Dambatenne Tea Factory

Top choice in Haputale

HAPUTALE, UVA, SRI LANKA - 2004/12/01: Cups of testing tea sit after grading at the Dambatenne Tea Factory.....Sir Thomas Lipton built the factory in 1890, and 2,000 people work and live here today collecting and processing 25,000-30,000 kilos of fresh tea leaves a day.....The best 90 percent of Sri Lankan tea is sold abroad.. (Photo by Jerry Redfern/LightRocket via Getty Images)

LightRocket via Getty Images

This popular tea factory was built in 1890 by Sir Thomas Lipton, one of the most famous figures in tea history. The tour through the works is an education on the processes involved in the fermentation, rolling, drying, cutting, sieving and grading of tea. It's probably the most comprehensive tea-factory tour around, and afterwards you can sip a cuppa.

On Sundays no processing takes place, so there's little to see.

Dambatenne is 9km northeast of Haputale. Buses (Rs 28, 20 minutes) from Haputale pass the factory every 30 minutes. A three-wheeler one-way/return costs Rs 600/1000 from Haputale.