Nuwara Eliya

The place

The highest town on the island, cool enough for open fires and old enough to keep its colonial airs - hedged gardens, a racecourse, and a lake ringed by tea. The British built it as a hill station, and the look has largely stuck.

The estates around it produce the country's best-known teas, and a factory visit is worth the stop for the tasting alone. Bring a layer; the mornings are genuinely cold.