In 1839 the first tea seeds were brought to Ceylon from Assam and planted at the Royal Botanical Gardens. In 1867, James Taylor marked the birth of the tea industry in Ceylon by starting a Tea Plantation in Loolecondera estate in Kandy, and over the years that followed Sri Lanka has become home to the best Tea in the world, making it one of the largest exporters of Tea.

The beautiful tea plantations blanketing the steeply rising hills are dotted with tea pluckers with baskets bulging fruitfully on their backs. A train journey from Colombo – Kandy – Hatton – NanuOya (leads to NuwaraEliya), Haputale, Bandarwela and Badulla is one the most spectacular journeys of the world. The train passes through numerous unlit tunnels, through dramatic sceneries of green mountains, cascading waterfalls, rivers, deep ravines and brilliant green tea plantations.