There are train journeys and then there is the Kandy to Ella train. Winding through the central highlands of Sri Lanka over the course of six to seven unhurried hours, this ride regularly tops lists of the world’s great rail experiences, and having taken it dozens of times with guests from every corner of the world, we can confirm that the reality exceeds the reputation. The views are extraordinary, the atmosphere is joyful, the pace is dreamlike and the landscape through which you travel is so relentlessly beautiful that you find yourself sitting at the door with the wind in your hair, hoping the train will never quite arrive.
The journey begins in Kandy, the cultural capital of Sri Lanka and the last royal city of the ancient Kandyan Kingdom and climbs steadily from the lowland heat into the cool, mist-wrapped highlands as the city drops away behind you. The first hour reveals terraced rice paddies, jungle-covered hillsides and the occasional waterfall tumbling from the embankment; by the second hour, the landscape has transformed entirely into the rolling green geometry of tea estates, their manicured rows interrupted by the bright colours of workers in the fields and the white-painted bungalows of colonial-era tea managers perched on ridges above the valley. At Hatton station, pilgrims and trekkers alight for the journey to Adam’s Peak; at Nanu Oya, the most elegant passengers change for Nuwara Eliya. Most continue to the end.
Ella station is a small, flower-draped wooden platform that feels like the beginning of a chapter rather than the end of a journey and so it is. The town sits at 1,000 metres, cradled in a bowl of hills with the dramatic Ella Gap opening to the south and its cafes, guesthouses and hiking trails welcome train arrivals with the warm familiarity of a place that has been receiving travellers happily for decades. Our advice: book a first-class reserved seat in advance, bring a light jacket for the highland sections, position yourself at an open door where safety allows and let the scenery do what it does best. This is one of those travel experiences that stays with you, vivid and complete, for the rest of your life.
This iconic journey is included in several of our round tour packages. Speak to our team to find out how to build the Kandy–Ella train into your Sri Lanka itinerary.