A winding 50-minute drive south east of Nuwara Eliya leads to the 30-acre Warwick Estate, home to Jetwing Warwick Gardens — an 1880s stone villa perched high on a hill (bottom left). Its rooms, little changed since the early 20th century, still whisper of the elegant lives once led by colonial owners. A half-mile walk downhill through the working plantation (top left) leads to a row of labourers’ houses, now somewhat adapted for 21st-century guests, yet largely preserved in their original form. Former picker Meena Amma plays host here, guiding visitors through the tea fi elds and into the workers’ village. Back in the kitchen, she prepares the day’s meals and, in between, shares cooking classes that off er a glimpse of her secret recipes: think soft, pillowy roti, fragrant curries and savoury snacks such as the ubiquitous wade (lentil fritters; top right).