Sri Lanka’s misty tea country—in pictures

Sri Lanka’s Up Country is a landscape of forested peaks and rolling hills, their slopes striped with tea plantations and dotted with picket-fenced railway stations and colonial-era resorts.

Travel · Photographs by Mark Parren Taylor, Mark Parren Taylor · Published February 7, 2026 · 1 min read

Topics: Holidays & Traditions, Tea, Farms, Train Trips, Agriculture, Food Culture, Temples, Modern History, Hotels, Traditions, Forests, Mountains, Travel, National Geographic Traveller (UK), The Collection by National Geographic Traveller (UK)

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Mist drifts across these cool Central Highlands, offering a soothing counterpoint to the country’s frenetic cities and sultry coastline. Since the 1860s — when Sri Lanka was still known as Ceylon under British rule — the region has produced some of the world’s most celebrated single-origin teas. That tradition endures today, blending heritage with innovation. Many estates — still known as ‘tea gardens’ — open their gates to visitors, offering a glimpse into two intertwined stories: the legacy of the colonial-era planters and the daily rhythm of today’s tea-pickers.

Published in the Experiences Collection 2026 by National Geographic Traveller (UK). To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).