Nuwara Eliya
Tea country, a cool night, and the station for the train down to Ella.
Nuwara Eliya is the high town where the published signature and honeymoon routes spend their first two nights. The useful things are an estate you can walk, a factory that is actually processing, and Nanu Oya station, where the Ella train starts if Sri Lanka Railways is running it.
Horton Plains and World’s End are a day from here, not a quick look. The plateau is exposed and often wet by the afternoon. The signature sample includes the park entrance. On the shorter tea-trails trip it stays optional.