Tea Factory Visit - Dambatenne

The Dambatenne Tea Factory is actually up in the mountains at Haputale and hard to get to. If you are an avid tea drinker, I assure you however that it is worth the trip!



Getting to Dambatenne Tea Factory

It's not going to be easy to get there. There are no rail or bus links directly, so your best bet is to get to the mountain village of Haputale first and get a local bus over to Dambatenne. Tuk tuks/three wheelers are also available. You can also go with a tour group. A local driver was my preferred option and worked a treat. []

How much does it cost to visit Dambatenne Tea Factory?

It's a simple 250 Rupees fee payable at the door and in cash only. There might be a slight delay to wait until one of the workers is available to show you around but it will be worth it - this place is off the beaten track!

What length of time is a tour of Dambatenne Tea Factory?

Your tour will be split into three main parts and should take around 25 minutes:

1. A visit to the rooms upstairs where the tea arrives in from. They are put into machines to begin the refining process.

2. Visiting the downstairs room where the tea goes through different levels of refining and is eventually left out to rest before being heated.

3. Lastly all the tea will be heated then let to cool. Once cooled, it goes into bags to be distributed around the globe!

You can't take photos inside during parts 2 and 3 which is fine as it's their system. The staff will all be working hard in the background so it's important to respect that. The opening hours of the tours seemed to be 9-5 but double check before you visit.

What other things are there on the tour?

The tour is short and once it's over that's you done! Yes really there is no restaurant, cafe or tea room to even have a sample of the Sri Lankan tea. Your only consolation will be being able to buy a packet of Dambatenne tea direct from the factory in a small box.

The packet of tea cost 300 Rupees and that's the Dambatenne stuff. However the better tea called Simondou costs a whopping 1,100 Rupees! You can also buy them in the nearby towns of course.

What else can you do near to the Dambatenne Tea Factory?

It's such a mountainous region so there are four other things to do which is best done with a driver:

1. Marvel at the epic mountain views

2. Stroll along the hills of tea plantations

3. Have a cup of tea with a great view over the landscape

4. Go to the town of Haputale which has hotels, shops, an ATM and markets

I was just trying to see if the post could be stretched out any more and extra details added, but basically like I said, it's a short and basic tour and that's really all there is to it. If you have any questions on it, do leave a comment below or get in touch. They don't even have their own website, despite the enormity of their production, and for once I'm not even going to bother linking to a site about it!

OK it's tea time!