It was sunny and hot in Wellawaya on the morning of the 10th, with good views of the hills to the north. After a good, but tardy, breakfast, I left on a bus about 10 heading north to Ella in the hills. The 17 mile trip took a little over an hour as the crowded bus climbed slowly into the hills. I had good views of the green, hilly countryside from my window seat. After reaching more than 2000 feet elevation we passed by the impressive 300 feet high Rawana Ella Falls and then climbed more steeply for the final three and a half miles through the Ella Gap to Ella, at 3400 feet elevation. I found a hotel room on a little hill with a view down through Ella Gap and with towering Ella Rock just to the right of the gap. After checking in, I spent about an hour on my terrace just enjoying the view under a now cloudy sky. The air felt wonderfully cool.
Ella is a very small town, but with several little hotels catering to tourists. About 1:30 I left for a walk about town just as it started to rain. I got only as far as the little train station before turning back and stopping for lunch. After lunch the sun came out and I walked back to the train station and along the tracks towards Little Rawana Falls, which I could see about a mile away, but the rain started up again, so I returned to my hotel. Clouds previously had hovered around the top of Ella Rock and by the time I got back to my room at about 3 it was completely obscured by fog and mist. It stayed completed hidden by fog for an hour or so and then cleared somewhat. Late in the afternoon I took a short walk down the highway I had arrived on, with some good views down the partially cloud filled Ella Gap to the plains.
The next morning about 7 I headed to Little Adam's Peak, a pleasant walk of less than an hour. The morning was sunny, but partially cloudy, as I started walking east on a road out of town before taking a dirt path that led through tea covered hills and finally up concrete steps to the top of Little Adam's Peak. The total climb was only a little more than 400 feet. From the top there were great views of Ella Rock and the plains down beyond Ella Gap. There were also good views of the town of Ella and of a tea factory to the north above a tea covered hillside. A couple of other hills rise to the east and I walked to them, with good views down through Ella Gap.
After about an hour enjoying the views in the morning sunshine, I walked slowly back through the tea plantation. I got back to town about 10 and had breakfast. About 11, with the sun still out, I started walking down the highway to Rawana Ella Falls, the waterfall I had passed on the bus on the way to Ella. I could have taken a bus, but thought the three and a half mile walk would be scenic, which it was. On the way I passed a turn off to the Rawana Ella Cave, where Rawana, the evil demon king of Lanka and the villain of the Ramayana, is supposed to have hidden Sita after abducting her from Rama. The sky had clouded up just a bit by the time I reached the impressive 300 feet high falls, descending down the rock face in several steps. It was noticeably hotter and felt more humid there than up at Ella.
I took a bus back to Ella, arriving about 1:30 under hazy sunshine. I spent the rest of the afternoon out on my terrace and using the hotel's computer. After 5 I sat out on my terrace until dark, with clouds obscuring the top of Ella Rock. The almost full moon was visible after dinner.
The next morning I had planned to climb Ella Rock, but during the night I awoke with chills and a fever. After a restless night, I finally dug my thermometer out of my backpack in the morning and my temperature was not too high, only 99.5. I spent most of the day sleeping, with my temperature never getting above 99.5. The morning was clear and sunny, perfect for climbing Ella Rock. My room was hot at midday before the sky clouded over. It rained hard about 3 and rained for about an hour, which cooled things down considerably. Great peels of thunder accompanied the rain. About 6 my temperature was around normal. I walked down the steps from my hotel and bought some water and bananas, eating maybe three of the bananas before going back to bed about 8.
I slept fine and woke up the next morning without a fever at about 5. I got up about 6 on a cloudy morning, ate some more of my bananas, and the walked to the train station to see the 6:39 train coming from Badulla, the end of the train line, 12 miles away. I had a big breakfast and then walked back to the train station in time to catch the 9:23 train, again coming from Badulla. While I waited for the train, the night mail train from Colombo pulled into Ella station. I took the train only seven miles, through pretty countryside and passing right by Little Ella Falls, to the town of Bandarawela, at 4000 feet elevation. Bandarawela, with about 7000 people. is a much bigger town than Ella. There's not much to see there, but I spent two hours in town, almost all at the colonial Bandarawela Hotel, dating from 1893, the year the railroad reached Bandarawela. The wonderful old hotel had a big sitting room with polished wooden floors and interesting old photos and prints. I walked around the grounds, sat in the big sitting room, and read through an interesting little book about the hotel and the town.
From Bandarawela I took a bus for about three and a half miles on the road towards Ella and got off at the Dowa Temple, which has a thirteen foot high standing Buddha carved onto a rock face just above the temple. A youth group, clad all in white, from Bandarawela sat on the rocky rise in front of the rock face. The cave temple below, with several rooms, had two reclining Buddhas and some interesting walls paintings, with more Buddhist devils devouring people, plus other figures using swords to chop up little babies while their mothers despaired. There were a few happier scenes, too.
From the temple I took a bus to within two miles of Ella and then made a pleasant walk back to town under hazy sunshine through more tea covered hills. I got back about 2:30 and spent the rest of the afternoon on the internet and enjoying the view from my terrace. After dinner the moon, one day short of full, was briefly visible among the clouds.
Just before 7 the next morning I started off on the hike to the top of Ella Rock. The sun was out as I first walked along the railroad tracks from town for about a mile, with good views of Little Rawana Ella Falls, until I reached the railroad bridge near the falls. The night mail train from Colombo, later this morning than the morning before, passed by me on the way. Near the bridge I walked down a little path that took me under the bridge and then onto a pedestrian bridge that crossed the top of the falls. From there I headed uphill on the other side towards Ella Rock on several little paths, getting lost only once, but soon finding my way. I reached a tea covered hillside and above that came across a group of four Sri Lankans from Colombo with a guide, which reassured me I was on the right path.
From the tea plantation the path led into a forest of mostly eucalyptus trees, but with some other thick trunked trees, many of them scorched by fire. An opening on the cliffside gave good views of Ella Rock above and Little Adam's Peak across Ella Gap. The path up through the forest was steep in places, but the forest was quite beautiful, especially where the thick native trees dominated. After a walk of a bit less than two and a half hours I reached the top, where there is a rock ledge protruding out over Ella Gap with great views, especially down below and back to Ella and Little Adam's Peak. The view down the Gap towards the plains was very hazy. The climb from town was just about 1000 feet.
It was hot on that rocky outcrop, but I stood out there a while to enjoy the views before taking a walk through forest along the ridge, where it was much cooler in the shade of the big trees. I sat on a log for a while and ate some crackers I had brought and then walked back to the rocky outlook. I spent a little more than an hour on top before heading down. Besides the four Sri Lankans, there were maybe ten others I passed either on the way up or down. I managed to find my way down without getting lost and reached the railroad tracks after about an hour. The sun was hot as I walked along the tracks under my umbrella, and was not the only one to do so. I got back to my hotel just after noon.
I drank a lot of water and ate a late breakfast and then walked to the train station at about 1:30. I wanted to take the train to Demodara just three and a half miles north and there was a train scheduled to leave in that direction at 1:23. I knew it would be late as it was coming all the way from Colombo, and it turned out to be two hours late. Still, I didn't mind waiting at the little train station. I was tired from the morning's hike and the station personnel were decorating the station for Vesak Poya, Sri Lanka's biggest holiday, which was that day. It commemorates the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing into nirvana, which they believe all happened on the same day of the year, under a full moon. The decorations consisted of colorful big paper lanterns and lots of striped, multi-colored Buddhist flags, designed by the American Henry Steel Olcutt, who assisted the 19th century Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka.
The sky clouded over while I was waiting for the train and when the train finally arrived it consisted of only two very old and dark carriages, absolutely crammed with passengers. Two other foreigners and I wedged ourselves in. They had bought tickets to Badulla, the end of the line about 12 miles away, just to enjoy the view, but the carriage was so full and the windows so filthy that there wasn't much of a view to enjoy. Fortunately, it didn't take us long to reach Demodara. We passed a somewhat famous nine arch brick bridge, which we knew we were crossing but couldn't appreciate it, and went through two tunnels on the way.
The two others decided to get off with me at Demodara, a very small town with a very large multi-story tea factory. At Demodara the train tracks make a loop, which is the reason I came there. After our train left we walked to the ledge just outside the front of the station and waited for our train to complete its circle and then pass into a tunnel under us on the way to Badulla.
From the train station we had to walk a little less than a mile to the main road, where we got a bus to the road junction near Ella, and then another bus to Ella from there. The views of the hilly green scenery were much better from the buses than from that jam packed train. Along the way we passed all sorts of colorful Vesak Poya decorations, again mostly lanterns and flags. We were back in Ella by about 4:30.
At nightfall two other guests and I helped the family that runs our guesthouse light and hang paper lanterns around the main house, an old tea planter's bungalow, as the full moon rose through clouds over the hills in the east. The three main streets of the little town were lit up with lights. There were strings and displays of electrical lights, lots of paper lanterns illuminated by candles or electrical bulbs, and even rows of little clay pots with oil and wicks. People were strolling around to look at all the lights, and I did, too. Later, the sky was almost completely clear, with the full moon shining brightly.
Ella is a very small town, but with several little hotels catering to tourists. About 1:30 I left for a walk about town just as it started to rain. I got only as far as the little train station before turning back and stopping for lunch. After lunch the sun came out and I walked back to the train station and along the tracks towards Little Rawana Falls, which I could see about a mile away, but the rain started up again, so I returned to my hotel. Clouds previously had hovered around the top of Ella Rock and by the time I got back to my room at about 3 it was completely obscured by fog and mist. It stayed completed hidden by fog for an hour or so and then cleared somewhat. Late in the afternoon I took a short walk down the highway I had arrived on, with some good views down the partially cloud filled Ella Gap to the plains.
The next morning about 7 I headed to Little Adam's Peak, a pleasant walk of less than an hour. The morning was sunny, but partially cloudy, as I started walking east on a road out of town before taking a dirt path that led through tea covered hills and finally up concrete steps to the top of Little Adam's Peak. The total climb was only a little more than 400 feet. From the top there were great views of Ella Rock and the plains down beyond Ella Gap. There were also good views of the town of Ella and of a tea factory to the north above a tea covered hillside. A couple of other hills rise to the east and I walked to them, with good views down through Ella Gap.
After about an hour enjoying the views in the morning sunshine, I walked slowly back through the tea plantation. I got back to town about 10 and had breakfast. About 11, with the sun still out, I started walking down the highway to Rawana Ella Falls, the waterfall I had passed on the bus on the way to Ella. I could have taken a bus, but thought the three and a half mile walk would be scenic, which it was. On the way I passed a turn off to the Rawana Ella Cave, where Rawana, the evil demon king of Lanka and the villain of the Ramayana, is supposed to have hidden Sita after abducting her from Rama. The sky had clouded up just a bit by the time I reached the impressive 300 feet high falls, descending down the rock face in several steps. It was noticeably hotter and felt more humid there than up at Ella.
I took a bus back to Ella, arriving about 1:30 under hazy sunshine. I spent the rest of the afternoon out on my terrace and using the hotel's computer. After 5 I sat out on my terrace until dark, with clouds obscuring the top of Ella Rock. The almost full moon was visible after dinner.
The next morning I had planned to climb Ella Rock, but during the night I awoke with chills and a fever. After a restless night, I finally dug my thermometer out of my backpack in the morning and my temperature was not too high, only 99.5. I spent most of the day sleeping, with my temperature never getting above 99.5. The morning was clear and sunny, perfect for climbing Ella Rock. My room was hot at midday before the sky clouded over. It rained hard about 3 and rained for about an hour, which cooled things down considerably. Great peels of thunder accompanied the rain. About 6 my temperature was around normal. I walked down the steps from my hotel and bought some water and bananas, eating maybe three of the bananas before going back to bed about 8.
I slept fine and woke up the next morning without a fever at about 5. I got up about 6 on a cloudy morning, ate some more of my bananas, and the walked to the train station to see the 6:39 train coming from Badulla, the end of the train line, 12 miles away. I had a big breakfast and then walked back to the train station in time to catch the 9:23 train, again coming from Badulla. While I waited for the train, the night mail train from Colombo pulled into Ella station. I took the train only seven miles, through pretty countryside and passing right by Little Ella Falls, to the town of Bandarawela, at 4000 feet elevation. Bandarawela, with about 7000 people. is a much bigger town than Ella. There's not much to see there, but I spent two hours in town, almost all at the colonial Bandarawela Hotel, dating from 1893, the year the railroad reached Bandarawela. The wonderful old hotel had a big sitting room with polished wooden floors and interesting old photos and prints. I walked around the grounds, sat in the big sitting room, and read through an interesting little book about the hotel and the town.
From Bandarawela I took a bus for about three and a half miles on the road towards Ella and got off at the Dowa Temple, which has a thirteen foot high standing Buddha carved onto a rock face just above the temple. A youth group, clad all in white, from Bandarawela sat on the rocky rise in front of the rock face. The cave temple below, with several rooms, had two reclining Buddhas and some interesting walls paintings, with more Buddhist devils devouring people, plus other figures using swords to chop up little babies while their mothers despaired. There were a few happier scenes, too.
From the temple I took a bus to within two miles of Ella and then made a pleasant walk back to town under hazy sunshine through more tea covered hills. I got back about 2:30 and spent the rest of the afternoon on the internet and enjoying the view from my terrace. After dinner the moon, one day short of full, was briefly visible among the clouds.
Just before 7 the next morning I started off on the hike to the top of Ella Rock. The sun was out as I first walked along the railroad tracks from town for about a mile, with good views of Little Rawana Ella Falls, until I reached the railroad bridge near the falls. The night mail train from Colombo, later this morning than the morning before, passed by me on the way. Near the bridge I walked down a little path that took me under the bridge and then onto a pedestrian bridge that crossed the top of the falls. From there I headed uphill on the other side towards Ella Rock on several little paths, getting lost only once, but soon finding my way. I reached a tea covered hillside and above that came across a group of four Sri Lankans from Colombo with a guide, which reassured me I was on the right path.
From the tea plantation the path led into a forest of mostly eucalyptus trees, but with some other thick trunked trees, many of them scorched by fire. An opening on the cliffside gave good views of Ella Rock above and Little Adam's Peak across Ella Gap. The path up through the forest was steep in places, but the forest was quite beautiful, especially where the thick native trees dominated. After a walk of a bit less than two and a half hours I reached the top, where there is a rock ledge protruding out over Ella Gap with great views, especially down below and back to Ella and Little Adam's Peak. The view down the Gap towards the plains was very hazy. The climb from town was just about 1000 feet.
It was hot on that rocky outcrop, but I stood out there a while to enjoy the views before taking a walk through forest along the ridge, where it was much cooler in the shade of the big trees. I sat on a log for a while and ate some crackers I had brought and then walked back to the rocky outlook. I spent a little more than an hour on top before heading down. Besides the four Sri Lankans, there were maybe ten others I passed either on the way up or down. I managed to find my way down without getting lost and reached the railroad tracks after about an hour. The sun was hot as I walked along the tracks under my umbrella, and was not the only one to do so. I got back to my hotel just after noon.
I drank a lot of water and ate a late breakfast and then walked to the train station at about 1:30. I wanted to take the train to Demodara just three and a half miles north and there was a train scheduled to leave in that direction at 1:23. I knew it would be late as it was coming all the way from Colombo, and it turned out to be two hours late. Still, I didn't mind waiting at the little train station. I was tired from the morning's hike and the station personnel were decorating the station for Vesak Poya, Sri Lanka's biggest holiday, which was that day. It commemorates the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and passing into nirvana, which they believe all happened on the same day of the year, under a full moon. The decorations consisted of colorful big paper lanterns and lots of striped, multi-colored Buddhist flags, designed by the American Henry Steel Olcutt, who assisted the 19th century Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka.
The sky clouded over while I was waiting for the train and when the train finally arrived it consisted of only two very old and dark carriages, absolutely crammed with passengers. Two other foreigners and I wedged ourselves in. They had bought tickets to Badulla, the end of the line about 12 miles away, just to enjoy the view, but the carriage was so full and the windows so filthy that there wasn't much of a view to enjoy. Fortunately, it didn't take us long to reach Demodara. We passed a somewhat famous nine arch brick bridge, which we knew we were crossing but couldn't appreciate it, and went through two tunnels on the way.
The two others decided to get off with me at Demodara, a very small town with a very large multi-story tea factory. At Demodara the train tracks make a loop, which is the reason I came there. After our train left we walked to the ledge just outside the front of the station and waited for our train to complete its circle and then pass into a tunnel under us on the way to Badulla.
From the train station we had to walk a little less than a mile to the main road, where we got a bus to the road junction near Ella, and then another bus to Ella from there. The views of the hilly green scenery were much better from the buses than from that jam packed train. Along the way we passed all sorts of colorful Vesak Poya decorations, again mostly lanterns and flags. We were back in Ella by about 4:30.
At nightfall two other guests and I helped the family that runs our guesthouse light and hang paper lanterns around the main house, an old tea planter's bungalow, as the full moon rose through clouds over the hills in the east. The three main streets of the little town were lit up with lights. There were strings and displays of electrical lights, lots of paper lanterns illuminated by candles or electrical bulbs, and even rows of little clay pots with oil and wicks. People were strolling around to look at all the lights, and I did, too. Later, the sky was almost completely clear, with the full moon shining brightly.
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