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Magical City in the World – Ella for hiking lovers

Ella is a small town in the Badulla District of Uva Province, Sri Lanka. It is approximately 300 kilometers east of Colombo and is at an elevation of 1,041 meters (3,415 ft.) above sea level. If you choose private transport, it will take around 5 hours the most suitable route is the Southern Expressway. if you travel by train it will take around 8 hours. The area has a rich bio-diversity, dense with numerous varieties of flora and fauna. Ella is surrounded by hills covered with cloud forests and tea plantations. Due to its elevation, the town has a cooler climate than the surrounding lowlands. The Ella Gap allows views across the southern plains of Sri Lanka.

  • Nine Arches Bridge
  • Little Adam’s Peak
  • Diyaluma Falls
  • Nildiya pokuna
  • Ravana cave
  • Ravana Ella Falls
  • Bambaragala Peak
  • flying ravana ella

Nine Arches Bridge

The Nine Arch Bridge also called the Bridge in the Sky is a viaduct bridge in Sri Lanka and one of the best examples of colonial-era railway construction in the country (Total length  91 m (300 ft)/Width   7.6 m (25 ft) /Height  24 m (80 ft))

It is located in Demodara, between Ella and Demodara railway stations. The surrounding area has seen a steady increase in tourism due to the bridge’s architectural ingenuity and the profuse greenery in the nearby hillsides

The construction of the bridge is generally attributed to a local Ceylonese builder, P. K. Appuhami, in consultation with British engineers. The chief designer and project manager of the ‘Upcountry Railway Line of Ceylon’ project was D. J. Wimalasurendra, a distinguished Ceylonese engineer and inventor. The designer of the viaduct was Harold Cuthbert Marwood of the Railway Construction Department of Ceylon Government Railway. The 1923 report “Construction of a Concrete Railway Viaduct in Ceylon”, published by the Engineering Association of Ceylon, has details of all the records including the plans and drawings.

Popular rumors suggest that when construction work commenced on the bridge, the war began between the empires of Europe, and the steel assigned for this site was reallocated to Britain’s War-related projects at the battlefront. As a result, the work came to a standstill, leading the locals to build the bridge with stone bricks and cement, but without steel, except of course for the rails and pins securing them.

Little Adam’s Peak

Named after its resemblance to the iconic Adam’s Peak/Sri Pada, Little Adam’s Peak is its smaller brother and a must-visit when in Ella. The hike to the top of Little Adam’s Peak is fairly easy; the peak is 1141m high, so it is more of a 2-hour-long leisurely walk. It is also incredibly easy to find the path to Little Adam’s Peak since it is marked – just off the main road and right next to 98 Acres Resort and Spa– where you must stop after your hike, for a refreshing cup of Ceylon tea or even a meal to replenish your energy levels

Diyaluma Falls

Diyaluma Falls is 220 m (720 ft) high the second-highest waterfall in Sri Lanka and 619th highest waterfall in the world. It is situated 6 km (3.7 mi) away from Koslanda in Badulla District on the Colombo-Badulla highway. The falls are formed by Punagala Oya, a tributary of Kuda Oya which in turn, is a tributary of Kirindi Oya.

Upper Diyaluma Falls

 

Nildiya Pokuna

Nil Diya Pokuna is an underwater pond situated in a cave or a tunnel complex in Ella which is believed to have been built by King Ravana. The pond lies 80 meters deep inside a mountain cave in Karandagolla.

The cave can be accessed via two independent entrances, the better-known one in a forest reservation. A villager then discovered a second entrance on a private property. The cave has a rabbit hole entrance through which the pond can be reached.

Nil Diya Pokuna is a place to be explored by the adventurous and caution should be taken during this journey. The pond’s water is crystal clear and gives a blue tinge of color when it reflects light.

Amazing and worth a visit if you’re in or around Ella. The hike is a bit hard but cool and worth it when you make it to the end and swim in the water. This was amazing. It’s only for people who love adventure and are not scared of small places in caves. It’s a very nice and clean underground pond.

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