Today I'm going to talk to you about Ella and its surroundings, a village located in the Highlands, the geographical center of Sri Lanka. A small route to see two very interesting geographical points from Ella in the same day.
The town itself does not stand out for its beauty but it is the best starting point for the best excursions that can be done in the Sri Lankan country.
She is located in the district of Badulla (province of Uva) and at an altitude of 1050 meters above sea level. Connected with Colombo and Kandy (main cities of the country) by train and road, She is about 200Km from the capital (Colombo). The town has about 45.000 inhabitants, although the vast majority of them do not live in the urban nucleus but in the mountains and plains that surround it.
Given the altitude of the region and the tropical climate, the province of Uva and the surroundings of Ella are a perfect location for tea plantations.
Every backpacking route through Sri Lanka has to go through Ella, and from there organize the different excursions.
How to get to Ella?
It can be reached by road or train.
Multiple roads connect the town to the rest of Sri Lanka. Surely the main roads and connections are from the south on the A2 and A23 (crossing Telulla and Wellawaya) and north towards Badulla Nuwara Eliya and Kandy. The
In recent years Ella has become an important tourist place and the generation of economy has grown a lot, so there are multiple public bus lines that connect the city with Dambulla, Haputale, Kandy and even Colombo, the capital of the country.
Another option to get to Ella is the train. Only one of the lines that run through the country reaches the town, specifically the one that connects Colombo with Nanu Oya (Nuwara Eliya), Haputale, Ella and finally Dambulla.
Personally, I recommend doing part of the tour by train, it is considered one of the most beautiful in the world as it crosses high mountain landscapes in a tropical climate and continuous tea plantations. To get to Her I would do it by shared vehicle or bus, once there if you want to move to other towns or cities then yes, by train.
The train itself is very slow So if you plan to go from Colombo to Ella or from Kandy to Ella, keep in mind that to do about 20Km the train will need at least 1 hour. There are different prices (all quite affordable) depending on the class, I personally went in first class (by mistake) and second and I hardly noticed a difference, the interesting thing is to contemplate the landscape where the train circulates.
Little Adam's Peak (or Little Sri Pada)
One of the star excursions in the region and suitable for everyone: the climb to Little Adam's Peak; the Ascent to its peak is quite easy and fast. It owes its name to the likeness (in small version) you have with the sacred mountain of Sri Lanka, called Adam's Peak (in another region and that I personally did not visit).
To get to the top, we will always follow the directions along the way, at all times there are signs to get to Little Adam's Peak. Total about 1 hour uphill from the city center.
The first part runs along the Ella road (B113). After a few minutes, and when we arrive at the Ella Flower Garden Resort, we will see on the right the sign that will tell us that we should take that path and start climbing (towards Little Sri Pada or Little Adam's Peak).
La second part of the excursion takes place between fields and tea plantations, a spectacular landscape. We will see the plantations left and right for almost half of what remains until we reach the top.
Finally the third and last part, the one with a steeper but easy slope. In a few minutes we will reach the top of Little Adam's Peak. From this point we can see the entire valley towards the southern plains and the sea, Ella and its surroundings and all the tea plantations in the region. A luxury of views.
Ravana Falls (Rawana Falls)
Another essential excursion from Ella, the ravana falls.
These are located next to the main road. The best way to reach them is to take a public bus from the city and in a few minutes we will arrive at the stop next to the falls.. Another option is to walk from Ella along the road. In this case I recommend the bus, walking on narrow roads in Sri Lanka would not be a good option.
Once there we will be able to see the Ravana Falls right in front of us, to access the falls from the road, just take the small path that there is and in two minutes we will be in front.
One of the attractions of Ravana is that you can bathe without problems in the lower part, the fall of the water from a height of 25 meters is a bit impressive but there is no problem, it is safe.
Possibly You can take the Little Adam's Peak and Ravana Falls excursion in the same day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I did it like this and it gives time to see everything without rushing and even to bathe calmly in the falls.