Train Kandy - Nanu-Oya - Ella

The train journey between Kandy and Ella in Sri Lanka is considered one of the most breathtaking in the world.
We decided to do it in 2 legs. In between we stopped in Nanu-Oya for 1 night. For both journeys we bought the tickets beforehand as the trains are getting sold out very quickly despite the fact they run a few times a day.
The first leg was 4.5h and the second one 2.5h. The Weather was fine one the first leg. For the second part it did start raining after 1.5h and it also became dark at the end.
The train moves through tea plantations, jungle, and mountains. As the journey goes on, you move higher and higher up into the rolling green highlands where the big tea farms are and many beautiful hilltop villages and waterfalls. We started in Kandy at 400m and had our stop in Nani-Oya at 1.880m. We ended the journey in Ella at 1.041m.
The train was brought to life in the mid-1800s when Sri Lanka was under British colonial rule. During this time, it was used as a train to transport tea from the plantations to Colombo, where it would then be exported internationally.
We stopped for 1 night in Nanu-Oya in the highlands. The highlands are perfect for growing tea because of their cooler, wetter climate. And the hills were full with tea plantations from tea companies like Pedro Tea Estate or Edinburgh Tea. We stayed overnight in Nuwara Eliya, which is Sri Lanka’s highest town and a favourite hill station during British colonial times. The town is still touted as ‘Little England’, an illusion maintained by the presence of the Nuwara Eliya Golf Club, a racecourse, the Victoria Park and excellent trout fishing in nearby lakes and rivers. We dived into the busy streets of the town Nuwara Eliya, saw the old British Post office and other colonial buildings. We did a walk in the morning through the tea plantations and saw the hard working tea leaf pickers. Our Hotel for the night was The Firs, overlooking Lake Gregory. The bungalow in British Colonial style was built over one and a half centuries ago by Philip Freudenberg, Ceylon’s first Imperial German Counsel in the colonial architectural style of the time. It was also once the holiday home of Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake.Read more