The Golf Course
Spread over 90 acres, over a hundred years old, the 18 hole golf course is one of Nuwara Eliya’s biggest attractions. It is reputed to be the only Golf Course where all the holes are visible from the Club House or accessible by car. In the old British cemetery at the rear of the Club House is the memorial to Major Rogers, the elephant hunter credited with killing around 1500 elephants.

Haggala Gardens
An ornamental garden associated with the Hindu epic Ramayana it is a scenic place with paths, shrubbery, ferneries, shady groves, lush foliage and flowers. The rose garden with over 100 varieties of special note. Where plants and trees from around the world, are seen in one place, Haggala Botanical Gardens, just 10km away from Nuwara Eliya City. Haggala is one of the places one visits as an essential part of a pleasant journey in the famous hill resort of Nuwara Eliya. The site is legendary. It was once the pleasure garden of Ravana of the Ramayana epic and according to many, it was one of the places where beautiful Sitha was hidden by the demon king. The present botanical gardens were founded in 1860 by the eminent British botanist Dr. G.H.K. Thwaites who was the superintendent of more famous gardens at Peradeniya, near Kandy.

It was the site initially for experiments with cinchona whose bark yielded quinine, esteemed as a tonic and febrifuge. Quinine at that time was widely used as a specific medicine for Malaria. This was perhaps the reason for the popularity of tonic in these parts - quinine being the principle ingredient of tonic water. The cool, equable climate of Haggala area, whose mean temperature is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, encouraged the introduction of suitable temperate zone plants, both ornamental and useful. These included conifers and cedars from Australia, Bermuda and Japan, and cypresses from the Himalayas, China and as far a field as Persia, Mexico and California. New Caledonia gave Haggala a special variety of pines and there are specimens of this genus from the canary Island as well.

An English oak, introduced around 1890, commemorates the "hearts of oak" of Britain's vaunted sea power, and there is a good-looking specimen of the camphor tree, whose habitat is usually in regions above 12,000m. If you have left your heart in an English garden, you will surely find it again in Haggala's Rose garden. where the sights and scents of these glorious blooms can be experienced in their infinite variety. From there it is a quiet stroll from the sublime to the exotic sophistication of the orchid House. A special attraction here is the verity of montane orchids, many of them endemic to Sri Lanka.

It would be in the worst possible taste to describe the Fernery as a collection of "vascular cryptograms" But that is how the dictionary describes the plant whose delicate fronds conjure up visions of misty grottoes, lichen-covered stones and meandering streams. The Fernery at Haggala is a shady harbour of many quiet walks, in the shade of the Haggala Rock, shaped like the jawbone of an elephant, from which the place gets its name. Sri Lanka's ferns are well represented here, as are those of Australia and New Zealand.

Haggala is a temperate hill-country garden where also the languid low-country lotus and water lily floats in their serene loveliness. Pinks and blues emerging from a flat- floating background of lush leaves, recall the calm of yellow-robed monks, white-clad, devotees and flickering oil lamps. In time, the highlands bracing breezes dispel the languor of lotus land and even cause a shiver as a temperature lowers. The Haggala Botanical Gardens is one of the lovely contrasts of Sri Lanka, a home to plants and trees from around the world, making them seem to be a part of the scenic beauty.

Adam's Peak
The yearly pilgrimage has just begun. The season when tourist and devotee alike trek many a weary miles to reach the dizzy heights of Sri Lanka’s most sacred mountain Sri Pada that is Sinhala means ‘Sacred Foot’. The pilgrimage is to pay homage to the Buddha, to redeem vows and also to witness the mystery and grandeur of the sunrise as it pierces the horizon in all its splendour. This is traditionally referred to by Buddhists as ‘Hirusevaya’.
Fact, legend and folklore are woven around Sri Pada (also referred to as Adam’s Peak) — 7,360 feet above sea level and situated in the Central Hills of Sri Lanka and which is also universally known because it is the only mountain in the world which has the distinction of being sacred to the followers of three great faiths — the Buddhists, the Muslims and the Hindus.

The Buddhists believe that it was on the summit of this peak that the Gauthama Buddha set his Foot Print when He visited Sri Lanka for the third time. This act was a result of the humble request made to the Buddha by God Saman, the-Guardian Deity of Sri Pada, and this fact is recorded in the Mahawamsa- the ancient chronicle of the Sinhalese.

When the Teacher compassionate to the whole world, had preached the doctrine there, he rose, the Master and left the trace of His Foot Print plain to the sight on Samanalakuta the ancient name of Adam'a Peak which means Samanala mountain.
The Muslims believe that when Adam was driven out of Paradise, he alighted on this peak and stood on one foot till his sins were forgiven. Hence the reference to it as Adam’s Peak.

“The Blessed Foot Print – the Foot of our Father Adam is on a lofty black rock in a wide plateau”. The Hindus, on the other hand, claim it to be the Foot Print of God Siva. Agnostics say that this foot print is that of IEU ‘Pre-medieval Man’ and the Chinese say that it is the foot of FOE.
But whatever the beliefs or claims – Sri Pada, the cone shaped peak, the cone shaped peak which can be seen from the sea many miles away from the sea coast has come to be venerated by millions of people the world over. During the pilgrim season which begins in January and ends in April, the young and the old mostly clad in spotless white, make their arduous climb shivering in the icy cold breeze, with the fervent belief that the greater the hardship experienced, the greater the merit earned.

Horton
Sri Lanka’s only mountain national park, the Horton Plains offers incomparable access to tropical mountain cloud forest. Located 2,1002,300 m above sea level, the park is 3,162 ha in extent, with good road access from the hill resort town of Nuwara Eliya one hour away, which offers the closest quality accommodation with a variety of 2 and 3-star hotels and guest houses (Nuwara Eliya itself, 2,000 m a.s.l., is 4½ hrs from Colombo, by road). Horton Plains is now one of Sri Lanka’s most visited national parks, and the only one in which visitors are permitted to tour on foot.

The southern end of the park has a spectacular 1,000m escarpment known as Worlds End, which is the primary focus of tourist traffic. However, several less frequently traversed paths exist, offering hikers interesting solitary hiking opportunities. The large aggregations of the elk-like sambur deer (Cervus unicolor) make interesting dawn and dusk viewing. This is one of the few places in which you stand a good chance of (safely!) seeing a leopard while moving around on foot.

Best months to visit are April and August. The winter months, though dry, can be very cold. If you wish to walk, it is best to get to Ohiya station, the nearest on public transport.

The Horton Plains National Park is the only National Park situated in the Hill Country and falls within the Nuwara Eliya district and is 200 km away from Colombo. Panoramic scenic beauty of the Hill Country could be witnessed within the Park. The famous `Worlds End' is a major attraction within the Park. Endemic slender Loris and endemic purple monkey are among the important animal species that could be seen in addition to sandbur, a member of the cat family etc. There is some endemic avifauna also found within this Park.

Almost all life forms in Horton Plains are adapted to the high altitude conditions. There are a lot of endemic flora and fauna found in the plains itself. The endemicity among fauna is comparatively high. Bear Monkey (race of the Purple Face leaf Monkey), Sambhur and Leopard are some interesting mammals. One would also find several endemic hill country birds in the Horton plains national park. The panoramic scenic beauty of the hill country could be witnessed within the park. The famous "World's End" and "Bakers Falls" are major attractions. The Kirigalpotta, second highest peak and the Thotapola, third highest peak of the country are also situated in the Horton plains.

Haputale
Travelling a distance of 193 kilo- metres from Colombo on the Colombo-Badulla road, one arrives at the sleepy little town of Haputale. Clinging precipitously to both sides of a razor sharp ridge, the town sits at an elevation of approximately 4736 feet (1579 metres). It is a nondescript town with the main road descending into it from such a height that the arrival into the Main Street is startling, especially from the front seat of a bus Ñ the street is there, but at the far end Éa steep drop into nothingness. It appears to the ignorant visitor, that the bus will become airborne, at the end of the road.
The town is dotted with little Hindu temples, reminding us of the large population of Indian Tamils who are employed in the tea estates that cover the surrounding hillsides.

The town is considered a place that must be seen by any hill country traveller because of the Haputale Gap. This is without doubt, one of the most spectacular sights in the country. The great amphitheatre of the upper Uva spreads out to the north and east. It is bounded by the mountains of Idalgashinna, Ohiya and the Horton Plains, the peaks of Haggala, the purple cone of Namunukula, and Poonagala and Bandara Eliya. On the other side is an equally breathtaking view Ñ the foothills of the lower Uva, the southern Sabaragamuwa and the Southern Province right down to the sea. On a bright and cloudless day, one could see the ocean as a bright blue line in the distance, but usually the horizon is obscured by clouds and mist. A cloudless night discloses the stabbing rays of the little lighthouse of Hambantota, far south.

Though one can experience this spectacular view from anywhere in the town the ideal place where one could see five provinces at the same time, is near the one kilometre marker on the Dambatenne Road.

If one has the time it is certainly worthwhile to take a drive along Dambatenne Road, as it is one of the most scenic stretches of road in this country. This six-mile stretch of road ends in a cul-de-sac on the other side of the Poonagala-Ampettikanda range. Far down in the valley below, is a gigantic gap between two mountains, and everywhere there are streams and waterfalls and hills that rise up majestically to over 6000 feet. Beyond and below the gap is the road to Koslanda and Wellawaya and around it the basin of one of the mainstreams of the Walawe river. Above the road and to its left is the Haputale Forest Reserve, which is well served by streams and is ideal for camping, except during the rainy season or in January or February, when mist reduces visibility almost to nil.

Stretching for five miles between Haputale and Idalgashinna is a little known nature reserve Ñ the Tangamalai Wildlife Sanctuary. Not many large animals are to be seen, but birds of bright hues can be seen in profusion. About three miles below Idalgashinna station, the southern slope of the range and surrounded by the Needwood Tea Plantation is an old abandoned fortress, the Kotugodella Fort, at an elevation of about 3800 feet. The Portuguese once attempted to use the Idalgashinna Pass to force a way into the Uva. Hardly anything of the Fort remains today; a few scattered stones and the semicircular outlines of ancient bastions are the only reminders that such a majestic structure once stood there.
The Ohiya Gap may not be as spectacular a sight as the Haputale and Idalgashinna passes, but is distinct in its utter loneliness, where one may not meet more than half a dozen people in a whole day.

A visitor to Haputale can stay at either the Haputale New Rest-house, which is one kilometre from the railway station, or the Old Rest-house which is opposite the station. There are also numerous houses which offer accommodation and meals for reasonable rates but one needs to search for them. An alternative would be to stay in a nearby town, such as Diyatalawa or Bandarawela, and drive, take a bus or walk the 10 kilometres to Haputale.