Nuwara Eliya: On Tuesday morning, January 28th, we left Colombo for the north. The mountain resort of Nuwara Eliya is a great boon even to the inhabitants of sea-swept Colombo; and it is also appreciated to its full by the tourist who has been surfeited with the close atmosphere of cities or grown tired of sea voyages. We had been told that the scenery combined the wildness of Switzerland with the peculiar charm of the Welsh mountains; hence we felt that a new experience awaited us. The railway ride there confirmed our first impression of Ceylon's fine growth of trees and shrubs, the road leading first through lowlands with endless cocoanut and other palms; while of all the blossom-laden trees the gold mohr, with its wealth of scarlet blossoms, surpasses every other. Later, rice-fields and tea plantations alternated, the latter even covering the sides of mountains. The scenery grew bolder as we went along, and at the Junction we took the narrow gauge for our mountain climb. This ascent was another triumph of engineering skill, winding around long and bold curves.
Nuwara Eliya is located sixty-two hundred feet above the sea, but, surrounded by mountains, the country has the appearance of being a valley. The Grand Hotel, in bungalow style, is prettily located in well laid-out grounds, with a fine view. In the morning we drove to Hakgalla Botanical Garden, and on our way there we saw a striking feature in great masses of rhododendrons. The road to the gardens through an avenue of trees was inviting, and as we turned to the right we had a fine view of the west peak of the Hakgalla rock; passing on up the drive, we saw a large lake, the banks of which were lined with ornamental trees. There is here a pleasing vista of flowering plants, tall palms, and varied trees; we examined an immense tea plant twelve feet in diameter, a fine clump of tree ferns, and a peculiar silver fern from New Zealand,—also a wax palm from New Granada, the leaves of which are covered with a wax substance from which good candles can be made; and a fernery with twenty-six thousand plants. There is also a flower garden, a house for the propagation of plants, and a laboratory for scientific research, besides many other interesting features in this truly complete garden.
We visited a tea factory, and an attendant showed us the entire process of preparation, even to the wrapping of the tea in packages. During the afternoon we drove to Ramboda Pass, six miles distant. From the top of the pass, six thousand feet high, there was a panoramic view of mountain scenery with the Katinale valley below and the gray-crested Peacock Mountain as a centrepiece. Nuwara Eliya is a famed summer resort, with beautiful walks, tennis, cricket, and social clubs; the English Church is finely located, with the usual well-kept close.
Kandy, January 30th: We left Nuwara Eliya, on the morning of January 30th, for Kandy, arriving there at 2 p.m. The train passed through a country similar to that before described, only there was a greater descent, Kandy having less altitude than Nuwara Eliya. We had anticipated much of Kandy, Ceylon's ancient capital and the scene of action in the days of the old Kandyan kings. It is said that when Adam and Eve were banished from Paradise they repaired to Ceylon and located at Kandy, it being the nearest approach to Paradise. A few days' stay there sufficed to show us that the legend was partly justified.
The city is situated in a valley with stretches of mountains on either side, a lake nestling in the centre of the place and in the midst of a perfect wealth of trees. Nature seemed to challenge our admiration.
The afternoon drive to Peradeniya convinced us that the claim of one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world was well founded, for here we saw revelations in plants, shrubs, and trees, the new varieties of palms seeming wonderful. A talipot palm was in blossom, towering high to heaven, but we knew that its course was nearly ended, for when it attains about half a century of vitality it droops and dies; this seems a strange anomaly of Nature. Great groups of rubber trees (largely exported from Ceylon) and immense groups of tall bamboo trees were also in plenty.