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View all Kandy toursKandy to Nuwara Eliya or Ambewela Station Transfer with Craft Workshop Stops
A guided transfer from Kandy into the tea country with a gem museum, a woodcarving workshop and a batik studio on the way, and drop-off in Nuwara Eliya or at Ambewela railway station.
Highlights
- Drop-off in Nuwara Eliya or at Ambewela station for the hill train
- A gem museum and cutting workshop in a country that has mined sapphires for millennia
- A Kandyan woodcarving studio working ebony and jak by hand
- A batik workshop where the wax is drawn by hand and dyed in layers
- The climb through Ramboda into the tea estates
Kandy to Nuwara Eliya or Ambewela Station Transfer with Craft Workshop Stops: Key Facts
| Price | From $117 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 8 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
Ambewela is the station above Nanu Oya on the hill line, and it is a useful drop point if you are joining the train there rather than at the busier station below. This transfer will take you to either, or simply to your hotel in Nuwara Eliya.
The stops on the way up are the craft ones rather than the usual waterfall-and-factory set. A gem museum and cutting workshop first — Sri Lanka has mined sapphires for two thousand years, the trade runs through Ratnapura and Kandy, and seeing a stone cut and graded explains a great deal about why the shops in every tourist town sell the same thing at wildly different prices. Then a woodcarving studio, where the Kandyan motifs are cut into ebony and jak with hand tools, and a batik workshop where wax is drawn on cloth by hand and the fabric dyed in layers over several days.
The road then climbs through Ramboda and into the estates, and the last hour is tea on both sides.
Drop-off is at your Nuwara Eliya hotel or at Ambewela station, agreed when you book.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup in Kandy
Collection with luggage.
Gem museum and workshop
Cutting and grading demonstrated.
Woodcarving and batik studios
Working craft studios.
Ramboda
Into the tea country.
Nuwara Eliya
The town and the lake.
Drop-off
Your hotel or Ambewela station.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "08:00", "title": "Hotel pickup", "description": "Luggage travels with you."}, {"time": "08:45", "title": "Gem workshop", "description": "There is a shop attached. The demonstration is worth the stop regardless of whether you buy."}, {"time": "10:00", "title": "Craft studios", "description": "Working studios rather than showrooms."}, {"time": "15:30", "title": "Drop-off", "description": "Ambewela is a small station; tell the operator your train time when booking."}]
Includes
- Private air-conditioned car with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup in Kandy, all workshop stops, drop-off in Nuwara Eliya or at Ambewela station, luggage carried throughout.
Excludes
- Entrance fees where they apply, train tickets, meals and drinks, purchases at the workshops, gratuities.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Kandy; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts