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The descent from the tea country to the cultural triangle with the stops built in: a tea factory, Ramboda Falls, a Matale spice garden and the Dambulla cave temples, ending in Sigiriya.
Highlights
- The tea country to cultural triangle move done as a day of sightseeing
- A working tea factory in the highest estates on the island
- Ramboda Falls on the descent
- A Matale spice garden and the Dambulla cave temples
- Drop-off in Sigiriya with the rock saved for the next morning
Nuwara Eliya to Sigiriya Guided Transfer with Tea Estates and Dambulla: Key Facts
| Price | From $115 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 7 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Choose from 1 available option
Ella: Kandy Transfer with Train Ride & Nuwara Eliya Tour
Full description
This is the reverse of the classic climb, and the landscape unwinds in the opposite order — tea estates first, then the forested descent, then Kandy in its valley, then out onto the dry-zone plain where the rocks of the cultural triangle stand up out of flat scrub.
The morning starts in the estates above Nuwara Eliya, with a working tea factory visit that follows the leaf from the withering troughs through rolling, oxidation and firing to the grading table. Ramboda Falls follows on the descent, a 100-metre drop a short walk from the road.
Kandy is roughly the midpoint, and the stop here is brief — the lake and the outside of the Temple of the Tooth, unless you want to pay to go in and add an hour.
Matale's spice gardens come next, growing cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and nutmeg in the same plot, and then Dambulla: five caves cut under a granite overhang and painted floor to ceiling, holding around 150 Buddha images. From Dambulla it is fifteen minutes to Sigiriya, where you are dropped at your hotel with the rock climb still ahead of you tomorrow.
Sigiriya is a 200-metre column of rock rising out of the dry-zone plain, on which King Kasyapa built his palace in the fifth century after seizing the throne, and it has been a UNESCO site since 1982. The climb is about 1,200 steps on stairways and iron walkways, past the mirror wall with its thousand-year-old graffiti and the sheltered gallery of frescoes, to the lion's paws that give the rock its name and the palace foundations on the summit. It takes an hour and a half up and down for most people and is best started at 7:00, before the heat and the coaches; the ticket for foreign visitors is one of the most expensive in the country, and Pidurangala, the neighbouring rock, gives the classic view of Sigiriya for a fraction of it.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup in Nuwara Eliya
Collection with luggage.
Tea factory
The full process with a tasting.
Ramboda Falls
A stop on the descent.
Kandy
A short stop at the lake.
Matale spice garden
A guided walk through the plots.
Dambulla cave temples
The five painted caves.
Sigiriya
Drop-off at your hotel.
Detailed Itinerary
Hotel pickup
Six hours of driving spread across the day.
Tea estate
Factories close on poya days; an estate walk substitutes.
Kandy
A pause rather than a visit.
Dambulla
A steep approach path, then about an hour in the caves. Shoes off.
Sigiriya
Drop-off at your hotel.
Includes
- Private air-conditioned car with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup in Nuwara Eliya, all stops, drop-off at your Sigiriya or Dambulla hotel, luggage carried throughout.
Excludes
- Entrance fees at Dambulla and elsewhere, meals and drinks, tea and spice purchases, gratuities.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Nuwara Eliya; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
The train trip was fabulous, the Nanu Oly to Kandy drive was great, the scenery, amazing Ramboda Falls, the choas of Kandy. Our driver was excellent and got us to our hotel safely.
Wre traveled from Ella to Kandy, but not as originally planned due to last year's devastating cyclone. So we had a a scenic tran to start from Ella to Ambewela which is amazing especially today with the sun shining and the windows open in 3rd class which really is the best class. Do try and book the right side of the train for the most it has to offer, but the left is plenty good enough it just means getting up in a couple of places to get the pictures. Once at Ambewela our private car was waiting for us and was easy to spot as we had been sent pictures of our vehicle. We then had a lovely dri
Great tour with all the key spots. The train ride was incredible! Would definitely recommend
It was great. The driver made our trip really special, he was such a nice guy. We‘ve seen really local sides of Sri Lanka thankfully to this offered tour. It was amazing, would definitely do it again and recommend going with this company.:)
Sehr schöner Tagesausflug. War alles wie beschrieben. Der Fahrer war sehr aufmerksam und ist auch auf Sonderwünsche eingegangen. Alles wunderbar.
Todo ha ido muy bien con un muy buen servicio
Leider handelte es sich nur um einen Fahrer und keinen Guide. Der Fahrer konnte kein Englisch, daher hat er uns weder etwas zum Ablauf (Treffpunkte, etc.) noch zu den Sehenswürdigkeiten erzählen können. Die Fahrt war okay. Die Zugfahrt ging tatsächlich erst ab Haputale und war dadurch kürzer.
Very disappointing experience and poor value for money. I booked this package specifically because it advertised reserved train seats from Ella to Nanu Oya, and I even contacted the provider beforehand to make sure this was confirmed. In reality, the reserved tickets they provided were only from Haputale to Nanu Oya, and we only found this out on the morning of the trip. This had never been mentioned before. We therefore had to buy third-class non-reserved tickets ourselves from Ella at the last minute and travel in an extremely overcrowded carriage. For such a high price, this was very poor v
Very nice! The guide was friendly and did a great job!
Très mauvaise expérience à faire!!! Le guide ne parle pas un seul mot d’anglais !!! Très compliqué pour se faire comprendre. Nous avons passé le trajet en train debout sans aucune place assise pendant 4h !! Aucune indication sur à station à laquelle descendre, sur le lieu de rencontre une fois arrivée. Vraiment pas professionnel. À notre arrivée , nous avons demandé à s’arrêter pour manger , pareil il ne comprenait pas. Nous avons réussi à manger vers 15h à l’arrivée du tea factory. Aucune autre point d’arrêt n’a été respecté. Pour la casade , nous n’avions pas le droit de descendre alors que
Prise en charge du début à la fin vraiment top. Le chauffeur est venu nous chercher devant notre guesthouse, nous a déposé à la gare de Haputale (c’est le seul bémol car je pensais partir de Ella en train). Il nous attendait à la sortie du train puis nous avons pris la route avec un stop pour manger devant le lac (il nous a demandé si nous voulions manger et nous a laissé choisir quoi manger). Le stop à la manufacture de thé est incluse et sans supplément, la visite en français ! Il s’arrête quand on veut pour les photos Bref top !
Unser Guide Kasun war hervorragend und sehr kompetent. Sehr zu empfehlen.