Things to do
The hill country train to Ella
Six hours through tea, tunnels and cloud
The hill country train to Ella at a glance
- How long
- Three to seven hours
- Usual start
- Morning departures
- Season
- All year
- Effort
- Easy
- Minimum age
- None
- From
- $10 per person
Works well with children.
The line from Kandy up through the tea country to Ella climbs from 500 metres to over 1,800 and takes six to seven hours to cover about 140 kilometres. It is regularly called one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the world and, unusually, the description holds up.
The full run or the short version
Kandy to Ella is the whole thing and most of a day. If you would rather not give up a day, board at Nanu Oya — the station for Nuwara Eliya — and ride three to four hours to Ella instead. That covers the most photographed stretch, including the tea estates above Haputale and the descent into Ella.
Most of our itineraries use the shorter leg, which keeps the best of the journey and gives you an afternoon back.
Which class, and which side
First class observation saloon is air-conditioned with sealed windows — comfortable, and the glass ruins the photographs. Second class reserved has fans and windows that open, and is the best balance. Second and third class unreserved have the open doorways everyone has seen photographs of, and in season you may stand for three hours.
Leaving Kandy for Ella, the better views are mostly on the right.
A word about the doorway photographs
They are taken by people hanging out of a moving train, and every year somebody is seriously hurt doing it. Sitting in the doorway with your feet inside is fine and is most of the view. Leaning out around a blind curve on a line with rock cuttings close to the carriage is not.
How the day runs
-
Morning
Board and find a window
Right-hand side heading for Ella. Vendors work the carriages with tea and short eats throughout.
-
2 hours
The climb through tea
Estates, tunnels and cloud from about Hatton onwards. This is the stretch people come for.
-
1.5 hours
Nanu Oya to Haputale
The highest and most photographed section, running along ridges above the plantations.
-
Afternoon
Into Ella
The descent into the gap, with the driver waiting at the station with your bags.
Questions we get asked about The hill country train to Ella
Reserved seats are released 30 days before departure and, in season, sell out within hours. If your dates are fixed it is worth setting a reminder. Unreserved carriages need no booking but do not guarantee a seat — board at the originating station if you want one.
Heading from Kandy to Ella, mostly the right-hand side. Coming the other way, the left. The line switches back on itself repeatedly so it is not absolute, but over the length of the journey the right wins going up.
On a trip of ten days or more, yes — it is one of the things people remember years later, and it moves you between two places you were going anyway. On a seven-day trip, take the shorter Nanu Oya to Ella leg instead and keep the afternoon.
Second class reserved: fans, windows that open, and a guaranteed seat. First class observation is air-conditioned but the sealed tinted glass spoils photographs. Unreserved second and third have the famous open doorways and, in season, no seat.
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