Haputale

Introducing Haputale

Perched at the southern edge of the Hill Country, the largely Tamil town of Haputale clings to a long, narrow mountain ridge with the land falling away steeply on both sides. The bowl-shaped Uva valley, surrounded by the Idalgashinna and Ohiya peaks, as well as the Horton Plains plateau, lies to the north and east of the ridge, while the foothills of the lower Uva descend from the other side all the way to the sea. On a clear day you can see all the way to the south coast from this ridge, and at night the Hambantota lighthouse may be visible.

The town centre itself is a squall of traffic and small shops, but a short walk out of town quickly repays the effort with extraordinary views. The railway hugs one side of the ridge.

As in many places in the Hill Country, the legacies of the British planters live on. There are tea estates on hillsides, and the old plantation bungalows, some of which have lovely gardens. There’s also a pretty little Anglican church (St Andrew’s) on the Bandarawela road. The headstones in its cemetery make for interesting reading.

Haputale is a pleasant place with some good cheap accommodation, and makes a good base for visiting Horton Plains National Park, exploring other places in the area, or just taking pleasant walks in cool mountain air. Guesthouses arrange vans and 4WDs to Horton Plains for Rs 1700.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009

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Our favourite Haputale Blogs (beta)

Experiencing Sri Lanka’s Providence- Part 3: Hiking the Tea Trails

Blog: Todd's Wanderings - 8 June 2010

Called Serendib by Arab traders (the origin of the word “serendipity”), Sri Lanka has an amazing diversity for a small island and offers the possibility of experiencing vastly different climates, history, and cultures during a short vacation. In this Four Part Series I will share a glimpse of four different areas of Sri Lanka that can, and should, be a part of any itinerary to the island of providence. Part 1 explores the East Coast city of Trincomalee and the Hindu Koneswaram Temple and Part 2 brought us to the Ancient Buddha Rock Statues of Polonnaruwa.

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Ye ‘ol grey nomads

Blog: Backpackular Spectacular - 24 March 2010

“I’m not being racist BUT…” The warning bells always go off when someone opens with a line like that. My brother, sister and I were sitting around Amarasinghe Guest House in Haputale, face-to-face by the equally loved/feared creature: The grey nomad. This English grey nomad had fully embraced his grey nomad status with long, yet [...]

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We were warned: The election.

Blog: Backpackular Spectacular - 19 March 2010

We were warned. The travel advice by the Australian Government had jumped just before we left to “reconsider your need to travel”. The northern and eastern areas were at “do not travel”. The whole country remains in a state of emergency. Upon our arrival the upcoming election between the current President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the [...]

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