Ella, Sri Lanka

Our last part of the scenic train ride took us to Ella through grand landscapes. The train track was situated high in the mountains so we could look down on the villages as we passed through...

There were tall waterfalls and higher up we were surrounded by mists...

Then the sun appeared...

Watching the world go by...

Our homestay was located a short walk outside town...

It only had two rooms and the other was empty so we had the terrace to ourselves...

With lovely views...

We weren’t too impressed with the town of Ella, being the last stop on the train it is very popular with a main strip full of cafes and stores catering to a younger crowd...

And a Post Office with some of the least expensive stamps we have bought in any county...

Posting cards to our grandchildren...

Since Ella is located in the mountains there are many places to hike, so we were up early one morning to do so but even early in the day it wasn’t long before we were hot and tired...

The dogs got it right...lie in the shade...

As we walked the views were beautiful...

There were some tough spots on the trail...

But also shady paths...

The last part to the top was through a lot of steps...

But we made it to the top...

To be rewarded with awesome views all around...

Another popular landmark is the Nine Arch Bridge which is located outside of town. The bridge was built at Gotuwala between the Ella and Demodara stations during the British Colonial period. Locally it is known as ‘Ahas Namaye Palama’ meaning nine skies bridge in Sinhala. The name derives from the visual experience. When you stand below the bridge and look up you can see the sky through the nine arches.

The unique part about this bridge is that it is built entirely from rocks, bricks, and cement with no use of steel or metals throughout the structure. The bridge was commissioned in 1941 and the story goes that as the bridge was being planned World War I broke out. The steel and metal materials destined to be used in the bridge were reassigned to be used for military purposes. The materials were then gathered in the form of rocks, bricks, and cement to make sure the bridge construction still went ahead.

People come here for the views as well as hoping to catch the train going by...

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In order to get there we hiked up another hill and when we got to the top realized we would have to go down again, it wasn’t a pretty sight seeing me scoot down the path mostly on my hands and knees!

We did get a picture of the train coming over the bridge...

It is such a pretty place here with the tea gardens, the mountains and jungle all around...

Since we were not going back up the hill we decided to walk back to town on the train tracks...

Such beautiful countyside as we walked...

The road down below shows are high up in the mountains we are...

As we travel we realize some of our best days are the ones we sit and watch the local life going by...this lady was doing the same...

The pineapple truck came by and this young man brought her some pineapples which she promptly declined and sent him back for more...

Around town there were lots of brightly coloured temples...

And brightly coloured cafes...

Flowers everywhere...

Every morning there would be people selling their produce on the side of the road...

This little one was having her lunch while her grandfather was selling cold coconut drinks...

And how could we forget the delicious food prepared by our host every evening...

We enjoyed our stop here but are now heading south and some time on the beach!