The recently opened Pekoe Trail, which runs for more than 300km through tea plantations, villages and forests, tells the story of Sri Lanka’s complex and chequered tea history.
A sun that was bright and harsh on their face when they stopped to admire the view at the top of the steep path – the reward was outstanding.
Twenty minutes ago, the skies were grey and moody with the threat of an imminent downpour. Now in Sri Lanka’s central highlands, the weather may be capricious but what remains unchanged is the sprawling expanse of tea estates in every direction.
This is the region where the bulk of soothing Ceylon tea comes from. And the recently opened Pekoe Trail, Sri Lanka’s first long-distance hiking trail that runs for more than 300km through tea plantations, villages and forests, tells the story of Sri Lanka’s complex and chequered tea history.
The Pekoe hiking trail, divided into 22 stages, begining in Sri Lanka’s second largest city of Kandy, close to the area where Scotsman James Taylor first planted tea in the country in the mid-1800s.
After a long and circuitous route, the Pekoe Trail finally ends in the hill town of Nuwara Eliya, whose cool climes and misty slopes are said to have reminded the British colonisers of their homeland.
The trail has existed in patches since those initial days of tea cultivation in Sri Lanka, beginning as basic mud tracks that were used to transport the leaves to factories and then onward to domestic markets and Colombo port for export.
“The trails are fairly easy, at low elevation and open all through the year. In that sense, this hike is for everyone,”
That means everyone, including novice hikers, have the option to stay in a hotel near the trail and go out on exploratory day hikes within a single stage. It is also understood from trail guides that most visitors choose to do this instead of attempting the trail in one go.
Tea is the common thread stitching this story together, each stage with its own unique elements – a colonial-era cricket club, a seasonal waterfall, statues of brightly coloured village deities, Anglican churches with brilliant stained-glass windows, distant views of a sharp peak or clusters of wildflowers blooming in the midst of a barren stretch.
“One minute you are gazing at tea plantations and then you’re delving into thick jungle, which then reveal pine forests”
The Pekoe Trail brings tourism money into the hinterlands and hill towns located away from the popular coastal destinations of Sri Lanka’s south or the Buddhist Cultural Triangle of Anuradhapura, Sigiriya and Dambulla.
To explore the more interior parts of the tea country, you walk along the various trails, and see the larger picture emerge from the network of villages and communities along the way.
Along with nature, there is so much history and living heritage, with local fairs and festivals, and opportunities to see how real Sri Lankans live and work.
From this aspect the most enjoyable memories about the hikes – one is never too far from civilisation, be it a local temple or a tea factory, and there are regular interactions with friendly plantation workers and curious children everywhere.
This is perhaps why the guides stress how safe the trail is for solo or women hikers.
“When I pick a trail, I’m looking for somewhere safe that a woman can tackle on her own and not feel intimidated.
The history of tea in Sri Lanka is inextricably linked with the Indian-Tamil plantation workers originally brought over by the British and then by supervisors bringing family from India and later by their descendants.
The tea plucker women form the backbone of the first levels of tea production. Dressed in colourful button-down shirts and thick long skirts to protect from leeches and other insects, they skill lies in picking the finest leaves from the bushes. They are seen walking up and down the tea estates, their hands nimble with years of practice, with the load of the bamboo baskets tied to their heads, into which they carefully toss the leaves.
The women beam in delight when spoken to in Tamil. They appreciate some conversation from overseas.
Initial hikes took place through stages seven and eight near Hatton in the heart of the tea country, dotted with old factories that still process tea using dated technology, and boutique hotels repurposed from massive bungalows once meant for estate managers.
One guide for example is passionate about sharing the stories of his people, Indian Tamils who populate the villages and towns around the various stages of the Pekoe Trail. As they walk, he stops to point out the elements distinctive to tea plantation life, like the “line rooms”, barrack-style quarters where large families live together and the statues of fierce Tamil protector deities placed at major crossroads or beneath trees, often depicted riding a horse or wielding a scythe.
From Hatton, the famed Colombo to Badulla train is taken to Ella, from where there was an attempt to tackle stages 15 and 16 over the next several days, taking in the viewpoint known as Ella Rock and the picturesque nine-arch railway bridge.
The tea goes in and out of view on the train journey, with some stretches taking one over active railway tracks and others on paths shaded by tall eucalyptus and pine trees. The Pekoe Trail may be long and even tough in parts, but it is never boring or monotonous.
There are just so many ‘wow’ moments during the hike, where you come around a corner, and the whole valley would just be laid out below and I would have to stop and just stare.
So pack your bags, book a ticket and enjoy a trek of a lifetime.