Lipton’s Seat in Haputale

Just after the December breeze and the Christmasy mood, the month of January just made us feel that we still wanted that cozy weather for some more time. So it was then me and Malith along with some of our best friends wanted to plan this awesome trip to Lipton’s Seat of Haputale, another memorable journey to the misty and chilling hill country of Sri Lanka 🙂 .

The scenic roads surrounded by beautiful tea estates of Haputale

Lipton’s Seat is one of the awesome places you will come across in Sri Lanka if you are traveling around Haputale or Bandarawela. It is situated on the highest point of the Poonagala Mountain close to the Dambetenna tea production line in Poonagala, Sri Lanka. To reach to this place you need to move around 7 km through rich tea plantations and the location is close to 16 km away from the Haputale town.

So we started our travel at around 6.00 am in the morning from our home town Moratuwa, long with the gang.  Hopping into the four wheel drive and driving through for almost for 6-7 hrs, we reached the Haputale town at around 4.00 pm amidst taking some breaks to refresh ourselves 🙂 . Then lies the adventurous trip to the Lipton’s Seat on top of the Poonagala mountain. So after taking many bends along the steep hilly road, our cab reached the peak at around 5.00 pm.  But if you are really keen to enjoy every bit of nature, you could always go by foot to the peak of the mountain. The taxis at the bottom of the mountain would demand a higher price from you. So we would like to recommend you to get the taxi from Haputale town itself if you are to visit the location via a vehicle and the total travel cost would be around LKR1,000 – LKR1,500 for the journey.

DSC_0173
DSC_0177
DSC_0180

The nature around is just fascinating!! Just love this weather too. On the day we traveled it was little bit misty but the air was so much fresh. It was like one of the best days to breath and really felt like that we are truly part of this nature.

DSC_0225
DSC_0227
DSC_0172

Mainly, there are two routes which anyone could get to the Lipton’s Seat. One is the Bandarawela route via Nayabedda estate and the other is the Haputale route via Dambetenna Tea estate. Both the routes are completely fledged with lots of stunning viewpoints surrounded by breathtaking green plantations. This article comprises of various locations and scenic views which we managed to capture at Haputale while travelling via Dambetenna Tea estate route to Lipton’s Seat.  However, for a better and clear view it is recommended to arrive in the morning time before it gets too sunny.

So I didn’t miss my chances whenever we stopped by, to get out among the tea estates and rocky pathways and admire the beauty of this wonderful environment. The weather was so cool and every bit of air I inhaled just refreshed my whole body and gave me new life!!! What a wonderful experience and I just wish that all of you could have it someday too 🙂 🙂

January is one ideal month to visit Haputale and Lipton’s Seat, as its not really a hassle to admire the surroundings and the place doesn’t get too crowded. By any chance if you get to visit this place on a weekday the whole nature is yours. The empty walkways, calm tea estates and clear blue skies in the background just painted one stunning picture in our hearts which we could cherish for life.

This is almost like the end of our journey and we have come very closer to the bottom of the mountain. The glimpse of the evening sunset is falling on the lush green plantations urging us to make our move faster towards our final stop. Nevertheless it is just endless beauty throughout.

Finally here we are at Lipton’s Seat!!!

DSC_0237
DSC_0281
WP_20170113_16_57_31_Pro

The weather was freezing  cool up at Lipton’s Seat!!  Well our mission is accomplished!! The ideal climate which all of us yearned for. This is all about what brought us all the way from the hustling Colombo city to this tranquilizing destination.

What makes this places so exiting is that if you go on a clear day, even the Hambantota Harbor which is situated in the in the Southern Province beach front range can also be seen surprisingly 🙂 . Other than that Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Central and Eastern provinces including 7 districts can be seen from this amazing location.

Cafe at Lipton's Seat
DSC_0278
DSC_0239

The only cafe at Lipton’s Seat where you can enjoy some nice Rotti, Dosai and Waddai along with a hot cup of tea in the small cafe !! :). Wow!!!The food was so tasty and spicy. Well we all had Rotti with spicy katta sambol (made out of red chilies and onions), some Waddai and hot ginger tea made out of freshly plucked tea eaves of the close by estates.

So our sudden adventure to get out of the busy life styles early in January was one big memorable one indeed. We enjoyed every bit of our journey towards Lipton’s Seat among the greenery and frosty climate. November – February could be identified as some of the best months to visit this destination in the hill country of Sri Lanka. The journey might be a bit lengthy but worth the drive for sure. You could always come over to Haputale by train and then hire a tuk tuk which is very convenient to find in Sri Lanka to travel. So don’t hesitate to add this amazing locale to your bucketlist as well.

Happy Travels All !! 🙂

Shadini & Malith



Recommended places to stay by LetsgoCeylon

You may also like...

20 Responses

  1. Fiona Mai says:

    I’m gathering info for my next trip to Sri Lanka so this post comes just at the right time. This place is now in my list!. I really look forward to having tea at that cafe on top of Lipton’s Seat!

  2. Bee says:

    wow, as a tea lover I would def want to see this. Sri Lanka is on my list so this post is great to add to my itinerary. it;s beautiful and those amazing skies just add to its beauty.

    • Shadini Silva says:

      Hello Bee, if you’re a tea lover, you could also visit the Dambetenna tea Factory in Poonagala, Haputale. From there you could learn so much about how things work at a tea plantation.
      Happy Travels !

  3. xyuandbeyond says:

    I am really curious as to how it got the name Lipton’s Seat think I may have to google that lol…which I just did and found out it was where Sir Thomas Lipton (the tea magnate) used to go and sit to oversee his tea crops. Fascinating stuff.

    • Shadini Silva says:

      @xyuandbeyond, Seems like you are really interested about the place which is nice to know. Well you’re right and there is a statue of Sir Thomas Lipton holding his cup of “Lipton” tea right on top of the mountain…
      Cheers!

  4. Flo says:

    Hill country in Sri Lanka is so incredible! I’ve never been to Lipton’s Seat but am hoping to visit one day – I was definitely surprised by how cold it was in Nuwara Eliya/Kandy/Ella in the evening and how dry it was compared to the southern province.

    • Shadini Silva says:

      Hi Flo, So nice to hear from you. If you get a chance pls do include this place to your itinerary as the view and the weather is simply spectacular.
      Happy Travels !

  5. The tea plantations look absolutely gorgeous! Reminds me of the tea plantations in Munnar where we went for our last wedding anniversary! The chill climate and lush greenery is all so romantic! I hope to explore Srilanka in 2019!

  6. kathymarris says:

    Sri Lanka is on my wish list for maybe next year, so I was interested to read about this part of the country. I will definitely put Lipton’s Seat on the itinerary. It’s so lush and green!

    • Shadini Silva says:

      Hi kathymarris, Thank you for reading our blog posts and yes Lipton’s Seat is one scenic location that you must visit in our country.
      Happy Travels !

  7. David says:

    I’ve never been to Sri Lanka so this has been added to my visit list! Your pictures paint a great picture of the Sri Lankan scenery!

  8. Julz says:

    I loved Sri Lanka and would so much love to go back! I didn’t spend enough time there and this is one thing I didn’t get to do… The tea plantations. The landscapes are just beautiful.

    • Shadini Silva says:

      Hi Julz, Sri Lanka is full of beautiful landscapes. So make sure you at least spend 6-8 days next time you come here, to witness most of it.
      Happy Travels !

  9. James says:

    I think the journey to Liptons Seat in Sri Lanka looks super fun. Loaded with beautiful scenery along the way too. Your adventure was definitely worth a 6 am start!

    • Shadini Silva says:

      Hi James, yes our journey was actually exciting and worth the effort. So if you plan to visit SL, pls do not miss out on Ella and Haputale 🙂
      Cheers!

  10. I can’t get over how green it is! Stunning scenery! I desperately want to go to Sri Lanka one day!

    • Shadini Silva says:

      @youngandundecided, you are most welcome to visit this tropical island with so much to admire. So if you need any help on planning your trip, you could always contact us.
      Happy Travels !

Leave a Reply