Sri Lanka: Ella surroundings

After the unforgettable train travel from Kandy,  I arrived at the small train station of Ella, which gets completely crowded when each train stops, showing it was not taught to receive so many visitors!

Ella is an enchanting village, that grew without losing personality, that receives all foreign people without dazzle.

Come with us and meet Ella surroundings and thing to do! 

Little Adam Peak

I wonder why it’s called like this … it’s a big mountain! It is easy to get there as there are good indications. I left the scooter at the entry and started to go up. The views are breathtaking … when you reach the top, you see the long A23 snaking the hills, so small it looks just like a dark line crossing the landscape.

You’ll find a small Buddha temple on the top, owning the place.

By the end of the morning, I stopped at a nice hotel on the top of the hill, looking like paradise, and enjoyed a drink and a nice lunch in the restaurant. 

9 arches bridge

It’s said that this construction is an engineering miracle built during the first world war. As there was a steel deficit, the locals built it with stone, brick and cement and it is still standing.

The bridge is so connected with the landscape that looks like it wouldn’t make sense one without the other! The more you look, the more in love you are. There is no picture that captures the beauty of it.

Then you wait for the train. And wait. More people coming to appreciate the daily show. Locals use the trails to walk from one place to another…something hard to imagine for me, as it sounds crazily unsafe. It’s true, the train makes a lot of noise when approaching…and there’s a few of them, but, but, but…

And then it comes, announced with the sound of an old western film sound! And the experience is incredibly fast (the train going through the 7 arches bridge and disappear inside the tunnel. You take as many pictures as you can, hoping to catch the moment forever. And it’s over… and you’d like to see it again. 

Ravana Falls

And here I go, driving down A23, overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains surrounding you, feeling small and swallowed, enjoying the road curves, moving like a snake. Crossing tourists and locals, few houses hanging on the cliffs, challenging physic rules. 

You know you’re approaching the Ravana falls, by the cars parked on the street, the vendors with a bit of everything a tourist might need and a lot of people circulating, crossing the street…then you cross the bridge and here they are! Beautiful natural setting, children taking the opportunity to refresh themselves in the calmer waters running on the side of the strong waterfall. 

A family is selling boiled corn, and I decided to try it, as it seemed a bestseller, also conquered by the empathy of the child selling it. It tastes good! More than corn, you taste the overall experience, your brain registering the feeling of the moment: the sweet taste of the corn, the fresh air suddenly smelling like fuel when a motorbike passes by with strong noise, interrupting the harmony of the water and people talking different languages; the hot atmosphere contrasting the freshwater. All senses awake and exploring that moment stopped in time by a picture.

Ella surroundings

I like to explore the surroundings, discovering local life. Here I go following just my instinct,  deciding to turn right or left just because without any other constrain than our will!

Long green fields of rice plantation, with birds eating and enjoying the fresh sun of the morning. Kilometres of wild nature, speckled with a few houses here and there, I passed a school, with children wearing uniforms and looking at us with curiosity. 

When you leave Ella, your senses filled with magic sensations – smells, textures, flavours – you know you’re leaving behind a piece of magical experience, from Kandy to Ella. Unforgettable!

 

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