TikaWeeks #25/2023: Sri Lanka update
Posted by John on 21st June 2023
For a “hands-on village experience” in Sri Lanka there is no better place than AMBA Estate, which is a community-run social enterprise in the stunning Uva Highlands outside of Ella in the southern Hill Country. Based around an organic farm, you will be interacting with villagers in a practical way during every activity at AMBA Estate, whether it is a tea plantation tour, a hike around the valley or artisanal product-making. Come and enjoy the fun!
Their goal is to maximise local employment and incomes, while preserving and restoring the natural environment. By working closely with the local community to produce and export a range of artisanal products, guests are offered the opportunity to relax and recharge in one of the most beautiful spots in Sri Lanka, surrounded by over 50 hectares of mountains, waterfalls, caves, forests and tea fields.
The farmstay accommodation – AMBA Farmhouse, AMBA Linerooms, Clove Tree Cottage and Clove Tree House – is regularly ranked among the best guesthouses in Sri Lanka, and the artisanal teas, coffees, spices and preserves are sold in many of the finest shops and restaurants around the world, including Fortnum and Masons.
A recent conversation with Simon, one of the owners of AMBA Estate and the onsite manager, updated us on their current projects:
“We seem to be full-on at the moment: a big group of Dutch tea students, National Geographic, bird-watching magazine, and more!
For the school visit, we usually take guests to our local school in our village. But I have asked our team to check if we might be able to visit one of the estate-schools at the head of our valley – the situation on the big estates is particularly tough right now, so I think they will be even more appreciative of any donations.
For hands-on village experiences, the key thing to emphasise is that the whole of AMBA is a “hands-on village experience” – AMBA is a community-run social enterprise, so they will be interacting with villagers in a practical way during every activity they do while they are at AMBA (from the tea tour and tasting, to trying their hand at tea plucking and rolling, to hikes around the valley). When we do the village-walk, it is really just an extension of the same – an opportunity to interact with students at the school, see what a real village temple looks like, and then pop in to a village house for a cup of tea on the way back – and see how some of our suppliers make local recipes or handicrafts.”
Most visitors to AMBA Estate want to learn more about organic farming and artisanal product-making. Staying guests can join the daily public tour at 11.00 or they can book to do a private tour and tasting at other times. For guests who want to spend time with village families learning about local food and handicrafts, help to collect honey and kithul treacle from the forest, explore the farm and learn about organic farming, and try their hand at plucking and rolling their own tea, peeling cinnamon, roasting coffee or making jams and chutneys, a range of hands-on experiences are offered. There are also various walking trails of different grades, spectacular waterfalls, refreshing river pools and panoramic viewpoints in the vicinity.
The Pekoe Trail – Stage 12: Udaweriya to Haputale
This stage is one of The Pekoe Trail's most exciting routes, beginning in the Udaweriya Valley, one of the most remote valleys in the tea country overlooking the southern plain of Sri Lanka. On a clear day, the views are truly amazing, in fact some of the finest in the tea country, reaching into the distance as far as the Indian Ocean on the horizon. This challenging section of the Tea Trail is 14.8 km in length and should take around 5 hours to hike.
Starting at the old derelict tea factory, the first 1.7 km of the trail is within the Udaweriya Valley, peaking at an elevation of 1948 metres. Being so remote the valley seems to be lost in time, and you will no doubt attract the looks and smiles of curious villagers. From here all the way to Haputale is mostly a long, slow, gradual descent. Follow the road down to an abandoned village where the track saddles the lowlands to your right and the Uva bowl to your left. Once you pass the village the tea trail becomes a well-trodden and reasonably well-maintained path used by local villagers on their way to Haputale and on to Ella.
After 3 km, the trail penetrates a patch of high elevation tropical forest before transitioning into a pine forest. Make sure you stay on track as you exit the forest at the 4.1-km mark as it is very easy to lose your way – if you find yourself following a tea trail down the valley and losing elevation quickly you are on the wrong trail. The Pekoe Trail follows a track through the forest all the way to Idalgashinna railway station that sits on a ridge, an incredible feat of engineering.
The next kilometre follows the train tracks, so be very careful and vigilant. If a train is on the way you will hear it a long time before you see it and there is plenty of room beside the train track to move aside. There is also a 100-metre long tunnel to negotiate so go through it as quickly as possible. Soon enough you regain the trail, zig-zagging through the Thangamale Bird Sanctuary on a reasonably well-marked track. As you exit the sanctuary, Adisham Bungalow is on your left.
The house was built in 1931 by an English aristocrat and planter, Sir Thomas Villiers, a descendant of the Dukes of Bedford. Designed in Tudor and Jacobean styles on 4 hectares of land, Adisham Hall, as it was known, played host to many prominent and colourful personalities of the British colonial era until the retirement of Sir Thomas. In 1961, it was purchased by the Roman Catholic Church and subsequently converted into a monastery. The house is well preserved, along with its period fittings and furniture, and is open to visitors.
When you leave the monastery compound simply walk down the main road until you exit the nature reserve. Continue down the road to the junction then take the trail that peels off to your right. After 13.3 km, the path joins the main road all the way to Haputale. However, be warned, it is a busy road and at the 14-km point the trail descends onto the railway line again for the last few hundred metres before finishing at Haputale railway station.
Categories: Accommodation, Culture, Sightseeing, Sri Lanka, Sustainability, Travel tips
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