Kandy, also known as the capital of Sri Lanka’s Hill Country, is one of Sri Lanka’s most historic cities. Kandy is best known for being the last seat of the ancient Sinhalese Kingdom and for being home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic; Sri Lanka’s most revered temple. Kandy is also known for its rich culture, vibrant society and many attractions, making it one of Sri Lanka’s top tourist destinations. For comfortable accommodation in luxury bungalows in Kandy make a booking at Mountbatten Bungalows.
The relationship that Sri Lanka has with tea, although not long, is one of extreme cultural significance. Tea plantations and factories have become cultural symbols of the Hill Country of Sri Lanka, where tea thrives, and Sri Lankan tea has gained a reputation in global markets as being amongst the best in the world. Tea was grown in Sri Lanka only at the turn of the 20th Century following the failure of the coffee plantations due to disease, and the best way of discovering the history of tea in Sri Lanka, from its simple origins to being a global force in tea markets, is to visit the Ceylon Tea Museum.
Located in Kandy, the Ceylon Tea Museum serves to tell the story of tea and tea production in Sri Lanka. The museum is housed in the Hanthane Tea Factory which was built in 1925. It is symbolic that the museum is located in Kandy, as some of the first tea plantations in Sri Lanka were grown in Kandy in the 1820’s and 1830’s. The four-storied Ceylon Tea Museum houses various items, artifacts, and memorabilia in its first two floors. These include various tea planting and harvesting implements, historic documents concerning tea plantations, and exhibits of tea pioneers Thomas Lipton and James Taylor. The third floor serves as a sales outlet for various blends of tea, and the fourth floor is a restaurant. This museum chronicles one of the most significant aspects of Sri Lanka’s plantation history, and is thus well worth a visit.
Caleb Falcon is a travel writer who specializes in writing content based on the many exciting world adventures that await intrepid travellers.
