Feb 16

Feb 16 Epic views and wild roads: an adventure in Ella’s mountains

A trip to the mountainous centre of Sri Lanka in Ella is always going to dish up epic views – but sometimes they don’t come without a little effort!

We arrived on the iconic train from Nuwara Eliya as the light was starting to fade, unprepared for the chaos of drivers touting for our business. In hindsight, we should have booked a transfer to our accommodation, but we didn’t realise what the roads in these mountains were like and everything looks much closer on a map…

We booked a driver through the popular Pick Me app that could fit three people and our luggage, and it all started well as we climbed higher in the mountains. As we got closer to Awesome Place (our accommodation), the road became dirt, full of potholes, and quite literally on the edge of a cliff.

Our driver was naturally cautious and after he got out to check the size of some of the holes in the dark, I am pretty sure my eyes were closed for the last, very bouncy section of our trip.

It was all worth it and for all remaining trips to and from Awesome Place, we used drivers from the villa!

Awesome Place may only be 10km from the train station, but it can take about 40 minutes to travel the distance. The pay off is, the views from this 3-villa boutique stay are epic, and the staff could not be more accommodating. With only three rooms, it also never felt busy and we always got the best spot to enjoy coffee with the sunrise.

It was an incredible place to start your day with coffee and breakfast overlooking lush mountains and finish it with a swim or a drink by the pool that looks like it is sitting on the edge of the world.

Being in the mountains always makes me want to climb to the top of them, so that is exactly what we did. We could see Ella Rock from our pool so started early one morning with a drive down to the starting point at Kithaella Railway Station.

From the station, you cross the train tracks and then head across a small creek before actually getting to the official trail head. We attempted to make our way up on our own from there with instructions from blogs but the paths around here can be a bit confusing and there is definitely more than one way up!

We took a few wrong turns, ended up on someone’s backyard but managed to gain a guide to lead us all the way to the top from here.

The trail starts easily enough through some tea plantations but before long, I felt like I was hiking at home through eucalypts! It is through here that the path gets a little steeper (and sweatier).

Coming out of the bush, you will reach a clearing at the top of Ella Rock. Here, you will see a small hut, with wooden fencing around it. This is where you will need to pay a small fee to access the viewpoint above. It is totally worth it.

There are two viewpoints from the top. The first looks out over Ella and the railway, the second is about 10 minutes around and you can see incredible waterfalls from here. We probably spent close to an hour just enjoying the views (and catching our breath) before heading back down.

On the way back down, I managed to pick a few leeches on the way trying to get into my shoes through my shoelace holes. Thankfully, they were quite easy to flick off but something to look out for!

Instead of getting a drive back to Ella town, we decided to walk the extra 5km along the railway tracks which seems crazy for a westerner but is very common and we saw a few other locals doing the same.

It took about 40 minutes but was very hot with limited shade so make sure you keep enough water and sunscreen. All up our trip up Ella Rock took about four and an half hours.

We wandered around town and had a bite to eat before heading to our cooking class at Ella Spice Garden.

This is hands down the best cooking class I have ever done and Theeka is so friendly, personable and funny. Plus, the vegan food we made was amazing.

It starts with a guided tour of the spice garden so you can see all the ingredients you will be cooking with. You then get to make seven dishes that are so layered with flavour that I have tried to re-create it at home.

On our last day in Ella, we started to head up Little Adam’s Peak but it was raining quite heavily and we could see after a couple of kilometres that it was quite touristy and the views from the top would not be any better than those we had at our accommodation.

Our final stop on the way out of town was to check out Ravana Waterfall. These epic falls are literally on the side of the road which does make them very busy and surrounded by stalls selling fresh fruit and grilled corn. Perfect for a snack enroute to our next destination.