A beverage fussy enough to require an exact water temperature and precise brewing minutes was always destined to take the centrestage of luxury. Tea, in its proper, pure form, cannot be anything less than a ceremony. And a ceremony needs a setting. Green slopes outside the window, mist rising in the distance, silken cushions on inviting armchairs, feet stepping softly over wooden floors, a teapot and a cake stand arriving on the table—such was the script for the late afternoons at many colonial-era planters’ residences in the Indian sub-continent. The scene still comes alive daily in the Bogawantalawa valley of Sri Lanka.
This is a world of explosive tropical greenery that makes all other claimants to the Emerald Isle crown look like pale pretenders. This is also the place where the story of Sri Lankan tea began in the 19th century. My resolution before checking into Norwood, one of the four bungalows of Ceylon Tea Trails, a Relais & Chateaux luxury resort, was to steer clear of alcohol and stick to the many splendid flavours of the extract of Camellia sinensis.
A pretty fascinating history it has—tea. Fourth-generation semi-Scotsman Andrew Taylor, planter-in-residence at Ceylon Tea Trails, shows guests around the Norwood tea factory and regales them with the tale of how tea was discovered by a Chinese emperor in 2737 BCE. The emperor’s travelling entourage had stopped for rest and were boiling water near a tree, when some leaves fell into the water, lending it a beautiful fragrance. One sip, and the weary emperor was energised instantly. And so, the brew was born. Andrew’s forefather, the Scottish immigrant James Taylor, brought tea to Sri Lanka in 1867 after a visit to India and gave the island country its first 19 acres of this amazing plant.
The tea bush is practically immortal, we learnt from this tour. The tea plant is a normal-sized tall tree, which is “trained” to be a bush by regular trimming and pruning. But the bush never gives up its hope of becoming a tree someday, constantly producing the optimistic shoots that the tea-pickers pluck with extreme precision every morning. After many years of these futile attempts, the tired bush stops trying so hard. The planters then give it a rest, cutting it down to a stub about 45 centimetres high, and the bush resumes its growth spurt! Some 135-year-old tea bushes are still around in Bogawantalawa, like living witnesses of history—it definitely heightened the appreciation for a cuppa back at our bungalow.
The bungalows—Norwood, Summerville, Castlereagh and Tientsin—once served as the residences of European tea planters. A brass plate on the door of every room bears the name of its former occupant. Trevaldwyn, Bretherton, Shuttleworth, Jamieson and their brother planters would have been happy to see that about a century later, people still walk the chessboard floor of the Tientsin verandah or sit watching the hills beyond the Norwood lawns.
Each bungalow has its very distinctive personality, and together they make one unique property, being placed miles away from each other. Summerville and Castlereagh sit facing across a lake; Norwood and Tientsin perch on the higher slopes of two different valleys, their elevation allowing for sweeping views of the green mountains. The resort takes its name from the walking or cycling trails that run from one bungalow to the next, partly through the tea gardens. One single holiday here equals four different experiences, linked by a theme of perfectly tuned luxury.
The feel of each bungalow is old-world comfort, reinvented for modern times. The beautifully crafted wooden furniture, cool neutral furnishings, elegant white bathrooms, sofas you could sink into, piles of books in the drawing rooms, understated décor, music from the iPod left on a dock… all have a very calming effect. The mind has a real holiday along with the body.
No telling if all the buildings have been gutted and remodelled or follow the original plan, but as hotel bungalow layouts go, these are winners. There is enough privacy to enjoy the natural light and views in solitude, and yet one is rarely more than a couple of arm’s length away from other guests, who become friends amid such relaxed and supremely pleasant surroundings.
Smartphones and television channels are relegated to the background—everyone has the time and inclination to actually look at are talking to.
Visitors come here to shake off the weight of the world. The master suite of Summerville is very popular among certain repeat guests, who travel all the way to Sri Lanka to simply spend a week or two at this property and gaze at the lake, which curves around the bungalow grounds like a wraparound extension gifted by nature.
Those staying in any one bungalow are welcome to visit the others, and on our visit to Summerville, we found it difficult to bring lunch to an end, dining on the deck with a glass of wine, watching small boats glide on the water. The gourmet menu based on fresh produce is one of the top attractions of Ceylon Tea Trails.
It is possible, and even desirable, to come here with an itinerary no busier than tasting all the teas and selecting books to read in bed. But more active guests have many ways to expend their energy. Armed with a map, they can hike or bike between bungalows, or go further out to walk up the 5,200 steps to Adam’s Peak. During the rains, the leeches are a killjoy, scaring city-bred new arrivals testing their hill legs. A few infiltrate the bungalows; the staff take a Buddhist view of the pesky things, capturing them in a tumbler and releasing them back to nature. We are all part of the great web.
Climbing up to Adam’s Peak, or Sripada, is a pilgrimage. Close to the summit, a rock formation six feet in width is revered as a footprint of the Buddha or Shiva or Adam, depending on one’s faith. Spirituality followed us up the trail—a reclining statue of the Buddha near the beginning of the hike; a stupa about a quarter of the way up; prayer flags here and there; and a beautiful black shrine somewhere on the way, with prayers written on it in golden letters that the guide said were Japanese. Being religious is unnecessary to return transformed; it is enough to be able to worship nature.
It was not so tragic to abandon the climb halfway—a decent mark, given the sheer gradient—and come back to bliss: lounging on a plush sofa and drinking the sumptuous afternoon tea, a full complement of finger sandwiches, scones and cakes.
The years of insurgency have not affected this part of the island; pristine is the only word for it. Human activity is never too far away, but it appears benign. I send up a prayer to fend off the day when the valley’s brave little tuk-tuks in primary colours—my fellow writer named them “Ferrari autos”—are replaced by hulking SUVs.
Though Sri Lanka is said to be the next property boom destination, Bogawantalawa is not yet racing to dig up the countryside for cash. Even the mild demands of “money, money” from the smiling villagers we met on a leech-infested hike were more a conversation-starter than real greed. Living close to nature is still the way of life here. May the gods of many faiths keep it so.
The Information
Getting There
Ceylon Tea Trails is at an altitude of 1,250m in Bogawantalawa, about a 4-hour drive from Colombo airport, which is well-connected with Delhi and Chennai but may require a connecting flight for passengers from Kolkata. A helicopter transfer from the airport to resort is also available. The hotel car seats four to six people and the costs are approximately $490 for a pick-up from Colombo and a return drop. Some packages may include the car transfer. It may be difficult to hire a car (that does not belong to the hotel) for the return journey at a short notice, so advisable to arrange that in advance.
The Resort
Ceylon Tea Trails (+94-11-774 5730; teatrails.com) is a Relais & Chateaux resort consisting of four bungalows: Norwood, Tientsin, Castlereagh and Summerville. Each bungalow has a master suite (except Castlereagh), a garden suite and a luxury room. The master suite ($999) has its private living room; the garden suite ($817) opens on to the garden; and the luxury room ($664) also has its own green corner just outside. The rates mentioned are peak season tariffs based on double occupancy, and inclusive of all taxes, daily laundry, use of the bar set up in the main drawing room, some wines with meals, wi-fi, and tour of the tea factory. Phone calls within Sri Lanka are free.
What to see and do
The beginning of the trail to Adam’s Peak is an hour’s drive from the Norwood bungalow. In the warmer months, guests can start early and get to the peak just around sunrise. The trail steps become quite steep in the later stages, but moderately fit people can reach the halfway mark. Nuwara Eliya, 48km away, is a fine hill station with a colonial-era elegance. The Horton Plains National Park, close to the resort, has a 10km hiking trail that takes 3 hours to cover.