Ella

About Ella

Ella sits at just over 1,000 metres in a gap in the Uva hills, and the gap is the whole point: the town looks straight down a wooded gorge toward the southern plains, and on a clear evening you can see all the way to the coast. It became famous for three things and still delivers all of them. The Nine Arch Bridge at Demodara, a 1921 viaduct built entirely of brick and stone, carries the hill-country train over a tea-covered ravine several times a day. Little Adam's Peak is a forty-five-minute walk up through tea to a ridge with the best view in town; Ella Rock is the harder half-day version, and the one worth doing. And the train in from Kandy or Nanu Oya - slow, open-doored, endlessly photographed - is the way most people arrive. Add Ravana Falls, the Demodara loop where the line spirals under itself, and more tea factories than you can tour, and it earns the crowds it now gets.

Top Activities

• ✓Nine Arch Bridge visit (sunrise/sunset)
• ✓Little Adam's Peak hike
• ✓Ravana Falls swim
• ✓Tea factory tour
• ✓Ella Rock hike
• ✓Scenic train ride from Kandy

Nearby Attractions

Closest Places in This Guide

Straight-line distances; allow considerably longer by road, especially in the hills.

• Ella RockAdventure · Nature1 km
• Ravana CaveHeritage · Adventure1 km
• Little Adam's PeakAdventure · Nature · Romantic2 km
• Nine Arch BridgeHeritage · Adventure · Romantic2 km
• Ravana FallsNature · Adventure3 km
• Dowa Rock TempleHeritage · Cultural4 km

Travel Tips

Travel Guides That Cover Ella

• Sri Lanka Itinerary: 7, 10 and 14-Day Routes That Actually WorkThree routes for a first trip, built around realistic travel times, the current state of the hill-country railway and the coast that is in season.
• Best Time to Visit Sri Lanka: A Month-by-Month GuideTwo monsoons take turns on opposite coasts, so somewhere is always in season. Where the weather is good in each month, and the festivals and wildlife worth timing a trip around.
• A 10-Day Sri Lanka Honeymoon: Route, Stays and TimingAncient cities, a tea-country bungalow, a safari and a slow finish by the sea - a realistic ten-day honeymoon route, with where to splurge and where to save.