregory Lake at dusk is an easy way to end a long and rewarding day. Overnight in Nuwara Eliya.

High-grown teas from Nuwara Eliya are the lightest and most delicate on the island, and tasting them at source is one of the main reasons for coming this far. This morning you visit an active factory in the surrounding hills, such as the one at Pedro estate, where you walk past withering troughs and old rolling machines while staff explain how the cold climate and slow growth create a pale, fragrant cup. The visit ends in the tasting room, where several grades are laid out side by side for you to compare. Factory processing can pause on some days, so mornings are usually the best choice.

After the factory, there is time for a walk on estate roads or a short hike to Lover's Leap, a narrow waterfall above the tea slopes near town, with views over the valley. If you prefer gardens, the Hakgala Botanical Garden, a short drive away, is planted with roses, ferns and trees from around the world. Close by stands the small Hindu shrine of Sita Eliya, which in Hindu tradition is linked to the spot where Sita was held in the Ramayana, and many Indian visitors come here as pilgrims. Your guide explains the legend and the local beliefs respectfully.

The afternoon is free to stroll through the town center, visit the Victoria Park gardens or ride a pedal boat on Gregory Lake. For keen walkers, an optional early-morning trip to Horton Plains National Park to see World's End, a sheer escarpment with views over the southern lowlands on clear days, is possible on your final morning here, though it means leaving around dawn. In the evening, many hotels in Nuwara Eliya serve high tea or an English-style dinner, a fitting end to your last night in tea country. Overnight in Nuwara Eliya.

Leaving the high hills after breakfast, you drive down through the Ramboda pass, where the road winds past tea estates and the long, narrow Ramboda Falls. A few factories on this stretch run hillside tea rooms, and a last cup here, set against what you drank around Nuwara Eliya, shows how altitude affects flavor. The mid-grown teas of this area are often richer and darker than those from higher up, and many tasters find them the best all-day drinking teas on the island. Pull over whenever you want for photos of the falls, the tea slopes and the small roadside shrines.

The road continues through Kandy and on towards Colombo, and on the lower slopes the tea gardens give way to rubber, coconut and rice fields. A highway rest house serves rice and curry for lunch, with papaya or pineapple to finish. Approaching Colombo, traffic tends to slow, so the final kilometers into the city can take a while. If you have energy left in the late afternoon, your guide can show you a few of the colonial buildings in the Fort district or the old Dutch-era Wolvendaal Church, whose thick walls and gabled front date from the 1700s.

In the evening, the seafront promenade at Galle Face Green is a popular place for Colombo families to stroll, fly kites and buy snacks from the stalls along the edge of the ocean. Tea lovers may also want to visit one of the city's tea shops, where you can buy single-estate Ceylon teas from many regions, packed fresh for travel. This is a good chance to pick up gifts for friends at home. Back at your hotel, wrap tea packets well and keep them in checked luggage, since loose leaf can be crushed in a small carry-on, then organize your documents for tomorrow's departure. Overnight in Colombo.

Your last morning in Sri Lanka is free until checkout, usually around midday. Travelers with a night flight have time for a slow breakfast, a final walk by the sea or a last trip to a tea boutique to stock up on your favorite estate. When it is time, the car heads north to the international airport at Katunayake, about an hour away; aim to be there three hours ahead of departure. Call us at any point until you have checked in, and someone will answer.

Over thirteen days you have tasted tea from the Nilgiris, Valparai, Munnar, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, ridden two of the most scenic mountain railways in South Asia and seen how the same leaf is grown and processed in two countries. For a few extra beach days on Sri Lanka's south coast or in the Maldives before flying home, our team can arrange it. Safe travels, and we hope your tea tastes a little different now.