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Dambatenne Tea Factory
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Dambatenne Tea Factory

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Dambatenne Tea Factory
3.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
3.5
380 reviews
Excellent
80
Very good
112
Average
85
Poor
45
Terrible
58
nir0sh
Colombo, Sri Lanka946 contributions
Informative tour
Aug 2019
I have been at Dambethenna tea factory last year with one of my friends. According to them this is the largest functioning tea factory in Sri Lanka. They provide a guide (either English or Sinhala speaking) for tour through the factory. This factory is four storied building and still well functioning. We got a clear idea about tea production at the end of the tour. It is a worth to visit there on your way to Lipton's Seat. Unfortunately photographs are not allowed.
Written March 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Goda
3 contributions
Rather quick tour
Jan 2020 • Couples
The tour itself was ok, but rather quick (took around 20 min) and did not include tea tasting. The guide told us about different tea making processes, tea types and in the end of the tour advertised teas sold on their shop. I was really excited to visit tea factory, which was built by Lipton himself, but knowing this information I would have rather picked some other tea factory with more extent program :)
Written February 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter M
Melbourne, Australia1,301 contributions
Dambatenne Tea Factory
Jun 2023 • Friends
T This is only 6 miles from Haputale and buses pass the factory every 30 minutes. Sir Thomas Lipton of Lipton teas built this factory in 1890. It is a very comprehensive tea-factory tour. There is a fee but afterwards you can sip a cuppa.
Written September 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dugmac
8 contributions
A miserable and unfriendly experience
Mar 2022 • Couples
If spending 1000 rupees each for a 20 minute tour with a very unfriendly and rude guide who barks “come!” at you to move from room to room as soon as he’d finished providing the very limited explanation about tea production (mostly read from the pamphlet given out at the beginning) - questions are NOT encouraged - before you finish up in an office with a big sign saying “Tasting Room” where ironically the tasting of any actual tea is strictly not possible at which point he plonks two boxes of tea on the table with no further words apart from the price before looking at you accusingly whilst seemingly blocking your exit until you buy something (we didn’t) all sounds like fun then this tour is for you!

We’d been on two other tea tours whilst we’d been in Sri Lanka (Handunugoda and Uva Halpewatte). Both were excellent. Save your money for them.
Written March 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kateřina L
Roudnice nad Labem, Czech Republic7 contributions
Nice place, BUT terrible and unfriendly guide
Mar 2022 • Couples
The place has a history and the building is nice. But it is the last nice thing. Ticket is expensive and the guide WAS MOST UNFRIENDLY PERSON within 3 weeks in Sri Lanka. He do not explain you anything, just read the paper which he gave you, bullying you with instructions (“come!”, “stay here!”). No tasting tea. Guide did not even say goodbye to us. Do not go there and save money for friendly people in Sri Lanka.
Written April 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
chanchu p
4 contributions
Reasons that Don't visit this factory
Feb 2022 • Friends
Don't visit this tea factory
1. Entrance fees are over priced. (1000 pp) . If they produce good quality tea they can earn money from it not over charge from tourists. there are lot of factories offer free visites
2. Factory Guide is not friendly. Visite is very fast and cant understand what he is talking.
3. Inside the factory they put tea on the floor and walk on it.
4. You can't take PHOTOS
5. for the toilets you have to PAY again. Even you brought tickets for the factory
Written February 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dziedzic P
Torun, Poland2 contributions
aroma experience
Mar 2022
You visit this place not to see but to smell. Smelling the interior is an epic experience which makes you realise how much the manufacturing process can change the taste and flavour of the raw tea leafs. Yes, a little too expensive as benchmarked agains other attractions on the island. The guide was harsh but okay - you need to remember that tourists are differend and his job is priceless.
Written November 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yolanda S
Jaco, Costa Rica7 contributions
Not worth going! Too expensive, bad explanation, not cup of tea, not pictures possible
Mar 2023 • Solo
Not worth going there. Too expensive (1000Rps) for almost nothing The guide could not speak very good English and was almost impossible to understand him, Contrary to other tea factories, you couldn´t take pictures. Also not evern a cup of tea at the end, as it is offered in other tea factories, where you don´t even pay for the entry. In summary you can save the visit and go to other tea factories that offer more value for money.
Written March 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Csilla
Budapest, Hungary3 contributions
Not the best tea factory trour
Oct 2023 • Couples
We have visited the tea factory after a nice walk in the tea fields. (That was amazing)
You need to pay a fee to enter the factory. Our feeling was they asked a price as much as they want, but not an affical rate. You cannot make any pictures in the factory and we felt they are just giving some information about the process, but we did not feel this is valid.
After a tour you can try some teas, but it was left there for a while and you can try with a spoon only, not like a cup of tea. Was not charming at all.
You can also buy some teas, but only just the powder one.
I would not go there again. Walking through the tea fields was a better experience.
Written November 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jirka Kotek
Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic150 contributions
Nice experience
Feb 2022 • Couples
Nice but bit surreal.
First of all the factory is quite hard to get to. We self drove and got there from Nuwara Eliya. Last 8km were tough, especially due to buses. The views along the way were magnificent though.
After parking which is easy to get we were immediately surrounded by guys offering us a tuktuk to Liptons Seat. We declined and went for factory only. It costed 1000lkr per person. You get a covers for your shoes and must leave your bags outside (guarded). Also its forbidden to take a pictures inside.
The guide was appearing really strict which looked very funny to us. But obviously he was into his job. At the beginning he read us some safety rules, gave us a brochure and the tour proceeded. We were firstly afraid that he will just read from the brochure he gave us, but eventually he started adding more information and the tour turned out to be pleasant. It took around 30 minutes.
In the end you can buy local produced tea. We got 250g of leafs for mere 350lkr.
Worth the visit if you have a way nearby.
Written February 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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