Nine Arch Bridge
A 91-metre stone viaduct in the jungle — arrive before a scheduled train for the classic shot.
Hill Country
Ella travel guide
Cloud forest, tea slopes and the most beautiful railway on earth.
About Ella
Ella & the Nine Arch Bridge
Ella is a single street of cafés at 1,000 metres, and a landscape that does all the talking. Tea estates fall away into the Ella Gap, a notch in the mountains through which, on a clear morning, you can see all the way to the southern coast.
The Nine Arch Bridge is the signature: a colonial-era viaduct built entirely of stone and brick when steel ran short, now framed by jungle and crossed by the blue hill country train several times a day.
- Drive from Kandy
- 4 hours (140 km)
- Train from Kandy
- 6.5 – 7 hours, reserve seats in advance
- Altitude
- 1,041 m — cool evenings
- Ideal stay
- 2 nights
Photo gallery
Ella in high definition
Highlights & attractions
What you should not miss
The five things our guides make sure every guest sees in Ella.
Little Adam’s Peak
A gentle 45-minute walk to a 360-degree view over the Ella Gap.
Ella Rock
A tougher four-hour hike along the railway line and up through tea and eucalyptus.
Ravana Falls
A 25-metre cascade named for the Ramayana king, roadside and easy to reach.
The Kandy–Ella train
Seven hours through tea country, widely called the most scenic rail journey in the world.
Things to do
How to spend your time in Ella
- Ride the observation car from Nanu Oya or Haputale to Ella and hang out of the doorway with everyone else.
- Walk to the Nine Arch Bridge through the tea plantation path rather than the road.
- Climb Little Adam’s Peak for sunrise, then have breakfast in town.
- Tour a working tea factory in nearby Demodara and taste the grades side by side.
- Cool off in the natural pools at Ravana Falls after the walk.
- Book a cookery class and learn to balance a proper Sri Lankan curry.
Best time to visit
January to March offers the clearest views through the Ella Gap.
Ella is cool all year — pack a fleece for the evenings. The northeast monsoon brings mist and rain from October to January, which is atmospheric but hides the views. February to September is generally dry, with mornings clearer than afternoons.
Month-by-month weather guide
Tour packages
Tours that include Ella
Tea Trails & Hill Country
Kandy, the high-grown estates of Nuwara Eliya, Horton Plains and Ella — travelling by road and by the famous hill country train.
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Most popular
Classic Sri Lanka Round Tour
The complete island in one journey — the Cultural Triangle, Kandy, tea country, a leopard safari and three nights on the southern coast.
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Signature journey
Luxury Sri Lanka Grand Tour
Our flagship itinerary: boutique tea bungalows, tented safari camps, private guides and unhurried days across the whole island.
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Nearby destinations
Ella pairs naturally with these — most guests combine them into one route.
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