O zi în Ella - descoperă atracțiile și peisajele spectaculoase ale regiunii

To get to Ella from Nuwara Eliya we took the train again. This stretch of road is considered to be the most beautiful in Sri Lanka because the train passes through full valleys filled with tea plantations. I recommend you sit on the left side of the train, both on this route and the Kandy-Nuwara Eliya route. The duration was 4 hours and that's because it was an hour late.

From the train station, we travelled by tuktuk to our accommodation with the most beautiful view we've ever had, Nine Arch Lodge. Having seen pretty much what Ella has to offer, I'd recommend you get accommodation further away from the center of the small town. You can find great accommodations with great views of the bridge or the jungle, while in the city it's not much to see and extremely noisy. Here it seemed to me that the tuktuk drivers kind of took advantage of us: they stopped accepting the official PickMe rides and charged us double or triple on 3-4km roads, and that's only because all the roads are narrow and winding.

If it wasn't for the very bad weather we had, we would have stayed another night, so 2 days. So we stuck to the few activities we could do in the one day we spent here.

The famous Nine Arch Bridge

So for me this bridge was the picture of Sri Lanka! As soon as I saw this picture, I don't even know where exactly, I told myself I had to get there and see for myself, and for me it lived up to the expectations I left home with. Of course, it's extremely popular, touristy and commercial from 7am when the first train goes by, but it fascinated me.

Knowing it is so well known, that was also the reason I chose that accommodation, to see the bridge right from the top of my bed, without having to rush from first thing and hear the sounds of trains in that gorgeous valley. Fascinating!

Few information about the bridge or why is it so well known?

Nine Arch Bridge, also known as the 'Bridge in the Clouds', is one of Ella's most photographed attractions and a true symbol of the region. Built during the British colonial period in the 1920s, this stone and cement bridge, without a trace of steel, impresses with nine massive arches arching over a green valley surrounded by tea plantations and tropical rainforest. It's easily accessible by a short hike from the center of Ella through the super-green forest. Or from the accommodation we had, in less than 10 minutes we were there...

We wandered from one side to the other, took lots and lots of pictures, admired the amazing view and watched about 3 trains as they passed. If you're braver, you can go down into the tea plantation to get an even better view of the arches, however, it's extremely steep and full of leeches.

The other thing you can do, if you have time and want to cross the bridge while on the train, is to take the route Ella-Demodara because it's very interesting because of the construction. To manage the big difference in level in a small space, British engineers came up with an ingenious solution: the train line makes a complete loop, i.e. it curves in a circle and passes under itself through a tunnel.

Drumeție la Little Adam’s Peak

Little Adam’s Peak is an easily accessible peak at about 1,141 meters above sea level. It earned its name from its similar shape to the much more famous Adam’s Peak in central Sri Lanka, a place of pilgrimage for many locals. The trailhead is also very close to the start of the Nine Arch Bridge trail. Somehow you'll pass through a resort that lies in the middle of tea plantations. There was no entrance fee at the time, as it's practically private property, but that can change immediately.

From the start to the top we did about 45 minutes and it was an easy route, more of a walk. The last 15 minutes are constantly climbing stairs, but nothing to be scared of. However, I recommend doing it early in the morning to avoid the heat. There's also a more luxurious area with an infinity pool, a restaurant and a huge swing. Further up, you can try ziplining over this huge valley.

Once you are up there, the view is simply wow: green hills, endless tea plantations and surrounding mountains so green and full of waterfalls. It's the perfect place to relax with a cold coconut. The mountain you can see straight ahead is Ella Rock, another popular hiking spot. In fact, this is where we should have been on our second day, if it hadn't rained. The altitude is 1300m, and the hike from Ella to the summit takes 2-3 hours.

Cooking class - a must do activity!

Probably after safari, this was my favourite activity of the trip! I find that in this place, it's really worth getting to know the cuisine a little bit because it is TOP! The activity was booked via GetYourGuide and lasted 4 hours, during which time we toured the extremely rich garden, were introduced to the spices and cooked lots of curries and other goodies. More details in this video video , where you can see exactly how things are going on.

After the tour of the huge spice and fruit and vegetable garden, we got down to business. We learned how to cook: dhal, potato curry, chicken curry, oam curry, mushroom curry, banana chips, papadums and coconut sambal. Rainbow on a plate! It really was the best food of the whole Sri Lanka trip! ❤️

The activity seemed very natural, nothing commercial, they involved us all very much and I appreciated that there were an extremely small number of tourists (7) and extremely friendly and fun hosts. Have we convinced you to try such an activity?