Nature 239

From here, young passengers eagerly hung from the door to see the gushing cascades of the spectacular St Clair's Falls through tea bushes. Cold air drifted in from the open windows and rising mist cloaked the towering Great Western mountain range. Many passengers got off the train at Nanu Oya, a tea-country town where visitors can tour the plantations and learn about the history of tea on the island; but I stayed on board, climbing up to Pattipola, the highest broad gauge railway station in the world. From here, we finally left the cold central hills, travelling past dairy farms towards the sun-drenched south-eastern mountains.