JAN 22 ELLA TO KANDY BY TRAIN

TRAIN TRAVEL
We are sad to leave Ella. Nuli has been such a sweet host. But we are excited to ride the rails. The train station at Ella is an old colonial structure built to transport tea to Colombo for export. The train arrives on schedule and we take our seats.

ELLA TRAIN STATION

The train travels through the highlands of Sri Lanka and is ranked as one of the worlds most scenic train rides. We leave at 9:20 am and arrive in Kandy 7 hours later. We climb to over 5300 feet, hug mountain cliffs, travel through a network of tunnels, pass small villages, farms, towering trees and amazing views over the countryside. We travel first class in air conditioned comfort but take turns hanging out the doors between cars to snap photos. The price is just over $10 Canadian per person.

RIDING THE RAILS

We arrive in Kandy a bustling and noisy city, are picked up by our host and driven to a small eco-villa on the edge of town in a quiet forested area. We get settled in, walk a 1/2 kilometer to a supermarket with a restaurant above and have a leisurely meal before returning in the dark narrow roads plugged with traffic. One stretch is through a tunnel with no shoulders and we weave between cars coming in all directions.