Sri Lanka Rally 2020 | Day 7 | Haputale day off | Bespoke Rallies

There was a lot to fit into our day off in Haputale, so an early start. The day started with a drive further up the hillside through the tea plantations to Liptons seat. On the way we parked our cars at the Dambatenne Tea factory and had a tour around the factory which is fully operational and we were able to see the end to end process of tea production. The factory was built by Sir Thomas Lipton in 1890 and is the largest tea factory in Sri Lanka.

After our tour we took tuk tuks for the final climb through the plantation to the viewing point aptly named Liptons Seat. After a quick roti and tea at the top we headed straight back to the hotel to drop off the cars and collect our packed lunches. We then took minibuses to Demodara Railway station where we were going to take the train back to Haputale.

The Demodara Railway station is most notable for its spiral rail line known as the Demodara Loop. It is an impressive feat of engineering where the railway line passes under itself going around in a loop and emerging from a tunnel that lies directly below the station.  Our train journey also took us over the famous Nine Arch Bridge another engineering marvel.

It was a long day but everyone agreed it was well worth the effort.