Postcard pretty town of Haputale (part 3)

The beauty of Haputale certainly grows on you every single day. I have not regretted my decision to stay longer in this town as I was able to move around and explore the place at my leisure and not hurrying through my itinerary, ticking off the places that I need to see.

I decided to visit Lipton’s Seat and Saminale temple on my last day. I am amazed at the amount of tea I’ve been consuming since coming over to Haputale. The cold weather makes me look forward to having my hands wrapped around a hot cup of tea. Just for breakfast, I finish off a full pot!

Ever wondered where the Lipton Yellow Label tea bags that we brew up every morning comes from? The Dambatenne tea plantation was established by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1890 and encompassed about 2,500 acres spread out all over the Uva valley. It is home to over 1600 workers and their families. We did pass by worker’s houses and other estate facilities on our way up to the factory.

From the guesthouse, numerous buses used by the factory workers pass by especially in the mornings and you can take one of this to go up to the factory. But from the factory it is still a long way to go till the summit. I was too lazy to go for a hike so I asked Sanath again to take me to Lipton’s Seat.

Lipton’s Seat is located at the summit of the Poonagala Hills, the highest point within the Dambatenne tea plantation at 6,450 feet above sea level . You pass through a verdant landscape of rolling hills and mist shrouding the valley making you feel as if you are in the clouds. It can be tricky driving a tuktuk over the rougher part nearer the summit but Sanath seems to be an expert! I offered to walk the whole way and we can just leave his tuktuk at the base although I was relieved when he said it’s okay he can manage.

The fog had settled in when we got to the summit. The place was enveloped in white. I also couldn’t see anything at all but I did not want to leave the place without seeing the 360 degree view of the surrounding hills and even the shores of the South.

We whiled away the time by going to a wooden observation deck armed with a steaming hot pot of tea that the gracious plantation worker who lives nearby has offered for only 30 LKR! When the fog started to recede and got blown away, the sight which awaited me was truly awesome. I now understand why Sir Thomas Lipton used to sit in this summit to survey his tea kingdom. Superlatively beautiful!

I took a photo also of the beautiful Tamil women picking tea nearby. I felt bad though thinking that they are here from morning shivering in the cold mist-covered hills with their sacks hanging on their backs. But they always have a ready smile for all the visitors who pass by.

On our way back, we made a detour to visit the Samimale Rock Temple. From the Dambatenne Road, you can catch a glimpse of the temple perched on the side of the mountain and surrounded by trees. This is not in the usual tourist trail around Haputale, even Sanath had to ask for directions from the estate workers that we pass by.

You have to be careful going down to the temple as it can be a bit nauseating looking down the valleys and cliffs. The view more than makes up for the muscle strain. You have panoramic views of the town of Haputale and the surrounding valleys.

The rock temple itself is not really spectacular. It has some interesting and colorfully decorated spears in different sizes lined up in a concrete block and a very odd bull sculpture in the middle of it. The altar area has some images of Hindu gods made in a yellowish paste, maybe from dried turmeric paste ( a common spice used in this region).

I did not know what the significance is of the bell in the temple but I still rang it up to sort of say, Hello I’m here! hahaha

After the trip I stayed in the town centre to check my mails from the internet shop and I also want to do my final walk from town to the guesthouse, this time I’m doing it at dusk. I’m speechless! The scenery is beautiful beyond words! I am a novice at photography, I don’t know about proper lighting, ISO levels, etc….. but as I keep on clicking my camera it just continue on spewing nonstop all these gorgeous images.

Walking on the road and having my moment of introspection, I am so thankful that I have the luxury of being able to visit places like these. I love having the pleasure of being able to stay in one place just because you want to take your own time discovering its beauty. My own three days is not enough though, I wished I could stay longer but maybe there will be a next time.

My special thanks to the Dias family for that special Srilankan hospitality. I hope to be able to visit you once again.