A famous train ride and a spot of tea in the Sri Lankan countryside

The next morning the TravelFreaks set out, alone for the first time in nearly a month! We were off to enjoy the famous train ride through the Sri Lankan tea country. Our destination for the next couple days would be Nuwara Eliya, the ‘Little England’ of Sri Lanka. It has a cooler climate there and is the horse riding capital of the country so we were looking forward to exploring this new area.

First things first though, the stunning train ride to get there. We pulled away from the station in Ella and followed the tracks in the same direction as our Ella Rock hike. People were hanging out every door down the length of the train enjoying the wind blowing through their hair and the drama of the scenery right at their fingertips.

Soon after leaving, the train started climbing up, up, up into the misty mountains. The scenery alternated between meticulously tiered tea plantations and dramatically sheer drops into the deep valleys below. At some points we were chugging along right through the clouds and mist, spatters of light rain showers between the brilliantly, sunny breaks.

After winding our way through the hills for a while, we eventually found ourselves in thick forest with incredibly tall trees casting beautiful shadows. The variety of scenery covered in only a few hours on the train was really spectacular.

Before long, we found ourselves back in the twisting, winding splendor of the fertile tea growing lands. The contrast of the many shades of green, and the yellow-orange hue of the earth against the brilliant azure blue of the sky was an incredible sight.

All too quickly, we had reached our destination and it was time to hitch a ride into town. We’d found a cute guest house a little on the outskirts, really close to the pretty little lake in Nuwara Eliya. We put our bags down and headed out almost straight away to meet up with the last members of our group who were celebrating a birthday that day in town.

For a special occasion, there’s one thing in Nuwara Eliya that you just have to try.. The high tea at the Grand Hotel. It’s a beautiful old colonial manor with manicured lawns and beautifully decadent rooms complete with a snooker table, a couple of lovely restaurants and some beautiful lounge spaces. We spent an afternoon of luxury sipping tea and tasting their lovely sweets and treats that make up their high tea. We had everything from cakes and tarts to sushi and mini lamb burgers. The service was lovely, and they even brought out a little cake with a candle for the birthday girl!!!

Credit: Mitch Collins

After our indulgent afternoon, we went exploring the town on foot. We discovered on our wanderings, a really cool little local pub with some great food and cheap beer. We spent an awesome few hours chatting, drinking and tasting many of the items on the menu before we said our final goodbyes and went our separate ways.

The next morning we spent some time exploring the pretty lakeside. There are cute little street stall restaurants and guys with horses saddled, ready to take you for a ride around.

Down by the water can rent paddle boats or be driven around in speed boats, but it’s a tiny lake so we opted to walk around it instead.

It was lovely to simply stroll around taking in the beauty of the area and getting a little exercise at the same time. It’s such a picturesque little city nestled in the midst of the rolling hills in every direction.

We wandered back into the town center around dinnertime and we found a gorgeous little café facing right into the Victoria Park, a nice relaxing way to finish the day.

The next morning we headed back to the train station. We’d loved the ride so much that we decided to ride it in reverse. We couldn’t resist spending a couple more days in Ella.

To cap off our month falling in love with this island, we decided to spend our last week exploring more of the South Coast and getting in some last minute surfing sessions. We knew our hours of sun and sand were limited and pretty soon we’d be flying to the chilly mountains of Nepal.

This marks the end of a magical month in Sri Lanka. Pretty soon we’ll tell you all about trekking in the Himalaya, the beautiful Pokhara area, and all about our wildlife safari on foot through Chitwan National Park. Among many bird species, deer and wild boar, we were also scouting for tigers, sloth bears, wild elephants and rhinos. We have some pretty cool pictures to share from an amazing month in Nepal, coming soon!!