Nine Arches Bridge links Ella and Demodara train station is famous for its architectural ingenuity and its similarity with the bridge towards Hogwarts in Harry Potter movies. We were so lucky to witness this beauty in Ella. The Nine Arches Bridge is about 15 minutes by tuktuk from Ella town, the price for tuktuk should be less than 700 LKR (around 3 euro) one way, but I heard you can negotiate the price even more! Also you can ask for a discount if you book the tuktuk for return trip.
At the Nine Arches Bridge, you will be able to witness the famous Sri Lankan trains passing through a few times a day. I personally recommend to go in the morning, as there are much less people around. Check the timetables of Kandy to Ella train for details. The trains will stop at Ella railway station for 5-10 minutes from Kandy and then it will shortly pass the bridge after that. There are a lot of people are waiting for the 5:30pm train to pass the bridge, so try to avoid that one if you can!
We stayed at Alta Vista hotel while in Ella, the hotel is quite clean, with very very spacious basic rooms, ( we didn’t stay at the luxury rooms, not sure) but we couldn’t expect more than just one night sleep, ass the hotel manger is the only person running up and down among the entire hotel and he’s also the only person can speak English there. But he is very friendly! Also another option for luxury travellers are 98 Acres resort, it is probably the most famous hotel in Ella, the most expensive villa suite at 98 Acres is around 500 USD with private infinity pool.
Ella gets quite cold at night and early morning, so make sure you bring your jackets and hiking gears etc if you want to see climb the Adam’s peak. I thought to pick a hotel with air-conditioning but it is not necessary at all in Ella! It is actually quite cold at night with one layers.
I hope this will help you with your coming trip to Ella! You must try the Sri Lankan train if you are coming to Sri Lanka! Let me know if you have any other questions in the comment area.
Love from Kurt.
