I like hills. I particularly like hill stations in India, and now also in Sri Lanka, as summer temperatures are similar to the UK and are therefore compatible with me. They tend to be very green, with fresh air and another of my favourite things...lots of tea.
Sri Lanka is famous for tea. Still referred to as Ceylon tea on the whole, it is one of Sri Lanka's three biggest exports, along with rubber and coconuts. Thomas Lipton cut his tea-making teeth in Sri Lanka in the 19th century when he stopped by on his way to Australia and bought up a few plantations (as you do) and the Ceylon tea industry has never looked back.
We had intended to spend two nights in a converted old colonial bungalow in the countryside with the aim of two days of complete relaxation and lots of walking in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, our room wasn't available on night one, but it all worked out nicely as the hotel owners put us up (for free) in a sister hotel in the village of Ella instead.
Ella sits at just over 1000m above sea level and is now a popular tourist spot, mainly owing to its elegant position at the top of a valley and stunning views over the surrounding area. There are two prominent peaks in the village; Ella Rock and Little Adam's Peak, which are popular walks with fabulous views from the top. We didn't have time to walk up Ella Rock, but climbed Little Adam's Park early in the morning. This was wonderful although the pack of feral dogs (albeit fairly friendly ones) at the top was a bit unnerving.
There's not a great deal to see in Ella itself except a few shops and non-Sri Lankan food options, so we decided to walk to our bungalow hotel which is 11km down the hill from the village. We tried to stop to see the Rawana Cave and Rock Temple on the way, the caves are a prominent feature in Hindu mythology, but these were sadly shut. More accurately, the caves were shut when we first walked past, but on our return journey there were two young boys dressed as monks (not looking very monk-like!) who had set up there to offer "tours" to visitors. We politely declined and went on our way.
The route down the hill was easy, with lots of vans passing up at high speed, but all smiling and waving cheerfully as if to make up for this recklessness. We saw a waterfall on the way (bringing our waterfall tally up to two, having also stopped at one on the way to Ella) and made it to our bungalow in time for lunch. The food at the bungalow was fantastic, although I'll talk about this more on my food-related blog post later...
We fell on our feet again at the bungalow (called The Planters Bungalow for an interesting future visitors) as we'd been upgraded to the "family villa" as our intended room wasn't available. It was huge and equipped with a small library so I occupied myself reading and pottering around for the afternoon whilst Phil ran up a nearby 600m hill and back.
The hills of Sri Lanka are misty and ethereal; they are not quite high enough for the air to be clear and cold but the area is atmospheric and very beautiful. It's a great place to relax and cool off following time spent in the heat of the Cultural Triangle.
Sri Lanka is famous for tea. Still referred to as Ceylon tea on the whole, it is one of Sri Lanka's three biggest exports, along with rubber and coconuts. Thomas Lipton cut his tea-making teeth in Sri Lanka in the 19th century when he stopped by on his way to Australia and bought up a few plantations (as you do) and the Ceylon tea industry has never looked back.
We had intended to spend two nights in a converted old colonial bungalow in the countryside with the aim of two days of complete relaxation and lots of walking in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, our room wasn't available on night one, but it all worked out nicely as the hotel owners put us up (for free) in a sister hotel in the village of Ella instead.
Ella sits at just over 1000m above sea level and is now a popular tourist spot, mainly owing to its elegant position at the top of a valley and stunning views over the surrounding area. There are two prominent peaks in the village; Ella Rock and Little Adam's Peak, which are popular walks with fabulous views from the top. We didn't have time to walk up Ella Rock, but climbed Little Adam's Park early in the morning. This was wonderful although the pack of feral dogs (albeit fairly friendly ones) at the top was a bit unnerving.
Dog on a rock at the top of Little Adam's Peak
The path up to the peak through tea plantations
The view from the top at 730am
Looking over towards Ella Rock (I think)
On the summit, before the arrival of the pack of dogs
The dogs arrive. They were probably friendly but I left the area anyway.
Phil experimenting with dog photography
There's not a great deal to see in Ella itself except a few shops and non-Sri Lankan food options, so we decided to walk to our bungalow hotel which is 11km down the hill from the village. We tried to stop to see the Rawana Cave and Rock Temple on the way, the caves are a prominent feature in Hindu mythology, but these were sadly shut. More accurately, the caves were shut when we first walked past, but on our return journey there were two young boys dressed as monks (not looking very monk-like!) who had set up there to offer "tours" to visitors. We politely declined and went on our way.
The route down the hill was easy, with lots of vans passing up at high speed, but all smiling and waving cheerfully as if to make up for this recklessness. We saw a waterfall on the way (bringing our waterfall tally up to two, having also stopped at one on the way to Ella) and made it to our bungalow in time for lunch. The food at the bungalow was fantastic, although I'll talk about this more on my food-related blog post later...
A very cute puppy which joined us for breakfast in Ella. While I was eating my omelette, he was chewing my trainers.
Our bungalow was on the road from Ella to Wellawaya
Ella Gap - The view from the road leading away from Ella between Little Adam's Peak and Ella Gap
Waterfall on the way to our bungalow
Yet another monkey shot...
A new road sign for us. There are lots of landslides and falling rocks around Ella, especially in the rain season in December.
The waterfall on the road between Pollonuwara and Ella.
Yet another monkey
We fell on our feet again at the bungalow (called The Planters Bungalow for an interesting future visitors) as we'd been upgraded to the "family villa" as our intended room wasn't available. It was huge and equipped with a small library so I occupied myself reading and pottering around for the afternoon whilst Phil ran up a nearby 600m hill and back.
The panoramic shot of our villa, from which you can't see the extra bedroom and bathroom. Not bad for $85 a night. The bungalow was really good value in general. Some of the old colonial bungalows are crazy prices - up to $600 a night - which you wouldn't find in India.
Our front door
The hills of Sri Lanka are misty and ethereal; they are not quite high enough for the air to be clear and cold but the area is atmospheric and very beautiful. It's a great place to relax and cool off following time spent in the heat of the Cultural Triangle.
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