I think Ella, in the hill country of Sri Lanka, is one of my favourite towns so far. It’s full of tourists, backpacker tourists mostly. There are endless guest houses asking too much money, but it’s really refreshing to be up in the hills. It’s cool, if not cold, great walking weather. That is what people do in Ella, they walk. This post is about some of the temples, waterfalls and other attractions to see on your hikes around Ella.
If your style is more guided tour than just wandering, this tour of Ella and the surrounding area will make sure you miss nothing.
Walks Around Ella
Yesterday we took the boys up Little Adam’s Peak and on to Nine Arches railway bridge on the Kandy/Ella scenic train line. That was around an 8 Km hike.
Heading South Through Ella Gap
This morning we thought we’d try walking down the hill through Ella Gap to see what we could find.
As I just wrote on my Facebook page:
This morning we walked down the hill for 2 Km, turned right at the waterfall, walked 1Km up the hill past the monkeys, found the temple, found the guy with the key to open the temple, had a look (great temple!) walked 1Km back to the road and then gave up and got a tuck tuck the next 4Km to the big waterfall. Possibly the most impressive waterfall I’ve ever seen, actually, waterfalls don’t really do it for me. But I’m pooped, I haven’t walked every day like this in ages!
It’s true, I am completely and utterly tired, mentally and physically and I don’t feel too well. I think six months on the road is enough for now, I’m looking forward to my rest in the UK over Christmas and some really great food and wine. Even people who are “on holiday” all the time need a break.
So, no fancy posts today, just some photos of this gorgeous little temple we found and the waterfall further down Ella Gap. (photos of Ella Gap are in the Adam’s Peak post, it’s beautiful)
Rawanaella Ancient Temple, Ella
It’s usually the real temples, the people’s temples, not the big tourist attractions, that I enjoy the most. This one was great, built into the natural rock, nobody else there other than the guy with the key and a few monkeys.
The sign says it’s called Rawanaella Ancient Temple. We’re not travelling with a guidebook, we’re just wandering and seeing what we find at the moment. Sometimes it’s nice to do that.
The Waterfall
This waterfall is Rawanda Waterfall and it’s just south of Ella along the highway. You could probably walk, but with small kids we walked some of the way before catching a tuk tuk. This waterfall can be visited on an Ella guided tour, like this.
That’s it for today and that’s it from Ella. It’s been raining all afternoon, an icy drizzle befitting Britain, so that, coupled with my total lack of energy, has made us decide to forget about Adam’s Peak for now. Shame, but there’s always next time. We’re on the train to Kandy tomorrow, it’s supposed to be a spectacular ride.
Best Time For Walking in Ella
The best time for hiking in Ella is January to March. The weather should be dry and cooler in the winter months. Ella is at considerable elevation, over 1000m, so it is generally cooler than the cost. The wet season in Ella is July to November. We were in Ella on this visit, in December, it was cold, cold enough to need warm clothes, and we had some drizzle.
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