Hill Country by Train
Kandy to Ella on the blue observation train, tea estates at 1,900 metres, and the walk out to Nine Arch Bridge — with the vehicle meeting you at every station.
- Duration
- 4 days, 4 nights
- From
- $520 pp
- Group
- Private — your group only
- Best months
- January to March for clear mountain mornings; avoid heavy rain in November
The Kandy–Ella railway is the single most photographed thing in Sri Lanka and the single most badly organised. Observation-class seats sell out about thirty days ahead. People turn up at the station expecting to buy a ticket, end up standing in second class for seven hours, and conclude the journey is overrated.
We book the reserved seats a month in advance and split the line into its two good halves, so you are on the train for four hours and three hours rather than seven in one sitting. Your luggage travels in the vehicle and we meet you on the platform at the other end.
The unglamorous part is what makes it work: somebody has to drive the empty car up the mountain while you are on the train. That is what you are paying for.
What you'll do
- Reserved seats on the Kandy–Nanu Oya observation carriage, booked a month ahead
- A working tea factory, from plucking through withering to the tasting room
- Nine Arch Bridge on foot from Ella, timed to a train crossing
- Little Adam's Peak at sunrise — forty minutes up, worth every one
Day by day
- 01
Kandy
We meet you in Kandy. Afternoon at the Temple of the Tooth and a walk around the lake. Early night — the train leaves at 8.47am and you want to be on the platform by eight.
- 02
The train to Nanu Oya
Four hours through the steepest section of the line, climbing from 500 to 1,900 metres. Tea estates, tunnels, and vendors selling wade and sweet tea through the windows. We meet you at Nanu Oya with the vehicle and drive the last twenty minutes to Nuwara Eliya. Afternoon at a working tea factory.
- 03
Down to Ella
The second leg, Nanu Oya to Ella, is the one people photograph — three hours with the doors open and the valley falling away on your right. Afternoon free in Ella. If you have the legs, the walk to Nine Arch Bridge takes thirty minutes each way through the tea.
- 04
Ella
Little Adam's Peak before breakfast, while the valley still has mist in it. Ravana Falls and the Ella Gap on the way out. We drive you on to the coast, to Yala, or back to the airport — Ella is roughly equidistant from all three.
What's included
- Reserved observation-class train tickets, booked in advance
- Private vehicle meeting you at each station with your luggage
- Three nights in guesthouses chosen for the view, with breakfast
- English-speaking driver-guide throughout
Not included
- Site entrance tickets and tea factory tours
- Meals other than breakfast
- Tips
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