The trip from Kirinda to Ella can only be described as interesting and fulfilling in a backpacking kind of way; not to mention the adventures we faced because we didn’t pre-book a hotel in Ella.
Public Transportation to Ella
When my friend and I started the Sri Lanka trip we had decided not to use tourist transportation. This would safe cost and we would see something of the country we would otherwise miss. This was an easy resolution when we travelled from Colombo to Galle by train and from Galle to Tissa by direct bus. All our principles were about to fly out the window when we found out that travelling from Kirinda to Ella would involve a tuk-tuk and three different buses. I would be lying if I would say that I didn’t consider taking a taxi directly there, but remembering that we had vowed to see more of the country, we started our full day of travel by taking a tuk-tuk from Kirinda to Tissa at 8:30am.
As I said in my post about Galle, Sri Lankans are super friendly and helpful; which we found out again at the bus station in Tissa when our bus had already left. The guys at the bus station were talking rapidly to our tuk-tuk driver and he in turn told us to get in quickly so he could drive us to the next stop and we could still catch our bus. We raced off the road and through local markets, but sure enough the moment we got to the “bus stop” the bus was there and we hopped on. This first bus would take us to Thanamalwila in an hour.
When we arrived at the bus stop in Thanamalwila we had to wait forty-five minutes to take the bus to Wellawaya. Luckily, the bus was already there so we didn’t have to sit by the side of the road. We would reach Wellawaya within 1.5 hours. When we reached our destination, we managed to get on the bus to Ella, along with a huge group of schoolchildren who were getting off at all the small villages on the way to Ella.
All this seems very complicated, but the Sri Lankese make it easy. Firstly, because they are so helpful. They tell you exactly where to go and which bus to take. It seems that all the locals know exactly how to get from A to B, even if B isn’t anywhere close to A. Secondly, because the bus stations are laid out perfectly. The buses seem to stop at random locations, but they actually stop in an area that has been specially marked out for them (there are just no signs to indicate where this special places is).
Finding a Hotel in Ella
At 3pm we finally arrived in Ella. Ella is a small village at 1,041 meters above sea level in the mountainous inland of Sri Lanka. Since it is a tiny village we figured we didn’t have to book a hotel in advance. Big mistake. First of all, it was raining; so walking around wasn’t ideal. Second of all, it wasn’t as small as it appeared and all the prospective hotels were far away from each other.
The first hotel we checked out, Sita’s Heaven, sounded promising in the Lonely Planet, but we had to walk through some kind of jungle shortcut to reach it. The building next to it was having constructions done, so we realized that if the rain would keep us inside we would be driven crazy by drilling and hammering next door. Also the fact that I had my first leech attack after walking through the shortcut didn’t elevate my mood towards the hotel at all.
There were no tuk-tuks near the first hotel, so we walked back to the town. There we came across a beautifully renovated hotel called Little Folly. Unfortunately, the rooms did not have a view, which was the one thing I was looking for. Even though we didn’t take a room or have any of the food, the hotel owners were so nice to stand in the rain for us to find us a tuk tuk. Thank you!
The third time we were lucky. We found Rawana Holiday Resort, which had a balcony area with a gorgeous view over the hills.
Newburgh Green Tea Factory
At the end of the afternoon, we went to the Newburgh Green Tea Factory to go on a tour which left a lot to be desired. The lady conducting the tour clearly had a set route which she wanted to finish as quickly as possible. Any questions about the production of green tea that fell outside of her scope were ignored. The factory is also very small and did not involve any tour in the tea plantation itself.
And… pictures were not allowed. I wouldn’t advise anyone to take this tour, because it’s a waste of time. Also, food poisoning might be contracted because at the end there is a tea tasting, which has a row of stale teas which has probably been standing there for hours. I don’t like tea, so I didn’t try but I can imagine the set up isn’t healthy.
Hike to Ella Rock
There are quite a few hikes that can be done from Ella. We wanted to go to Ella Rock the second day in Ella and the morning of the third we wanted to go to Little Adam’s Peak. After the strenuous hike to Ella Rock, the thought of doing another one to Little Adam’s Peak was discarded.
We got up bright and early at 6:30am and we finished our breakfast at 8am. The hotel gave us a hand-drawn map of the area so that we would find our way to Ella Rock. It started off easy, by simply following the rail tracks. We were feeding dogs in town the night before (super spoilt dogs because most of them didn’t want the doggie biscuits we bought), so in the morning we were greeted by two enthusiastic dogs and they followed us along the railroad track.
On the way to the rock we passed Ravana Falls.
The whole path along the railway tracks took us an hour. 45 minutes in we were approached by people who told us to take a shortcut through the field. We looked at our map and then at the mile marker and we figured they were trying to fool us because it wasn’t on our map. Stubbornly we continued walking.
We were following the map exactly, when we met a guy working in a tea field. We spoke to him for a bit and he told us we weren’t going the right way. Since he was out working in the field and he didn’t seem to be waiting for hikers, we believed him. He took us to the opposite direction and then he took us into the woods of the hills. This is when we realized we had actually bought his services without discussing. He told us he would take us on the the easy route (as it turns out there are many “roads” that lead to the top of the hill). The reason he chose the easy route was because I sweaty and panting beyond believe after about half an hour and we had at least another hour to go.
And then, we were there. We made it to the top. And who were there to greet us? The dogs who started following us for an hour along the railway and who then must’ve known the shortcut to the top.
The view from the top was gorgeous! I don’t like hiking but I’m always happy when I reach the destination.
Of course, whatever goes up must come down. And clumsy as I am I was tripping and falling the whole way down. Our “guide” got a bit exasperated and handed me a handmade stick which I didn’t know how to use so instead of providing me support it provided me with a bloody hand as I was lying on the ground. All complaining aside, the scenery walking back was gorgeous.
And now guess where we ended up after our walk down? Yes, exactly the spot where the people told us to get in to reach Ella Rock… The same people were still there and they remembered us so needless to say they were laughing their butts off. I don’t blame them; there are so many routes to Ella Rock! We shouldn’t have followed the map the hotel gave us because it was bound to confuse us. We paid our guide a small amount of money, it was the usual rate according to the Lonely Planet but he wanted more and we told him no.
Then the people took a break laughing to safe our lives. They told us not to get on the railway because a train was approaching. I’m happy we listened to them this time around because we didn’t see a train but sure enough after five minutes, there it was.
Restaurant
When we got back into town we went straight to our favourite restaurant. Some holiday destinations have the perfect chill/lounge bar. Cafe Chill is one of those places. We went there three times during our stay in Ella. The first evening we had Lamprais, a traditional Sri Lankan dish which is wrapped in a banana leaf. We went there for lunch after the hike and in the evening we returned for something small to eat. Upstairs they have a lounge area where everyone is sitting on big cushions.
The staff is super friendly and I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else in Ella then to this always busy cafe.
Conclusion
I loved Ella. The town is really laid back and chill. There are a lot of backpackers here who go hiking during the day and chill out in the busiest restaurant/bar in town. I could have seen myself staying longer, even though I don’t like hiking I would’ve liked to go to Little Adam’s Peak and to Ravana Falls. However, we didn’t have much time and after the tiring hike to Ella Rock; I couldn’t face up to another hike early in the morning before our train to the next destination left.
In my next blog post I will describe the gorgeously scenic train journey from Ella to Kandy.
