Nuwara Eliya overview

Known as Little England and the City of Lights, the languid village of Nuwara Eliya is an astonishing contrast to the sweaty capital just 180kms away. Created by British colonisers in an attempt to replicate the archetypal English village, the Sri Lankan version is blessed with a far more reliable climate and sumptuous mountain views. Strolling around the former hill station affords such sights as a race course, a crumbling brick post office and even a hunting lodge replete with formal dining and a golf course. Probably the most genuine of all sub-continent colonial towns, the city centre shows ominous signs of concrete construction but outside of this small suburb lay red-bricked tenements and manicured hedgerows. It gets cold here in winter and rainy days really do feel like Britain. Avoid Sri Lankan New Year in April, when finding accommodation is nigh impossible and the many commission seeking touts can be hard to handle during this period.