Ella, oh, Ella
Ella, located in Sri Lanka’s Hill Country, was probably my favorite destination among all the places I saw on my January’14 route.
Why, you might ask? Well, do I need to say more?
Ella, Little Adam’s Peak
Little Adam’s Peak
Little Adam’s Peak
Little Adam’s Peak
The town itself is tiny and consists of a bunch of guest houses, restaurants and little shops. The tourist – local ratio is probably somewhere around 90 :10. And yet, it doesn’t even matter, because what you come here for is the views. And the views are so breathtaking that even someone like me, who has always been a ‘yes to beaches, no to mountains’ type of traveller, was left enchanted.
Ella, Little Adam’s Peak
Little Adam’s Peak
Little Adam’s Peak
Little Adam’s Peak
What helped to impress me is the fact that I didn’t even need to go through a strenuous hike to get to the goodies. Climbing Little Adam’s Peak is as easy as going up a hill gets (I imagine at least, because I couldn’t call myself an experienced hiker by any stretch of imagination). And if you need a break from walking and get hungry or thirsty, there is a very nice restaurant on the way, where you can have your lunch while gawking at the views.
Those who are up for a more challenging climb should probably head for the top of Ella rock instead. The views from both peaks, however, are supposedly comparable.
Annoyances?
The only problem with Ella might be the climate, which to some people’s surprise is not exactly tropical (the common assumption about Sri Lanka seems to be that it is hot and sunny throughout). The Hill Country, however, can be rather chilly, especially in the evenings… and when it rains.
I have experienced the rain when leaving for Kandy, and my impressions from what is known as one of the most beautiful train routes in the world were, well, not exactly positive. As a result of not having pre-booked a seat for this super popular route, I ended up standing by an open door (train and bus doors in Sri Lanka are always left open) and shivering from the cold as well as soaking up the rain water that was getting inside the train. I won’t lie, I had a little princess moment right then and there, and if a friend I was traveling with hadn’t come up with the idea of getting off at the nearest city and taking a bus instead, I’d probably have ended up cursing the Ella – Kandy train route till my dying days.
In the end though Ella has left me with only good memories and with an urge to maybe revisit one day.
Ella, Sri Lanka
Ella, Sri Lanka