24 Hours in Ella Sri Lanka

After a train journey of a lifetime and seven hours on the tracks, it was time to explore our next destination in magical Sri Lanka, the town of Ella. We knew a little bit about the amazing sightseeing on offer here and its connection to tea, but little else. Clearly it would be a popular place, especially among backpackers, so would it be a soulless money pit, the Las Vegas of Sri Lanka or another piece of paradise? With only 24 hours to explore we had quite a bit to do, find out if 24 Hours in Ella Sri Lanka would be a day well spent.

24 Hours in Ella Sri Lanka

According to Wikipedia, Ella, Sri Lanka is a small town in the Badulla District of Uva Province, governed by Ella Pradeshiya Sabha. It is approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of 1,041 metres (3,415 ft) above sea level. The area has a rich bio-diversity, dense with numerous varieties of flora and fauna. Ella is surrounded by hills covered with cloud forests and tea plantations. The town has a cooler climate than surrounding lowlands, due to its elevation. The Ella Gap allows views across the southern plains of Sri Lanka.

Sounds promising, but would this backpacker mecca be worth the trip? Due to us staying a little longer in Kandy it cut short our two day stay in Ella to just one day, we were disappointed somewhat but felt we could do what we wanted to do in 24 hours. Upon arrival we checked into our guesthouse, only five minutes walk from the station where we passed restaurant after restaurant and backpacker after backpacker. On first impressions this looked a little like a ski resort with wooden chalets and tall trees but obviously with much higher temperatures. Even though the sun was shining, and with it being almost thirty degrees celsius, it still felt very comfortable with fresh mountain breezes.

The town was busy with the usual traffic of tuk-tuks and buses but not overly crowded or chaotic, a little bit like Andorra or a Canadian or American ski resort but in the sunshine. After a lovely meal of spicy chicken, we went for some tea in a restaurant close to our guesthouse before going to bed after a long day. Early next morning we hit the street of Ella to make our way to one of the most famous attractions nearby, the Nine Arch Bridge. We then planned to visit a local tea plantation before leaving for our next destination in the south of the country later in the afternoon.

After some negotiating with some local tuk-tuk drivers we decided to walk to the Nine Arch Bridge as it was such a beautiful day and the natural environment needed to be appreciated on foot. The walk would take about 30 to 40 minutes but we were in no rush. We walked along the road as it steadily ascended before entering a forest marked with a sign directing us to the Nine Arch Bridge. Trekking is a popular activity here so we would tick off that box as we made our way through natural terrain towards the bridge.

As we walked through the trees we embraced the peace and quiet and stood in awe as we looked at some of the mountain side dwellings perched high above some of the most beautiful scenery we had ever seen. As the dirt path un winded there was a little bit of trash, which did ruin the area somewhat, but with some many tourists it is to be expected unfortunately. We passed some deep green areas of fields and flowers before spotting the famous bridge down below teeming with tourists and their phones.

We took the time to enjoy the view from above by enjoying a fresh coconut from an elderly vendor for 500 rupees, or just over one dollar! Beside the vendor attached to a tree was a train timetable letting everyone know the times of the trains imminent arrival to capture that iconic video and image. It would be over an hour to wait so we headed down onto the track to take some pictures. The bridge and railway line was impressive but nothing compared to the stunning mountains which frame it. A more visually beautiful location for a railway bridge would be hard to find anywhere on the planet.

24 Hours in Ella Sri Lanka

We took some pictures and decided to have a drink in a treehouse bar beside the track. We had a great view out over the tracks and watched visitor after visitor pose for pictures or walk on the railway line. Soon after we heard the sound of an approaching train and excited tourists jostled into position to capture the perfect video and images. As the train approached those on board waved, most being tourists, and soon after the train disappeared into the dark tunnel and on to Ella Station nearby.

With a tea plantation starting at 12pm at Uva Halpewatte Tea Factory we swiftly moved on from the Nine Arch Bridge just after 11am. A line of tuk-tuks were in wait but seeking 4000 rupees, or 15 dollars for the 6km trip, it may not sound like much but it was a lot more that the normal price. We politely declined their rip off attempt and decided to walk a further distance away and hail one in a quieter area. Sure enough 5 minutes down the track and we got a tuk-tuk for 2000 rupees or 6 dollars, a lot more reasonable. We took the scenic drive to Uva and arrived at 11.40am, our driver offered to wait for us and take us back to Ella for 2000 again which was a very reasonable offer.

He showed us where the tour started and we paid our entry fee of 3000 rupees each, about 10 dollars for our tour. There were a couple of tour options but we chose the plantation tour. Just after 12pm we were called for our tour and we were joined by four other travellers from Europe. Our guide was very pleasant and educated on the whole tea producing process, after giving a brief introduction about tea and how and why it is grown in Sri Lanka, we were given head scarves and large baskets to put on our back. We were joined by one of the female pickers and led to some bushes for photos and a chance to pick our own tea.

The scenery again was simply breathtaking as we strolled around the tea plantation and our guide told us the best part of the leaves and how they produce the many types of tea in the factory. We handed back our baskets and scarves and made our way into the factory to watch the leaves being separated and sorted into the finished product by the use of large machinery. Finally we headed back into the gift shop area to sample some of the tees from those higher in caffeine, darker teas to lower in caffeine, more clear teas such as green tea. Our guide thanked us before we looked around the gift shop and purchased some.

24 Hours in Ella Sri Lanka

Our tuk-tuk driver was waiting and took us back to Ella for 2pm where we enjoyed one last lunch before collecting our bags from our guesthouse and hopefully onto the south of the country to Bentota later in the afternoon. This would prove a challenging task later when we arranged with our tuk-tuk driver a good offer to take us to Bentota by car, unfortunately he sent another tuk-tuk who wished to take us the four hour trip. We had no option to decline as it would have taken the tuk-tuk at least 9 hours to reach our destination. Instead we hired a private taxi for 25000 rupees or 75 dollars or so.

We really enjoyed our short time in Ella, it certainly is a magical place, despite it being full of backpackers and tourists. It was very relaxed, laid back with again some amazing scenery which we have found all over Sri Lanka. For those who love camping and trekking this is the perfect area. If you wish to drink, party and eat well you can also do that here. There is some great accommodation from budget home stays to luxury accommodation. There is a range of activities to be had. Maybe in the future we will return to this piece of paradise, we just hope it doesn’t change too much but you can see the locals are making a good living from the influx of tourists, so it’s not all bad. We found the vendors less pushy here and even the tuk-tuk drivers didn’t pester so much for a fare.

 

Heading to Kandy next? Don’t miss our Kandy to Ella train ride guide.

our Kandy to Ella train ride guide