Some 5km north of Ella, tours of the Uva Halpewatte Tea Factory (halpetea.com) – the largest tea producer in the Uva province – easily outshine the competition. Choose between the factory or the plantation tour (or, better still, both). Each tour is around 45 minutes long and costs Rs 3000 per person; the factory is closed on Sundays.
Engaging guides demonstrate how the tea leaves are dried, crushed, sorted and packed along the production line, and you get a real appreciation of the bush-to-cup journey, followed by a tasting of six types of tea. Plantation tours take you out among the tea bushes, armed with an old-fashioned wicker basket designed to rest on your head. A veteran tea picker shows you how to pick the top three leaves, after which you get 20 minutes to pick as much tea as you can, and then compare it to the tea picker's superior haul. The ticket office doubles as an excellent tea boutique.
