Mountain Sri Lanka is worthy of a visit from 7 days minimum!
Sri Lanka should definitely be explored on the waterfront and in the mountains. We allocated few days to visit the mountainous part - 4-5 days. Therefore, we only visited Ella and Nuwara Eliya by passing through. The peculiarity of the mountain region is the weather! At night, up to 10-15 degrees, no heating in the houses! At the same time on the waterfront in Sri Lanka is hot) When checking in find out whether the air conditioner works for heating ... We wore anything warm at night. Their accommodation is a shack with holes - "ventilation") From the waterfront buses go to the mountain side. But after trying out such buses between settlements on the coast, we decided not to "take this ride"! We took a cab - from Mirissa to Ella 100-120 dollars (2017), we drove 6 hours... And it's that 170 km trip!!! The car is a minivan of a very old type) At every bump bounced so that no soft seat will help and it has nothing to do with the newness of the car! Local roads are very similar to the unploughed field with wild boars (local drivers).
Ella - where to stay, what to see?
We chose a hotel on the mountain, supposedly with a view from the room) Not worth it!!! It will have to go up every time, and there's nothing to see) It's better to take accommodation closer to the railway stop. Then it is convenient to go to Nuwara Eliya early in the morning by train. It's definitely worth doing! The views are beautiful along the way, and what a speed!!!)) 20 km/h - India's trains are one and the same! The trip is tedious, though by car, though by train, but it's fun to look out the window.
The sights of Ella:
Tea plantations. They are all over the place. When you go walking on Little Adam's Peak, Ella Rock, you will see them all around in all their glory.
- Ravana Ella Falls
- Little Adam's Peak and Ella Rock.
- Nine Arches Bridge
- Ella to Nuwara Eliya Railway
Ravana Ella Falls is a waterfall of Ella with a large population of monkeys. From the village of Ella you can take a bus, say stop Ravana Falls. The locals will tell you where to get on, where to get off) It takes about 15 minutes to drive along a steep serpentine "in the can with the sprats. The road in some places passes near the cliffs, fences, and does not smell))) In general, the feeling of a trip will)). The waterfall itself is not unusual. The bus arrives at the bottom of the waterfall. The main attraction here is a cluster of local monkeys, who are used to tourists! If you walk down the road a little to the side of the waterfall in either direction - up or down - you will be waiting for groups of beggars! You can feed the monkeys by hand, but do not tease or try to pet them!
Little Adam's Peak and Ella Rock are mountains opposite each other. The ascent to Ella Rock takes a day (according to the Internet), and you can just walk to Little Adam's Peak... We didn't want to go to Ella Rock, the views are the same, and the walk to Little Adam's Peak is enough. Also the weather is very windy and the wind is icy, not very comfortable to walk. But it's worth the walk to Little Peak for sure) See the mountains of Sri Lanka, tea plantations, local lodging, etc. The walk is easy, a little complicated by the long stairs) Almost everyone can do this route.
The Nine Arches Bridge in Ella is convenient to visit just after the hike to Little Adam's Peak, on the way back, so to speak. It's well worth a visit, too! A beautiful view of the arched mighty bridge. If you follow our route, you will get to the bridge from above. If you want you can go downstairs by footpath and look under it, but we don't have such a desire) We took a picture of it and "dived" into the tunnel) Train goes very rarely, you can not be afraid of and walk safely on the railway right up to the station Ella. So we were back in town, below is our half day walking route. Walking on the tracks is not very comfortable, this should be taken into account when choosing shoes. On the internet they write about grass and leeches... It looks more like myths and fiction. There is no grass on the tracks themselves... it's not very comfortable to walk, but it's real. And if you walk on the side of the pseudotropics, there may be more than just leeches there probably)
- A - the beginning of the trail in the village of Ella.
- 2 - Little Adam's Peak.
- B - the place where you have to turn off the road to get to the arch bridge
- 3 - the 9-arched bridge.
- 3-1 is the path along the railroad tracks from the bridge to the train station in Ella village.
From Ella to Nuwara Eliya it is a must to come by train to enjoy the Lankan mountains and tea plantations to the fullest! Nuwara Eliya is a beautiful region and even colder than Ella. Nuwara Eliya is highlands with tea factories and waterfalls. As it happens, we didn't spend much time in this region. After arriving at the Nuwara Eliya train, we took a cab to Colombo with a drive through the Nuwara Eliya tea factories. Although we could have settled here as well, at least for 2 days.
Below is the train schedule from Ella settlement station.
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