Follow the Trails of Mist-wrapped Tea Country with Ellerton Bungalow

The Pekoe Trail is Sri Lanka's first long-distance walking route, stretching roughly 300 kilometres across 22 stages through the hill-country estates. Opened in 2023, it links some of the country's most scenic tea-growing landscapes.

From Ellerton, guests can explore Stage One across the seven-peaked Hanthana Range and Stage Two onwards to Loolkandura. The walk combines tea-covered hillsides, forested ridges and village landscapes, with a tuk-tuk transfer back at the end.

Stage Two of the Pekoe Trail ends at Loolkandura, widely recognised as the birthplace of Ceylon tea. In 1867, Scottish planter James Taylor established the island's first commercial tea plantation here while the coffee industry was collapsing.

Taylor initially processed tea leaves by hand on his bungalow veranda before establishing a factory on the estate. His experiment eventually transformed Sri Lanka's economy and global identity.

The Kandy hills served as the filming location for parts of the 1984 adventure film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. After permission to film in India was denied, Sri Lanka became the stand-in setting for several scenes.

Around the Hanthana area, the iconic rocky outcrop known as Katusu Konda (Lizard Back) was used as one of the filming locations featured in the production. Today, the surrounding hills, forests, and dramatic ridgelines continue to evoke the same sense of adventure that made the landscape a memorable backdrop for the film.

A gentle village walk leads to the Kataragama Shrine at Ganegoda. Kataragama is a unique deity revered by both Buddhists and Hindus across Sri Lanka, known as Skanda to Buddhists and Murugan to Hindus.

The shrine sits amid paddy fields and village life, offering insight into the cultural and spiritual traditions that have connected communities across the island for generations.

As evening approaches, join a local naturalist for a walk through tea estates, village lanes and home gardens surrounding Ellerton. The route offers opportunities to spot hill-country birdlife while learning about tea cultivation and daily life in the region.

Along the way, guests encounter both Buddhist temples and Hindu kovils, reflecting the communities that have shared this landscape for generations.