Ceylon Tea Trails

Summerville, Castlereagh and Dunkeld overlook the Castlereagh lake, while Norwood is at the other end of the valley about 15 minutes away by car and Tientsin is about 30 minutes away in the next valley. Each house comes with its own chef, butler and houseboys, with from 5 to 6 rooms each. Master Suites with a separate living room and private gardens, Garden Suites with verandahs to private gardens and spacious Luxury Rooms of great character. With 27 rooms in all, you can book an individual room or whole bungalows for groups, or the guarantee of complete privacy.

Each of the five bungalows on the estate is named after a tea planter who once lived there, and they all provide various different room types for whatever type of luxury you’re after – guests are welcome to book individual rooms or entire bungalows. With a private chef and butler in each bungalow, your every need will be catered to. On the eastern end of the Bogawantalawa valley is the Norwood Bungalow, where a spacious lounge and billiard room lead out to a croquet lawn, a large swimming pool and sun deck, where guests can soak in the golden light at dawn and dusk. The six rooms in the Norwood Bungalow are:

Hazel Master Suite
62 sq.m – King bed, separate living room, bath and walk-in rain shower, view of private garden and tea fields.

Irvine Garden Suite
45 sq.m – King bed, bath and walk-in rain shower, view to private garden.

Andrews Garden Suite
46 sq.m – King bed, bath with rain shower, view to private garden.

Trevaldwyn Garden Suite
39 sq.m – King bed, bath and walk-in rain shower, view to private garden.

Jeffery Luxury Room
31 sq.m – King bed, bath with rain shower, garden view, direct garden access.

Wyatt Luxury Room
30 sq.m – Twin beds, bath and walk-in rain shower, garden view, direct garden access.

Everything is included – meals, snacks, wines, spirits, soft drinks, laundry, Wi-Fi, local telephone calls and the signature “Tea Experience” tea fields & factory tour with the Tea Planter in Residence. A minimum 2 nights’ stay is requested.

Another of the five bungalows is the Tientsin Bungalow, where an English garden sits elegantly before the rolling tea fields beyond. Wander the glorious rose terraces and hide away under a leafy arbour while listening to the myriad of songs of the many birds that make their homes there. Each suite is faithful to the original design with polished wooden floors and high ceilings, and a large swimming pool and raised garden offer panoramic views of the mountains that lead towards the World Heritage Horton Plains National Park. The six rooms in the Tientsin Bungalow are:

Irvine Stewart Master Suite
91 sq.m – king bed, separate living room, bath, walk in rain shower, view across valley & tea fields

Bretherton Garden Suite
45 sq.m – king bed, bath with rain shower, private veranda with garden view

Moir Garden Suite
43 sq.m – king bed, bath with rain shower, private veranda with garden view

Fraser Garden Suite
36 sq.m – king bed, bath with rain shower, private veranda with garden view

Bremer Luxury Room
44 sq.m – king bed, bath with rain shower, garden view

Meares Luxury Room
40 sq.m – twin beds, bath with hand shower, garden view

Up in the hills of the tea country, guests of the Ceylon Tea Trails have all they need to enjoy a luxurious stay. And this most definitely includes the cuisine! Perhaps start your day with the wonderful tradition of Bed Tea, served by your butler. Then, after a long day’s exploring the surrounding fields or venturing into the jungle, cosy up to the roaring fire with a crisp gin and tonic before sitting down to your four-course dinner, alive with flavour and fresh ingredients. But what cannot be missed is the spectacle of afternoon cream tea in the gardens – curiously English and exotic at the same time. Surrounded by birdsong in the trees around you, relax and indulge in every treat the resort has to offer.

Taking a guided tour of the Dunkeld Tea Factory will let you get to know every part of the process of producing tea. Learn about the process of tea planting and the lives of the earliest colonial settlers, as well as the way in which different flavours work on the palate. Led by the resident Tea Planter, explore the heritage of the methodology behind Ceylon tea and the way in which the art of tea planting has shaped the land.

In the early days of the tea industry, before motorised travel came to their assistance, tea planters conducted field inspections across a vast area of tea fields and forest either on foot or horseback. At mid-day, they would take a break under the shade of a tree or the shelter of a makeshift hut for lunch and a rest. The “Planters’ Lunch” is a plusher, four-course version (to Relais and Chateaux standards no less!) served in tiffin boxes in a picnic setting.

Surrounded by tea fields and jungle in every direction and the glassy Castlereagh Lake below, this is a lunch spot like no other. And a “hosted” version of the Tea Planter’s Lunch is available, in the company of the resident planter Bernard Holsinger who can provide fascinating accounts of life as a planter in the ‘good old days’, to give richer context to the experience.

Along paved steps in amongst the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary you can ascend to the top of Adam’s Peak. Taking approximately three and a half hours, the views from the top will be well earned, but should not be missed! In early morning light, as the mist clears over the hilltops, the forested valleys, lakes and mountains can be seen in 360 degree panoramas, and you can truly take in all of Sri Lanka’s abundant natural beauty.

Resplendent Ceylon and Dilmah Conservation set up this station to support the work of the Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT) whose founders are pioneering research on Sri Lankan leopard. While the hill country is known better for tea plantations, pockets of forest are home to a strong population of leopards. Interestingly, there is a healthy population of leopards in the forest areas between Dunkeld and Norwood Bungalows and beyond, as seen by camera trap footage.

Visitors are encouraged to visit the research station located next to Dunkeld tea factory and learn about these fascinating, elusive, threatened cats, their habits and the conservation efforts we are supporting. Guests can be accompanied by one of our resident naturalists who support the research team on the ground.

Through the MJF Charitable Foundation Merrill J. Fernando and his family have impacted over 18,000 lives directly. Through over 150 projects, the Foundation has helped a huge variety of people, including aiding former prisoners to successfully transition back into society, founding the National Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy in Colombo, and providing sanitation, healthcare and free school meals to the children of tea plantation families. Driven by a need to help those neglected, isolated or downtrodden, the MJF Charitable Foundation continues to help those in need and provide experiences and opportunities that people would otherwise have missed out on.

On the estate of the Dilmah Tea Company, Ceylon Tea Trails is part of the many varied community and environmental projects being carried out by the the company. One fantastic example is indeed the support given to the families of plantation workers. While the children of tea pickers have often been placed in vulnerable and unsupervised positions during the working day, through the MFJ Foundation over 2,000 children at Dilmah tea estates are given early education, free school meals and are equipped with basic school equipment. All of this, with the help of qualified staff, to ensure the educational progression and vital nutritional health of the future generation.

Other MJF Foundation projects include:

• Women’s Development Programme – providing women with skills, development and training to promote entrepreneurship among marginalised women
• Dilmah’s Small Entrepreneurs Programme – enhancing the dignity and self-worth of vulnerable men and women by providing them with the means to start successful businesses
• Helping the differently-abled – The MJF Foundation works to counter the discrimination faced by the differently-abled in Sri Lanka. They have many wide-ranging programmes that provide care and attention, and also give the opportunity for people to connect. For example, the foundation supports many sporting opportunities, including visually-impaired cricket

In order to maintain the health of the community, and provide an ethical and happy work environment, all Dilmah Tea Company workers are provided with healthcare. Ever evolving and improving, the Merrill J. Fernando Health Centre serves 3,600 plantation workers and their families.

As a company working with and owing everything to the land, Dilmah estates are run with the knowledge that care for the environment should always be paramount. Dilmah harness the power of their own solar energy plant and have many projects running to ensure the health of the environment and community. For example, the Dilmah Conservation Butterfly Garden is home to over 50 endemic species of butterfly, whose natural life cycles are threatened by loss of habitat and host plants. They are also working in conjunction with many other organisations to ensure the long-term health of Sri Lanka’s beautiful beaches and coral reefs.