A working-class tea factory from 1925, now a museum on the Hantana road a few kilometres south of Kandy. Its floors hold the original rollers, dryers and withering troughs that turned green leaf into black tea, with photographs and papers from the planters who built Ceylon tea in these hills. The top floor is a tea café looking out over the valley. It ranks among Kandy's most visited sights, and for good reason - most itineraries include it on day one.
What It Is
Climb through the old withering floors with the smell of dry leaf still in the timber, run your hand along the iron rollers, and finish at a table on the top floor with a cup of fresh tea and the valley laid out below.
Why Visit
The clearest single introduction to how tea made this region, and a good warm-up before a visit to a working estate. That puts it near the top of any Kandy visit, and it deserves the spot. Combine it with Royal Botanic Gardens Peradeniya and Kandy Lake - they are close enough to walk between and together make the strongest half-day in Kandy. Mornings are quieter if you want to take your time.
More on Kandy
See where it ranks among the things to do in Kandy. The Kandy guide covers transport, costs and when to go.
We plan trips to Kandy and the rest of Sri Lanka. Tell us your dates and we will put a route together. Our routes are on the tours page.
