The famous city of Nuwara Eliya is situated in south-central Sri Lanka. It lies at anelevation of 6,199 feet (1,889 meters) above sea level. Due to its high  altitude, it has a Sub Tropical Highland climate. The average annual temperature varies between 11-20 C° and the recorded lowest temperature is 0.4 C° and the recorded highest temperature is 27.7 C°. Mount Pidurutalagala (8,281 feet [2,524 meters), is situated 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Kandy very close to the town, and can be seen prominently. During the British period, this mountain was called Mount Pedro. Today the mountain area is a high-security zone since the summit is made used for state communication and TV transmission towers.

Since the discovery of Nuwara Eliya by Dr. John Davy in 1821, Nuwara Eliya was a hill station used by the British residents of what was then Ceylon. Because of the elevation, the vegetation is of the temperate sort, and European fruit and vegetables are grown and a major tea-growing region. Grand Hotel is situated just about 600 meters from the Nuwara Eliya city and is a pleasant walk.