Ella – quick travel guide

Sri Lanka’s touristy mountain town. Lots of mountain views, nature hikes, waterfalls and caves, and the Nine Arch Bridge. Oh and good food!

It’s a mountain jungle place where accommodations have you staying right in nature. See birds, monkeys, and green all around you as you wake up to nature everyday. Take little hikes and enjoy picturesque mountain viewpoints all around you. The food is also the best we had up to this point, especially since coming from the south of Sri Lanka (which really didn’t have great food).

2 days is enough to see all the main points. Stay longer to relax more, eat good food, or give yourself more time with nature.

Where to stay:

• Kuda Ravana Waterfall – the mountain area north (to west) of this waterfall is nice and has a view into the big valley. Also views of the waterfall and such depending where you are. I’d say the north ones have a better view. I stayed at Ella Infinity View, but I’d say the Mountain Heavens and Brilliant View Home Stay have better views since they’re looking more directly into the valley. Everything around this side was affordable, beautiful, and came with breakfast included. And didn’t feel too far from the town center.
• Little Adam’s Peak – the other mountain area view I’d probably recommend are the ones on the way to Little Adam’s Peak. Those have a nice view as well and are perhaps closer to the touristic stuff. It also costs more.
• Ella Road Tunnel Gap – the area by the train tracks just south of Ella Road has some nice hostels and nearby great restaurants with awesome reviews. This area doesn’t have mountain views but is still nice nature vibe and very close to the city (2 mins walk). Then you can still walk up the train tracks to the hill area and see the views for yourself if you want.

Basically, Ella is a mountain town located around the valley of the Ella mountain.

Generally, you want any accommodation with a nice view of the mountains rather than being by town center. Any long walking into town center can be offset by taking a cheap tuktuk home.

Also…many people walk on the train tracks which is faster than Google Maps walking directions…that’s why Google Maps says it’s a 15-min walk but some accommodation reviews say it’s only a 5-10 min walk to town center…that’s because they walked on the train tracks.

Hostels & Hotels:

• Ella Infinity View – we stayed here and loved it. Nice nature vibe, outdoor sitting area, solid working WIFI, and huge breakfast. Good location close to the city and has a nice view, but by no means is it the “best view ever” as the reviewers. Lots of better views can be found that are more direct into the valley and you can see the rock and waterfall. But no big deal, you’re in nature anywhere. Lots of monkeys around here (trying to steal your food and belongings).
• Serenity Homestay – another one with really nice views and good reviews.
• Brilliant View Home Stay – this looks like better view to me. More direct view into the valley. I would have loved to try staying here. Indeed, there is a barking dog which can be annoying.
• Mountain Heavens – pricier place but worth it. Nicer accommodation and setup, better view into the valley and the infinity pool! Would have loved to stay here as well.
• 98 Acres Resort & Spa – fancy place for fancy folks, couples, honeymooners. Beautiful view into the mountains, outdoor pools can have a bit of that busy western tourist hotel vibe (for good or for worse) with music. The rooms look great, but I wouldn’t enjoy the crowded pool area that’s for sure.

These are the ones I know from the area where I stayed. Beautiful view and nature vibe. Lots of wild animals coming by if you keep your eyes out. Monkeys, birds, etc. Be careful walking around outside barefoot as I had a leech on my feet in no time.

Keep in mind that I only know more of the recommendations for the area I stayed, I’m sure there are other awesome ones out there.

Neighborhoods & Walking areas:

• Town center – mainly for food, shopping, and whatever other stuff you want to buy. Perhaps to check out tour shops as well.
• Little Adam’s Peak & Nine Arch Bridge – the areas surrounding there and on the way up to there are touristy and nice to hang out. Little food stalls, shops, activities like ziplining or rockclimbing or shooting gallery, nice little “theme park” vibe for the kids and family.
• Mountain roads – can walk around as an exercise hike, enjoying the views, or also stop at cafes and restaurants and enjoy the views.

Activities to do:

• Buildings & architecture:
  • Nine Arches Bridge (hike) – beautiful short trail hike up to the famous bridge. Takes just about 15 minutes from the fork where the trails to Nine Arch Bridge and to Little Adam’s Peak start. You’ll see nice views of the bridge and also views from the bridge. There are many unofficial ways/trails to here…I recommend the path that takes you by Asanka Cafe (which has a beautiful view of the bridge and train). Try to go here when the passenger train is passing by. The afternoon train came by at 16:12 and I recommend getting there just in time to see that passenger train (since you see tourists hanging out the side of it). The next train to come by is 16:43 and only a freight train (not a picturesque). If I could recommend…the way I did it was best…get photos of the passenger train passing by at 16:12 from Asanka Cafe, then go down to the tracks and get photos of the freight train at 16:43.
• Parks, gardens, green spaces, hikes:
  • Little Adam’s Peak (hike) – also called “Mini Adams Peak”. It’s an easy hike point to a mountain peak and gives you mountain views. Just 30 minutes to the peak once you get to the trailhead. Steep but not so hard and not so long. Someone in great shape could probably just run all the way through within 10 minutes. I sprinted up the difficult inner mountain point within 1 minute. Also lots of tourist shops, restaurants, cafes, and western tourists around here. I’d recommend visiting this peak in the afternoon and then heading to the Nine Arches Bridge for sunset hours.
  • Ella Rock (hike) – a longer and more intense 4-hour hike. Very doable and easy enough to follow the trail since there’s a bunch of people. You don’t have to pay for a guide. The hardest part is the start. Be careful of locals giving you bad directions on purpose and then charging you money later to put you on the right track.
  • Waterfalls – I didn’t care for these either as I’ve seen many waterfalls in other countries already. The ones here didn’t seem particular epic or allow swimming in them. I saw the Ravana waterfall on our car stop up to Ella. It was ok. Nothing worth making even a 1-hour trip for IMO.
  • Caves – I didn’t care about them but there are some you can look up. Check the reviews for opinions before you commit time to it.
• Beaches, bridges, water-points:
  • There are several waterfalls in the area, but I didn’t care much for that.
• Markets, shopping:
  • I liked the shopping options here. Many stores worth visiting, with nice (made in Sri Lanka) things at low prices.
  • Slow Days – fancy brand.
  • Chill Bay
  • Forcus – nice clothes at low prices. Can haggle, too.
  • MAYA – aka Maya Universal. Many nice little souvenir items.
• Arts & museums –
• Viewpoints, landmarks, sunsets:
  • Classic viewpoints would be the 2 hikes (Little Adam’s Peak & Ella Rock). Sunsets most likely from the Nine Arch Bridge or surrounded area.
• Tours:
  • Tuk tuk tours around the city – waterfalls, viewpoints, tea plantation, etc. I didn’t find the idea especially interesting or something that I couldn’t just rent a motobike or arrange a tuktuk and do on my own.
  • Safari – Ella is close enough to the Uda Walawawe (elephants) and Yala (leopards) national parks. Highly recommended to do at least one of these if you haven’t already.

Restaurants & Cafes:

• Cafe Chill bar & restaurant – this seems the most popular place around here. Has 7,000 reviews when others barely have several hundred. Food is good, nice vibe and music, very touristy (full of white foreigners) but still reasonably priced. You should definitely go here at least once for dinner. But service is painfully slow.
• True Food Restaurant Ella – good local Sri Lankan food and also Indian food.
• Rainbow Cafe – another popular foreigner spot. With western food.
• Matey Hut – super delicious local food. Probably best food at good price around here. I recommend going here for lunch and people watching. Located near the train tracks and can be super convenient if you live by there. Dinner time usually has a line. Don’t worry, they have many more tables than it initially appears.
• Tree House Cafe Ella – vibey hippie areas to eat around the train tracks, with nice lighting at night. Not only this restaurant but the places right next to it. Could
• Starbean – good western style food.
• Cafe UFO – looks like a nice big restaurant and gets cool, playing club-style house music later at night.
• Scan Alpine – this is a camping store, but I’m talking about the restaurant on top of it. That’s a nice place with house music at nights too.

So many awesome restaurants all right next to each other in town. I saw many that I would have loved to try. Ella feels like a place you can spend a week in and still not have tried even 10% of all the good restaurants.

Bars, clubs, and nightlife:

• Many bars found all over the place in town center and also by all the mountain viewpoints.

Miscellaneous tips:

• General travel tips for in Sri Lanka.
• Monkeys – lots of monkeys. Be careful of leaving your things out or doors open, they will absolutely steal your stuff in no time. They’re very fast and quiet. Just a few seconds of you looking away and your stuff is gone!

Itinerary:

• DAY 1 – go to Little Adam’s Peak (reach trail starting point by 1pm). Can take tuktuk to the trail starting point if you don’t want to walk there. If you’re passing by the train station, now is a good time to buy your rail tickets to your next destination. The hike up Little Adam’s Peak is about 30 mins, but there are also nice places to eat and chill along the way. Or you could just do that AFTER the hike. Once you come down from Little Adam’s Peak, you then head over to the Nine Arch Bridge. Try to arrive at the bridge by 16:12 for the passenger train that comes by. Walking in and out of the Nine Arch Bridge has many nice cafes with viewpoints as well. If you don’t have time for both, then aim for the Nine Arch Bridge at sunset. And then do Little Adam’s Peak the next day. At night, you can walk around the town center for food and hangout at a vibey bar somewhere.
• DAY 2 – relax, do what you missed from previous day, or do one of those longer harder hikes. Chill at one of those bar restaurants with mountain views.

Ella is mainly for enjoying mountain views from your accommodation, then doing the Little Adam’s Peak hike in the afternoon, Nine Arches Bridge at sunset. The rest is eating at good restaurants around town.

Nearby towns:

• Kandy** –

Unfiltered notes:

• 13 Incredible Things to do in Ella: Exploring Sri Lanka’s Hill Country – the common wanderer
• Ella Rock Hike Guide: How to climb up without a guide – thisgirlabroad
• 3 HIKES YOU MUST DO IN ELLA – Jana Meerman