Ella
Discover Ella
Ella (also spelt 'Elle') is a beautiful small town in Uva province on the southern edge of Sri Lanka's Hill Country. It is popular with tourists and makes a great base from which to explore the surrounding countryside. It's in the middle of beautiful countryside, with small vegetable plots in the valleys, tea plantations on the hill slopes and forests on the tops.
What to Experience in Ella
Taste of Ella...
The home cooking in the guest houses and hotels is probably the best food in town. You can find a lot of tourist-oriented bars, cafes and restaurants on the main street. 6.8737681.046311 Matey Hut (Near the railway overpass tunnel), ☏ +94772583450. Teriffic food! Quaint roadside stall with bench seating. Try the pumpkin curry and the green mango curry Rs 1000-1500 per person. (updated Apr 2025) Most of the cafes on the main street serve alcoholic drinks as well. You won't go thirsty in Ella! There are a number of cheap guest houses scattered around town. Take the train to Badulla, Haputale, Nuwara Eliya (Nanu Oya railway station) or Kandy. From the bus station on the main road, the following services are available (April 2025). Travellers bound for Yala National Park can board the bus to Matara or Galle and change busses at Pannegamuwa. Travellers headed to Arugam Bay can connect to a Pottuvil-bound bus in Monaragala. Don't walk in the countryside in shorts and sandals or flipflops, especially after it's been raining. There are lots of leeches that hang on to the vegetation by the side of tracks waiting for a nice juicy mammal to walk by. Take some Dettol with you, and spray it on the offending leech, which will drop off. Do not scrape or pull the leech off as you may leave the leech's teeth inside the bite which will be very itchy until you have the teeth removed with a needle or tweezers (without being removed, they stay inside the bite for weeks).
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsIn November/December 2025, Cyclone Ditwah damaged 70% of the Sri Lankan railway network. Repair work is ongoing (as of February 2026), but several lines are still out of service: Further information on Sri Lanka Railways' website. Ella is a few stops from Badulla at the end of the railway line that snakes through the Hill Country. Three day trains and one night train leave from Colombo via Kandy daily, taking 9-10 hours. Fares are cheap (2nd class Rs 900, 3rd class Rs 440 as of 2026) and the views are particularly spectacular. It's usually no problem getting a seat in 2nd/3rd class (seating is unreserved) going to Colombo or Kandy, as the trains from Badulla are quite empty until reaching Nanu Oya. However, getting a seat is challenging if travelling by train to Ella, as the train can be quite crowded until the last 2 or 3 hours of the journey. Ella's railway station is prettily quaint....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
There are plenty of tuk-tuks around, but the best way to get around is to rent a scooter- most guest houses do this. Online carhire services exist such as Ella Taxi Service. The home cooking in the guest houses and hotels is probably the best food in town. You can find a lot of tourist-oriented bars, cafes and restaurants on the main street. 6.8737681.046311 Matey Hut (Near the railway overpass tunnel), ☏ +94772583450. Teriffic food! Quaint roadside stall with bench seating. Try the pumpkin curry and the green mango curry Rs 1000-1500 per person. (updated Apr 2025) Most of the cafes on the main street serve alcoholic drinks as well. You won't go thirsty in Ella! There are a number of cheap guest houses scattered around town. Take the train to Badulla, Haputale, Nuwara Eliya (Nanu Oya railway station) or Kandy. From the bus station on the main road, the following services are available (April 2025).
Where to Stay
There are a number of cheap guest houses scattered around town. Take the train to Badulla, Haputale, Nuwara Eliya (Nanu Oya railway station) or Kandy. From the bus station on the main road, the following services are available (April 2025). Travellers bound for Yala National Park can board the bus to Matara or Galle and change busses at Pannegamuwa. Travellers headed to Arugam Bay can connect to a Pottuvil-bound bus in Monaragala. Don't walk in the countryside in shorts and sandals or flipflops, especially after it's been raining. There are lots of leeches that hang on to the vegetation by the side of tracks waiting for a nice juicy mammal to walk by. Take some Dettol with you, and spray it on the offending leech, which will drop off. Do not scrape or pull the leech off as you may leave the leech's teeth inside the bite which will be very itchy until you have the teeth removed with a needle or tweezers (without being removed, they stay inside the bite for weeks).
Money & Budget
The home cooking in the guest houses and hotels is probably the best food in town. You can find a lot of tourist-oriented bars, cafes and restaurants on the main street. 6.8737681.046311 Matey Hut (Near the railway overpass tunnel), ☏ +94772583450. Teriffic food! Quaint roadside stall with bench seating. Try the pumpkin curry and the green mango curry Rs 1000-1500 per person. (updated Apr 2025) Most of the cafes on the main street serve alcoholic drinks as well. You won't go thirsty in Ella! There are a number of cheap guest houses scattered around town. Take the train to Badulla, Haputale, Nuwara Eliya (Nanu Oya railway station) or Kandy. From the bus station on the main road, the following services are available (April 2025).
Safety Information
Nearby Destinations
Glimpses of Ella
Nine Arches Bridge, Ella, Sri Lanka
Blue train to Ella, Nine Arch Bridge, Sri Lanka
Ella Train, Sri Lanka
blue and white train on rail tracks
View from the top of Little Adam's Peak in Ella, Sri Lanka.
a sign hanging from the side of a building
Omming it Up.
a train traveling over a bridge in the middle of a forest
Train to Ella, Sri Lanka
The bridge in the jungle. Мост в джунглях.
Nine Arches Bridge, Ella, Sri Lanka
Blue train to Ella, Nine Arch Bridge, Sri Lanka
Ella Train, Sri Lanka