Ella in Pictures

Last few days I have been blogging about Ella Trip. Today I will finish off the story with the pictures from there.


A complete luck by chance picture of the moving Colombo Badulla train and I am sure I am going to be showing off this picture for a long time to come.

Ella Gap

The scenic view of the Ella gap




The Ravana Falls




The views from Mini Adams Peak


Demodara Loop

The model of the famous railway loop.


Nine Arch Bridge



Other Ella Pics



Ella Location on the Map


View Larger Map

Back from Ella

As soon as I finished my last blog and looked around the guys were already in deep sleep on the grass patch at the top of mini Adams peak. I too put my phone away and closed my eyes. The gentle breeze and the perfect shade made it a perfect place to sleep.

What I remember next is hearing a huge thunder and was shaken out of the sleep. I suddenly see that the climate has changed, it has almost got dark, the clouds had set in and the thunder and lighting had got closer. But still 3 guys were snoring and fast asleep without being woken up by even the huge thunder. Since it was my "responsibility", I made sure I took pics of them sleeping before trying to wake them up ;)

When I try to wake up one guy he asked, "where am I?", the other guy said "ah I was feeling like Gulliver being attacked by the ants here", next guy woke up with red eyes and asked "damn it, what time is it?". All of us felt the calm of the place absorbing us. If not for the environment I doubt that people within an hour's sleep would be dreaming, snoring and forgetting the time consciousness.

The locals tell me that when Lord Buddha visited Sri Lanka he has visited the mini Adam's peak, but has supposedly was disappointed that the farmers were working at the fields on a poya day and quipped that the place is with sinners and opted to head to the place currently refereed as Adams peak without staying here for too long.

Right opposite the peak we could see the Ravana rock and Ravana ella. The place which they tell us as the place where ravana hid seetha. Anyway I have no idea about the accuracy of the information.

We made our way downhill in double quick time to avoid getting caught in the rain. We made our way to Ella grand hotel, which was a bit of an expensive place when compared to local standards, but the view and the environment and food made it value for money. We had some snacks and then headed to the railway station. Got 2nd class tickets which cost 350 Rs, which is 100 less than sleeper rates, but the risk was that a seat was not guaranteed. Anyway since it was a Saturday night we managed to get seats from Ella itself.
Train started from Ella at 7 PM and we reached Colombo fort by 7 AM. It was a nice unplanned trip which went to plan. The Badulla up country train trip is worth to be taken at least once in a lifetime!

Ella Adventure Day 2

Top of the mini Adams peak,  lied under a tree and listening to the swaying of the leaves and the occasional thunder from far away, while the guys are trying to interpret the folk lore of Ella in their own wildest imaginary terms yours truly is trying to make an attempt to summarize how the day progressed.

We decided to get down from the train at Demodara instead of ella, we reached there by about 6 AM. This allowed us to get a view at the famous railway architectural marvel by the name of the Demodra loop or the railway knot or the railway loop. As the story goes, the train lines from the two ends couldn't be connected to each other since the maximum inclination allowed at that time was smaller than the inclination between the two lines. Apparently when the architects were without a solution in hand a kid has suggested the loop like structure using his turban as an analogy. English architects took the cue from his thought and built this railway loop.

After taking a walk along the loop we decided to take a walk along the railway line crossing another iconic railway architecture by the name of nine arch bridge, supposedly built without concrete and it still stands and then reached Ella by continuing to walk along the railway line, it was a long but nice walk with the scenic up country views with a mix of tea plantations and the pine forests. Then we had a nice view of Ella gap, then a bath at Ravana ella and then hiked to the peak of mini adams peak. Since we have covered all the places we wanted to cover, we are considering the option of taking the night mail train for the return trip to avoid the disappointment of having to stand all the way to Colombo as we have been told that since its a Sunday it will be crowded.

When I return will update the posts with pictures and more details. Will keep you guys posted. Now time for me to doze off while gazing at the sky and the valley at the horizon!

Ella Adventure live blog - Day 1

3 idiots found 2 more idiots and had just started on a trip to Ella. Thanks to the generous ticket buyer we have a one way tickets in hand ;) its sleeper rates 2nd class tickets marked as 343 Rs but the price is 450 Rs, but as it stands now no mode of return and no place to stay and doesn't know what to expect. 3 idiots already declared that they don't have any expectation and knowing Taj mahal train trip how can you expect anything more. If you haven't read it find it under the himalayan heights link on top.

Would be interesting to see how this will go. I will make sure that I keep you updated about the adventures.
The train is expected to head to Kandy and then the through the famous up country route and just now the train started to stroll sharp at 8 PM from Ella.