From Kandy to Ella in Sri Lanka - train or car?

We planned to travel by train from Kandy to Ella in Sri Lanka. This train journey is reputed to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It didn't turn out quite as planned, but maybe it wasn't so bad after all. We also have some tips for those who want to do the classic train journey from Kandy to Ella.

Buying a train ticket

You can buy a ticket for the train journey from Kandy to Ella in advance, or on the spot at the train station in Ella. the holy city of Kandy. Since we don't like to plan in detail in advance, we went to the station in Kandy the day before our planned train journey.

Now it is high season, and since we were not out in good time, the tickets you buy in advance were no longer available. The only tickets available were the ones you buy the same morning. There is a small problem with these tickets, but we didn't realise it until the following morning.

Train from Kandy to Ella

On the day of departure, we got to the train station early. The train would leave at 08:45, and we were there at 07:15. We bought four tickets that said "second class", but without numbered seats, for about 15 SEK per person. We had wanted to buy more expensive tickets with numbered seats, but all such tickets were sold out.

Travelling second class on the train is supposed to be fine, and if you book second class in advance you can get a numbered seat in a carriage with plenty of room. We met a German couple who had bought such second class tickets on the black market, and they got a seat in a carriage with plenty of room, with no people standing up. The problem with the tickets we bought on the same day was that they did not include a seat ...

We were at the front of the platform when the train rolled in, but the compartments we had tickets for were already occupied. overcrowdedand by that we mean overcrowded in the way you may have seen on film that Indian trains can be.

After having forcibly pressurised On board, we realised that travelling in this way for over six hours was not reasonable, at least not if it is supposed to be a pure pleasure trip. We couldn't even move an arm and certainly couldn't see out the windows, so what was the point? We simply jumped off again, before the train started rolling ...

Want to take the beautiful train journey? Our tip is to book your ticket well in advance, which we understand can be done at Visit Sri Lanka Tours. You can choose between first class (air conditioning and closed windows) or second class (no air conditioning, but windows can be opened). If you book a ticket with a seat, you're sure to enjoy a beautiful journey of 6 hours between Kandy and Ella!

Car from Kandy to Ella

For us there was no train journey. We called our driver, who had already started driving towards Ella, but who quickly turned around to pick us up. The road from Kandy to Ella winds up into the mountains, through a beautiful green landscape, and we stopped again and again to take pictures.

The high mountains between Kandy and Ella, around Nuwara Eliya, have a different climate from the rest of Sri Lanka. It is much colder here. The climate and the mountains are perfect for growing tea, and when you drive here you can really see tea farms. just everywhere.

Perhaps you've heard of Ceylon tea? Ceylon is the old name of Sri Lanka, and when it comes to tea, they have kept this well-known name. We made a small stop at a tea shop along the way, where we enjoyed both Ceylon tea and some crispy spring rolls. You can also choose to visit a tea factory on the way if you wish.

We stopped at the Mount Heaven Hotel, which was beautifully surrounded by intensely green mountains, in Bandarawela outside Ella.

We also stopped at Ravana Falls, which is a bit outside Ella. This is a nice and strong flowing waterfall, which is also very popular. We were many who stepped around among the stones to get close to the rushing water. There are also plenty of small stalls around selling drinks, fruit and grilled corn on the cob.

Ella in Sri Lanka

After almost five hours of driving, we arrived at our destination. Ella is a small town in the district of Badulla, located about 1000 metres above sea level, surrounded by green mountains and tea plantations. The nature here is rich in plant and animal life, and because the town is so high, it is quite chilly here.

The centre of Ella is pretty much a single street, where hotels, restaurants and nightclubs sit side by side. All the tourists who have come from the train, or who are planning to take the train soon, meet here and the atmosphere among partying backpackers is high. This was the first time during our trip in Sri Lanka that we felt that we had ended up in a real tourist place. We liked the atmosphere in Ella and ended the evening with a pizza at the Chill restaurant.

We stayed one night at a hotel called Pasla, located at 47 Main Street. This was a simple, but quite ok hotel for about 190 SEK per double room, with a good location. Well, unless you have problems with noise from nightly partying of course, in which case it is difficult to stay on the central street in Ella. For our part, we were so tired that we easily fell into deep sleep despite all the partying!

The railway bridge in Ella

What about the train? We actually travelled from Kandy to Ella because we wanted to take the famous train. Instead, we travelled by car, but that didn't stop us from checking out the beautiful train bridge, which is close to Ella train station. Our driver first drove us to the train station in Ella, and there we took two tuktuk for further travelling to the bridge.

My favourite thing to see is when a train crosses the bridge and the tuktuk drivers got the idea that a train was coming, so they took off at full speed, while the gravel sprayed and the tuktuk overtook everything in its path.

Finally, we arrived at the viewpoint where you can see the beautiful bridge. The train? No, it didn't come while we were standing here, but at least we had a great view. There was no trip by train from Kandy to Ella for us, but despite this it was a nice and interesting trip to Ella.