Wow! What a stunning place - the gem of hill country. Once we had jumped off our train at 8:15AM, a pre-arranged tuk tuk was waiting to whisk us off to our guesthouse, where we were greeted by Jagath - our very gracious and friendly host for the evening. He showed us up the steps to his family home-turned backpackers guesthouse ready to offer us tea, breakfast, or a chance to rest after our long night. We elected to have some breakfast and out came ginger tea, toast, bananas and some delicious omelets, prepared by Jagath's wife. Throughout breakfast we planned out what our day was going to look like, what we wanted to see, where we wanted to go, and we set off right away! By the end of our only full day in Ella, we had covered MILES, all by foot plus a few hops on and off buses, and had met with a whole lot of dirt, dust and sweat.
First stop, 9 Arch Bridge ('a feat of engineering') -
When we came across the path that we thought would take us to the bridge, we were met by a 5-year-old girl who seemed to want to lead us in the right direction and after about 7 minutes of walking, a lot of 'you give me bubblegum?' 'You give me jam?' 'You give me...?', she deserted us. Through some steep, muddy, overgrown jungle paths, the trees eventually opened our eyes to the huge and quite incredible, bridge and the tracks that ran along it. We made perfect time too! As we had only been gazing at the bridge for 5 minutes, we could hear the train coming. That was amazing. The train came roaring by as we stood only 5 feet from it; across the bridge and through the tunnel.
When we came across the path that we thought would take us to the bridge, we were met by a 5-year-old girl who seemed to want to lead us in the right direction and after about 7 minutes of walking, a lot of 'you give me bubblegum?' 'You give me jam?' 'You give me...?', she deserted us. Through some steep, muddy, overgrown jungle paths, the trees eventually opened our eyes to the huge and quite incredible, bridge and the tracks that ran along it. We made perfect time too! As we had only been gazing at the bridge for 5 minutes, we could hear the train coming. That was amazing. The train came roaring by as we stood only 5 feet from it; across the bridge and through the tunnel.
Rawana Falls -
Slightly anti climactic as they were right there on the side of the road but beautiful nonetheless. Climbing 40m high, we could see the water flpwing down all the way from the top, right down to where we were standing. The area was crawling with monkeys, too!
Slightly anti climactic as they were right there on the side of the road but beautiful nonetheless. Climbing 40m high, we could see the water flpwing down all the way from the top, right down to where we were standing. The area was crawling with monkeys, too!
Rawana Cave -
We jumped back on a bus after seeing the falls, to head up to the sign pointing to the Caves we had originally passed on our way down to the falls. From that sign, we walked about 1km up a decently steep hill to be met by another sign pointing to some stairs that appeared to be the way up to the cave. Firstly, thanks to (or no thanks to) Lonely Planet, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. After about 20 minutes, a few never-ending, dissapointing corners, and still no sign of the cave, we were tempted to go back. Eventually, we made it to the top, which seemingly looked like the heighest height off all of the hills surrounding Ella. The cave was dark, damp, slightly slippery, very dusty and FILLED with bats...flying everywhere. We sat inside for awhile, rested up amd headed back down. This time, I was counting these stairs....901.
As we were getting to the top of the cave I had a mini moment of apprehension. There was not another tourist to be found, and here we were, 3 girls, heading into a snake and bat and who knows what else - infested cave. All's well that ends well though! :)
We jumped back on a bus after seeing the falls, to head up to the sign pointing to the Caves we had originally passed on our way down to the falls. From that sign, we walked about 1km up a decently steep hill to be met by another sign pointing to some stairs that appeared to be the way up to the cave. Firstly, thanks to (or no thanks to) Lonely Planet, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. After about 20 minutes, a few never-ending, dissapointing corners, and still no sign of the cave, we were tempted to go back. Eventually, we made it to the top, which seemingly looked like the heighest height off all of the hills surrounding Ella. The cave was dark, damp, slightly slippery, very dusty and FILLED with bats...flying everywhere. We sat inside for awhile, rested up amd headed back down. This time, I was counting these stairs....901.
As we were getting to the top of the cave I had a mini moment of apprehension. There was not another tourist to be found, and here we were, 3 girls, heading into a snake and bat and who knows what else - infested cave. All's well that ends well though! :)
Rawana Temple -
Very confusing, closed (we think?), waste of time.
Very confusing, closed (we think?), waste of time.
Dowa Temple -
Again, a bit anti-climactic. Our own faults when it comes to planning, as it seemed most places we tried to go into, were closed; this one included. We did manage to see the great Buddha that was carved 15ft high into the rock, which was incredible. As we were turning to leave, the monkeys we had noticed as we walked down to the temple, were suddenly surrounding us. A lot of monkeys....a lot of baby monkeys. Which meant, a few very protective daddy monkeys who were starting to growl at us from the path we were trying to go up to leave. Planet of the Apes anyone? We stopped moving for awhile to let them disperse and then quickly shuffled ourselves back up to the road and onto another bus!
Again, a bit anti-climactic. Our own faults when it comes to planning, as it seemed most places we tried to go into, were closed; this one included. We did manage to see the great Buddha that was carved 15ft high into the rock, which was incredible. As we were turning to leave, the monkeys we had noticed as we walked down to the temple, were suddenly surrounding us. A lot of monkeys....a lot of baby monkeys. Which meant, a few very protective daddy monkeys who were starting to growl at us from the path we were trying to go up to leave. Planet of the Apes anyone? We stopped moving for awhile to let them disperse and then quickly shuffled ourselves back up to the road and onto another bus!
The buses -
Even crazier than the buses I have described from around MEF. Firstly, picture the winding roads of the Furka Pass in James Bond's Goldfinger, now squish that road together like an accordion, give me room for some exaggeration, and you have an image of the roads around Ella. Now, place a Tata Motors bus (breaking down) going at an average road speed with a conductor who is texting on his cell phone. Got it? Good. Fun, right?
Even crazier than the buses I have described from around MEF. Firstly, picture the winding roads of the Furka Pass in James Bond's Goldfinger, now squish that road together like an accordion, give me room for some exaggeration, and you have an image of the roads around Ella. Now, place a Tata Motors bus (breaking down) going at an average road speed with a conductor who is texting on his cell phone. Got it? Good. Fun, right?
The town of Ella -
Ella was beautiful. By the afternoon, when we were roaming around, it was quite busy - lots of tourists and backpackers - but still very uniquely 'Ella.' We managed to stop into all the places we wanted to and had read about - the Curd House for delicious yogurt parfaits, the Chill cafe to sip on iced coffee, and the famous Roti Hut for Chicken Kottu Roti. We wondered into a few souvenir-type shops and headed back to our guesthouse, on foot, led by a few stray guide dogs.
Sitting out on the veranda of the guesthouse, sipping ginger tea, writing in our journals, listening to the birds, looking out at the sun slowly dissappearing behind the hill, I felt very happy. There was something so humbling, peaceful, calming and simple about that scene. I could see a few kids running around on the street below, there was a woman and her daughter out on their roof doing laundry in front of me, in the distance, and a woman in the house to my right hanging her clothes out to dry. Mix that with the perfectly picturesque view I can only describe as the hills of Laguna mixed with the mountains of the South of France and a few scenes from The Hobbit....magnificent.
Ella was beautiful. By the afternoon, when we were roaming around, it was quite busy - lots of tourists and backpackers - but still very uniquely 'Ella.' We managed to stop into all the places we wanted to and had read about - the Curd House for delicious yogurt parfaits, the Chill cafe to sip on iced coffee, and the famous Roti Hut for Chicken Kottu Roti. We wondered into a few souvenir-type shops and headed back to our guesthouse, on foot, led by a few stray guide dogs.
Sitting out on the veranda of the guesthouse, sipping ginger tea, writing in our journals, listening to the birds, looking out at the sun slowly dissappearing behind the hill, I felt very happy. There was something so humbling, peaceful, calming and simple about that scene. I could see a few kids running around on the street below, there was a woman and her daughter out on their roof doing laundry in front of me, in the distance, and a woman in the house to my right hanging her clothes out to dry. Mix that with the perfectly picturesque view I can only describe as the hills of Laguna mixed with the mountains of the South of France and a few scenes from The Hobbit....magnificent.
Little Adam's Peak -
After sleeping over 10 hours in very cool, comfortable temperatures, we woke up Sunday morning to set off on a hike of Little Adam's Peak. Our lovely hosts had prepared a 'breakfast to go' pack for us to take and enjoy at the top of the hill. The start of the hike was right around the corner from our guesthouse and was nothing too intense, but very beautiful. The path has quite a few other tourists this time, either coming down having been at the top for sunrise, or going up at the same time as us. The views from all points of our walk were stunning, especially once we had reached the top. We had been guided up the mountain by 3 stray dogs who were all very happy to patiently stick around as we rested and ate our breakfast. On the way back down, we stopped in at a resort (98 Acres Resort) we had seen advertising their cafe and that we could also see from the top of the mountain. It was gorgeous, very friendly staff and delicious chocolate milkshakes.
ExpoRail -
The journey back to Rambukana from Ella on the train was MUCH different than the way there. As I had mentioned before, we had been able to purchase 1st class cabin tickets this time for only 1000 rupees more than 3rd class (equivelant to $8.60). Well, we boarded this car as soon as it roared into the station and couldn't believe what we were seeing. The cabin looked like the inside of an airplane, with indigo blue LED lights on the ceiling, comfortable seats, tray tables, big windows, air conditioning, and 2 uniformed train attendants who served us fresh towelettes, quite a good lunch, bottled water, and tea/coffee.
First weekend getaway a major success. Can't wait for next weekend's! Now back to work...
XXX Nicky
ExpoRail -
The journey back to Rambukana from Ella on the train was MUCH different than the way there. As I had mentioned before, we had been able to purchase 1st class cabin tickets this time for only 1000 rupees more than 3rd class (equivelant to $8.60). Well, we boarded this car as soon as it roared into the station and couldn't believe what we were seeing. The cabin looked like the inside of an airplane, with indigo blue LED lights on the ceiling, comfortable seats, tray tables, big windows, air conditioning, and 2 uniformed train attendants who served us fresh towelettes, quite a good lunch, bottled water, and tea/coffee.
First weekend getaway a major success. Can't wait for next weekend's! Now back to work...
XXX Nicky
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