Journey from Adam’s Peak to Ella:

As soon as we reached our hotel after climbing Adam’s Peak we took a tuk tuk for the hour drive back to Hatton train station (costing 1,500LKR.) We then bought second class unreserved tickets for the train from Hatton to Ella.

Unfortunately, the train had far too many people squashed into it and what had been described as one of the most scenic journeys in Sri Lanka turned out to definitely be our worst journey in Sri Lanka. Unless you have tickets for one of the reserved carriages it’s just not worth it. Rather than views of beautiful scenery I became very well acquainted with several unwashed backpackers armpits for 4 hours. Especially just after climbing Adam’s Peak this journey was particularly exhausting and we wish we had found an alternative option. The upside was that this was very cheap at only 200LKR per person.

Things to do:

We only had one day in Ella so decided to hire a scooter to see some of the nearby sights. This cost us 1,500LKR for the day and was probably cheaper than getting a tuk tuk to each of the places. Ella is beautiful just to drive around and if you can get as high as possible you can get some amazing views.

Ravana Falls & Nine Arch Rail Bridge

Beautiful sights, spoilt by the huge numbers of tourists. Still worth seeing.

Ella Rock/Little Adam’s Peak

We had too short a time in Ella so didn’t get to do either of these but on the to do list for next time. Don’t think our legs could have coped with any strenuous walks after climbing Adam’s peak the previous day.

Where to stay:

Country House

A bit confusing to find and the tuk tuk driver took us to Country Homes instead of Country House (although they are right next to each other so it was fine.) The views from our balcony were amazing and having (free) breakfast on the balcony in the morning was a definite highlight.

Where to eat:

Fish & Chips

Ella is tourist central so it is quite hard to find anywhere doing local food for cheaper prices. You will find most people in Chill Restaurant & Bar but it is very overpriced so we walked a little further down the street and found Fish & Chips (we also hired a scooter from them). The food there was very good and far cheaper than some of the restaurants. The coconut and honey rotti was definitely a firm favourite.

Ella is undeniably one of the most beautiful spots we went to. However, it is spoilt a little by the huge number of tourists there. Each of the sights we went to were crowded with so many backpackers which was a shame but still the amazing views mean you can understand why tourists flock here. We didn’t have enough time in Ella you would probably need at least 2-3 days.