The Hill Country Village of Ella

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
6
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
6
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
3
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
60 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
291st/457
Top 70%
continent
Asia
country
Sri Lanka
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$30 (typically $10 - $40)
Time of year visited
December
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Hiking Hilltop towns Mountains
All Tags
Bridges Forests
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐⭐

Summary

Ella is the prettiest of the towns that are scattered throughout Sri Lanka’s Hill Country, and makes the most sense to start / finish at as part of the wonderful train journey through the tea plantations that most people are here to experience.  Definitely worth a day on its own as the mini hikes, tea factories and waterfalls make for a nice day to explore the immediate surroundings.  And the town itself is full of restaurants and chilled out guesthouses – typically with their own views – to relax after the train journey.

 

Top Tips:

 

1. Walk to see the Nine Arches Bridge – it’s only a 15min walk from the main road and is just so brilliantly picturesque.  See if you can time it so that you are at one of the viewing points in the trees when it passes by and be sure to ask your hotel the time of the train will be as it changes each day.

 

2. Walk up to Little Adam’s Peak – best views across Ella, including through Ella Gap, and only an easy 1.5 / 2 hours round trip.  Be sure to start your walk at the main road (at the Ella Flower Garden Resort) rather than drive up to the Ravana Pool or the Flying Ravana Mega Zipline, which is what most people did.  The walk from the main road is the prettiest bit as it winds its way through the tea estate and is pretty flat, compared to the steep bit from the zipline area.

 

3. Where to stay – there are HUNDREDS of homestays in and around Ella, so you’ll have a huge variety to choose from.  I stayed at the Blooming Rose which has relatively basic rooms, but made up for it with its amazing view through Ella Gap and wonderfully welcoming host family, would very much recommend.

 

4. Restaurants and vibe – Ella has a very backpacker / traveller vibe, so there are plenty of restaurants catering for all that are all within a 2min walk of eachother.  Cafe Chill was great as it had both Sri Lankan and Western food to a high standard.

 

5. The highlight of all of Sri Lanka is the incredible train journey through the tea country that more or less starts from Ella.  See the travel entry Train ride through Sri Lanka’s tea country for tips and highlights.

 

Highlights

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#1 The absurdly pretty Nine Arches Bridge and waiting for the train to beep its horn as it passes along this old railway bridge on its way through the forest

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#2 The Walk along to Little Adam's Peak for the views through the Ella Gap

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#3 Walking through the tea estates at the start of Adam's Peak - there's something about the luscious rows all mapped out together like a child's puzzle

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#4 The picturesque hills that surround Ella

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#5 Finishing the day with a cup of tea enjoying the view from the balcony of your homestay (Blooming Rose homestay in this photo)

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#6 The birdlife which comes right up to your window to say hi

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#7 Nervously looking on at the snake charmers that are dotted around the plantations . . . and being reminded of the dangers the pickers face with cobras just about everywhere in the Hill Country

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#8 Sensing the Harry Potter envy . . .

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#9 The Ravana Ella Waterfalls you’ll see on the drive to Ella from the south coast

Experiences Nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

Other Pretty Hilltop Towns

Hiking the 4 day / 3 night Inca Trail

4WDing across the Hajar Mountains via Hatt

Hiking up to the former utopia of Livingstonia from Lake Malawi

Driving through the White Towns of Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema

Sapa – taking a motorbike around the mountain scenery and hilltop villages

PR3 hike from Ermelo to Figas de Ermelo

Driving through the Sacred Valley

Walking the Valley de Cocora, visiting the humming birds and soaking up Salento

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences - from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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