Three hours inland from Colombo at an elevation of 1,200 meters, the lush tea fields of Bogawantalawa Valley provide the setting for an innovative resort by Dilmah, Sri Lanka’s leading tea producer. Tea Trails comprises four restored colonial-era planters’ bungalows, all linked by walking trails. Each of the villas is unique, with the best being Castlereagh and Summerville for their prime lakeside perches.....

The highlands of the Bogawantalawa Valley, located some 4,000m above sea level, is home to the Ceylon Tea Trails Resort, a
luxury retreat and working tea plantation recently opened by the Dilmah tea company. Four colonial bungalows, built for 19thcentury
British tea estate managers, have been restored and individually decorated, served by a butler, chef and houseboys,
and linked by long winding trails through the plantation.

Norwood Bungalow, where I stay, is secluded and intimate and
takes only 15 guests. I arrive after dark and am given a Tanqueray
and tonic to sip beside the fire in the drawing room before being led
to a candlelit table on the terrace. My four-course dinner includes
an indulgent mandarin tea- infused white and dark chocolate
mousse. I enjoy the rare silence and watch stars appear and
disappear beneath shifting clouds backlit by a full moon.

Popping on the kettle is elevated to an art form in Sri Lanka, where
tea-lovers should visit the green highlands of Bogawantalawa Valley, home of the Ceylon Tea Trails Resort. Opened by the tea company Dilmah last year, the resort will teach you everything you need to know about the perfect brew. Guests are absorbed into life on a working tea estate, albeit while revelling in five-star luxury. Four
elegantly restored bungalows.