Ella came right in the middle of our trip to Sri Lanka. We had just finished in Yala with our safari and afterwards were heading to Kandy. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t that excited to go to Ella. I had heard that Ella had a backpacking hangout vibe which isn’t really our speed. I also struggled to find decent accommodations; everything seemed either really threadbare or extremely pricey with few options in between. We tried to book at 98 Acres which is supposed to be gorgeous but it was completely booked. I only placed us in Ella for two nights because other than seeing Nine Arch I wasn’t really sure we were going to like it.

I’m happy to report that other than crummy accommodations (more on that later) we LOVED Ella. Ella grabbed my heart quickly and BOOM cast a spell on me! A month later I’m not entirely sure what it was that captured my heart. The chill vibe and laid back pace? The insanely beautiful countryside? The food? The cool breezes at night and in the morning? Funky little boutiques and restaurants serving fresh squeezed juices? Maybe it was all of it.

Let’s get this out of the way first: our hotel wasn’t great. We stayed at Hotel Onrock and apart from it’s great location (at the top of a VERY steep but walkable hill) with expansive views of Ella Gap it was suuuuuuuper threadbare. In photos and most reviews it seemed like it was going to be alright and by Sri Lanka standards it wasn’t cheap…but it was crummy. If you go to Ella, don’t bother staying at Onrock. We were also the ONLY guests at the hotel (due to massive cancellations after the bombings) which only added to the strangeness of the situation. Like, there was no air conditioning in the hotel (which I did not know when I booked it) and so we asked for some additional fans for our room; the manager said no. But there was no one else in the hotel and plenty of fans so why not make your TWO guests in the whole hotel happy? So strange. If I had to do it again I would probably stay at Oak Ray Ella Gap or 98 Acres. By the time our stay at Onrock was over we were REALLY excited to get to Kandy and Mahaweli Reach; we were in dire need of some pampering.

That said, I did have a really nice afternoon while Sam was out getting a massage where I did a bunch of sink laundry and hung it all over our room to dry. Then I deep conditioned my very dry hair with some Indian hair oil I found in the local grocery store and let it seep in while sitting on the balcony writing in my journal. At one point I stopped writing, looked around and felt very much at peace. I had an Orange Fanta to my right, laundry drying behind me in the room and all of Ella Gap stretched out in front of me. It was one of those moments when you are doing regular life stuff while traveling in another country and everything just melds together just right. Even without air conditioning :).

Our first order of business once we got to Ella was to get over to Nine Arch Bridge which is even more spectacular in person than in photos. I was excited to see this and the blue train and it did not disappoint. Through sheer luck we timed our visit perfectly with the train coming through. Seeing Nine Arch is worth a detour to Ella at the very least.

It is a funky/slightly dicey tuk tuk ride to get to the area we were dropped off and then about a seven minute hike down to the arch. WORTH IT. We were pretty exhilarated after seeing the arch and the train passing by. We were there at 5:30 PM and that may be the last train to come through of the day. There were a lot of local families walking along the tracks as well as tourists from all over. It was sliiiiightly cooler in Ella and we appreciated those breezes as we walked back up the hill from the bridge.

We had heard that Chill Cafe was a great place to hang out and have good food and I can report back YES on both counts. We went there twice for late lunches/early dinners and the portions were huge and tasty. Really great service and a cool vibe. It was also about a minute from where we were staying right in the center of town and in a great location. If you are looking for a cool place to hangout this is it.

Another thing we wanted to do while in Ella was hike Little Adams Peak. My knee was starting to give me a little bit of trouble and I was worried about preserving it for our Sigiriya Rock hike a week later so I was planning on not hiking this peak. But that morning I woke and told Sam let’s just go for it and I’m so glad that I did because it is an easy hike. No big deal at all and the payoff is in the views. Clean air, VIEWS of Ella Gap and the tea plantation as far as you can see, a large golden Buddha at the top – it is so worth it.

It was really beautiful up here. I know that a lot of people hike Adams Peak which we opted not to do; Little Adams peak is totally doable and quick. We met the only other American we came across during our whole trip running trails up here and it was fun to chat with him about traveling in Sri Lanka. Plus Sam found some yummy coconut drink at the top…

While in Ella we renewed our love of Orange Fanta from other countries, ate really well, meandered in and out of most of the stores in the town, pet some stray dogs (that was me – also ALL of the stray dogs looked alike) and generally relaxed into the Ella vibe.

If I could do it all again I would stay in a different hotel but would totally go back to Ella. You must add Ella to your Sri Lanka itinerary and maybe stay one day longer than you were planning; it is a place that really grows on you.