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Welcome to Ella, the independent travellers’ favourite hill-country chill out village. It’s the perfect place to relax, cool off, and ease up on the travel accelerator with a few leisurely days in some of Sri Lanka’s friendliest guesthouses.
The views through Ella Gap are stunning, and on a clear night you can even spy the subtle glow of the Great Basses lighthouse off Sri Lanka’s south coast.
Don’t be too laid-back though or you’ll miss the chance for easy-going walks through tea plantations to temples, waterfalls and viewpoints. After building up a hiking-inspired appetite, look forward to Sri Lanka’s best home-cooked food and a reviving cuppa made with fresh locally grown tea.
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Best time to visit Ella
Best time to visit Ella is from January until May when the weather is at its best. However, Ella is an all-year-season hot spot.
Nightlife
You are in rural Sri Lanka at Ella and although there are a surprising number of bars and restaurants open at night, there is no city nightlife like discos and nightclubs. However, good music is available in almost all restaurants and pubs.
Bars and pubs
There’s a great choice of places to enjoy a drink with friends.
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Train- The best way to get to Ella (unless you splash out on chauffeur-driven vehicle while doing a tour of Sri Lanka) is by train.
Not that it’s comfortable; it isn’t. But it’s fun and the scenery is superb as the train runs through crowded city suburbs to rural paddy fields before climbing, via Kandy, through hills of crew-cut tea bushes and lush forests.
It’s a journey of approximately ten hours and 271km. The best daily trains (express in name but not speed) are those bound for Badulla
[read more]
Train shedule
- Badulla: Podi Menike, leaving Colombo Fort at 05.55, arriving Ella at 15.14
- Udarata Menike, leaving Colombo Fort at 08.30, arriving Ella at 17.16
- Express, leaving Colombo Fort at 09.45, arriving Ella at 18.22.
- A night mail train departs Colombo Fort at 20.00, arriving Ella at 06.05 but you don’t get a chance to see the scenery (or get much sleep) on that.
- The air-conditioned compartment is Rs.1500, 2nd class fare is Rs430; 3rd class Rs270.
All the trains from Colombo to Ella and on to Badulla (the terminus in the east) stop at Kandy and Nanu Oya (for Nuwara Eliya) as well as at Haputale and Bandarawela, so you can board there to get to Ella.
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Road- Private and state air-conditioned and old-fashioned non-air-conditioned buses start from Colombo Fort bus terminal for the journey to the hill country.
There’s only one bus that actually goes through Ella. It starts from Colombo and terminates in Madulsima but it isn’t air-conditioned.
The other option is the bus that goes from Colombo to Badulla bus number 99, (Starts from the private bus stand at Bastian Mawatha Colombo – Map) and there are air-conditioned options available. The journey takes at least five hours. But the bus doesn’t go through Ella so you have to get off at Kumbalwella junction and take another bus or a tuk-tuk taxi from there to Ella.
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Important Contacts
Ella Tourist Police – 0572228522
Ella Railway Station – 0572228571
Free Ambulance – 1990 (toll-free)
State Hospital – 0573553954
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500m from Ella town
By foot / Vehicle
8.30 – 17.50
Free
Historical Trek Cave
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1.9km from Ella town
By foot
Before and for sun-fall
Free
Trek Camping Mountaintop
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2.1km from Ella town
Foot/ Tuk-tuk
Before sun fall
Free
Historical Train
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4km from Ella town
Getting there: By foot
8.30 – 17.00
$20 adults and $15 children
Leisure Sports
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4.2km from Ella town
By foot
8.30 – 17.50
Free
Trek Mountaintop
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5km from Ella town
Tuk-tuk/ bus
Before sun fall
Free
Waterfall Bathing
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Wellawaya, 25.8km from Ella
Tuk-tuk and by foot
Before sun-fall
Free
Waterfall Bathing
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8.4km from Ella
Vehicle
Train times
Free
Historical Train
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4.2km from Ella
Vehicle/ tuk-tuk
8.30 – 17.50
$3 per adult
Tea manufacturer
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4km from Ella town
Getting there: By foot
9.00 – 15.30
$40 per adult
Leisure Sports
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Food and drink” title_align=”separator_align_left” el_class=”city-h2″][vc_column_text el_class=”city-places-to-see”]Ella’s restaurants offer a range of comfort food from Sri Lankan coconut Rottie to locally made pizzas. Ella has a lazy morning start, and most restaurants aren’t open before 10.00.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1565843651193{margin-top: -25px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1565843249362{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;background-color: #f7f7f7 !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”2274″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text el_class=”city-places-to-see” css=”.vc_custom_1569345733649{margin-top: -15px !important;padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]
Chill Restaurant and Bar
Monday to Sunday 10.00 to 24.00
077 180 4020
Signature dish- Pizza
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Ella Scooter Rent
Rs1500 per day
077 911 1161[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1565847682767{margin-bottom: 10px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column_text el_class=”city-places-to-see” css=”.vc_custom_1569345821468{padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]
Lanka Bikes
Rs1500
075 301 4099[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row”][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Places to stay in Ella” title_align=”separator_align_left” el_class=”city-h2″][vc_column_text el_class=”city-places-to-see”]You’ll find some super friendly places built and designed especially for visitors as well as quaint village guest houses and homestay (bed & breakfast) residences.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” gap=”10″ css=”.vc_custom_1565846717438{margin-top: -20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1565845051100{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;background-color: #f7f7f7 !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”2279″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” css=”.vc_custom_1565933493321{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}” link=”https://www.booking.com/hotel/lk/98-acres-resort-amp-spa-ella.en.html?aid=1702746&no_rooms=1&group_adults=1″][vc_column_text el_class=”city-places-to-see” css=”.vc_custom_1565846835587{padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]98 Acres Resort & Spa
Featuring the luxurious comforts of a boutique hotel, 98 Acres Resort & Spa is set in Ella amidst a stunning landscape also known as the 98-acre tea estate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1565845190571{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-right: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;background-color: #f7f7f7 !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”2280″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” css=”.vc_custom_1565933470035{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}” link=”https://www.booking.com/hotel/lk/ella-flower-garden-resort.en.html?aid=1702746&no_rooms=1&group_adults=1″][vc_column_text el_class=”city-places-to-see” css=”.vc_custom_1565846825651{padding-right: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]
Ella Flower Garden Resort
Overlooking panoramic mountain views, Ella Flower Garden Resort is nestled in Ella. Rooms are equipped with a spacious private balcony and free WiFi access is available at all public areas.
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Booking.com
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Transportation in Ella
Taxi-hailing apps don’t work in Ella. There are plenty of tuk-tuks so do a deal on the fare that you’re happy with. But make sure the driver understands where you want to go before you get in.
Tuk-Tuk fare calculation tip – Rs60 for the first kilometre and then Rs45 every additional kilometre. That’s the standard Government approved rate. If the tuk-tuk has a lot of hills to climb, bad roads and a lot of waiting, expect the driver to add extra to the hire cost.
Ella is small town, most of the places worth visiting there can be reached by foot or by public transport.
+ Read more: General transportation guide in Sri Lanka
Attire and safety
Ella is a tourist town and can be regarded as safe. Just keep your wits about you. Wear comfortable light clothing and shoes as there’s lot of walking to be done. The nights can get cold although the temperature is unlikely to drop below 10 °C.
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Things to be aware in Ella, Sri Lanka
- Ella is not known as a shopping destination
- Self-proclaimed tour guides who will try to strike a deal should be shunned.
- Avoid rides offered by drivers of private transportation. Let your hotel or guest house arrange known transport for you.
- Book hotels through reputable travel agents or popular online websites
- At night, apart from the town, the rest of the area sleeps
- Avoid walking around the town alone late at night. It will be more fun meeting other guests in your accommodation
- You’ll find it useful to carry a torch or a headtorch
- Walking along the rail track is actually trespassing. If you do it (as locals do) be constantly on the lookout for on-coming trains.
- Be advised that drug taking in Sri Lanka (even in laid-back Ella) is illegal
- Be especially alert about your surroundings when taking “selfies” so you don’t have an accident
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