Ambewela ( ta, அம்பேவளை, translit=Ampēvaḷai; si, අඹේවෙල, translit=Am̆bēvela) is a village, and a

hill station A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia (particularly in India), but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as refuges ...

, located in the Nuwara Eliya District of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The area is also sometimes called "Little New Zealand". The town is situated approximately south-east of the district capital Nuwara Eliya. Ambewela is also a service center to the New Galway tea planting district.

Climate and vegetation

Due to the high altitude of the mean annual temperature in the area is below , while

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

is common during Winter. Ambewela is also popular for of being the highest (in altitude) and widest grassland in Sri Lanka. Mammals such as the

Sambar Deer The sambar (''Rusa unicolor'') is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local ins ...

Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

dominate the majority of the forest cover around the area. Ambewela situated en route to the Horton Plains National Park and is famous scenic landscapes, ''

Rhododendron arboreum ''Rhododendron arboreum'', the tree rhododendron, is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a showy display of bright red flowers. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Thailand. It is the national flower of ...

'' flowers, and the World's End, which is a deep cliff. Similar to Horton Plains and

Ohiya Ohiya ( si, ඔහිය) is a rural village located in Badulla District of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. It is much closer to the Horton Plains National Park. The picturesque Colombo -Badulla Railway runs through Ohiya. Ohiya is in the Welimada Div ...

, this site is also one of the

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

s of Sri Lanka, making the area a popular location for birdwatching as well.

Importance and economic activities

The climatic and economical conditions in Ambewela make it an ideal location for dairy farming, hence the country's only milk powder factory is situated in this area. The two animal husbandries, Ambewela Farm and New Zealand Farm, have

Ayrshire cattle The Ayrshire (IPA ) is a Scottish breed of dairy cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the county of Ayrshire in south-western Scotland. Ayrshires typically have red and white markings; the red can range from a shade of orange to a dark ...

and Friesian cows respectively.

Potential for wind energy developments

The geographic location and altitude of Ambewela expose the site to strong Southwest Monsoons, with winds occasionally reaching over , making the area a favourable location for wind farms and other wind energy developments. As the site is only used for livestock development and similar activities, the site is also an economical zone for erecting turbines, since cattle usually are not affected by wind turbines. These factors have attracted many local and international developers. In 2003, the area was studied in a collaborative project between the Ceylon Electricity Board and NREL. The study revealed that the wind resource at the site is favourable only during the Southwest Monsoon, which is only a small period per year, and that the Northeast Monsoons does not reach the area due to its extreme altitude. Ambewela Aitken Spence Wind Farm

Transportation of equipment such as wind turbines is also a very significant challenge due to the extreme logistical conditions to access the site. The study revealed that transporting turbines larger than 600 KW to the site would be a near-impossible task. The study also revealed that ignoring this issue and constructing wind farms with turbines smaller than 600KW would be extremely uneconomical to the developer.

Transport

* Located on the intersection of the B512 ( Nuwara Eliya to Horton Plains Road) and the B507 (Ambewela to Rendapola Road) * Ambewela railway station - is the second highest railway station in Sri Lanka, at above sea level. It is located on the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

between the Nanu Oya and Perakumpura railway stations, in the Nuwara Eliya District, Central Province. * Main Road

References

External links