Sri Lanka: Arugam Bay > Ella

Mar 30 - Apr 1 2025 |

After 3 nights in Arugam, it was time to ride on, next stop Ella - off the beach, into the mountains. This post covers the ride to Ella, 2 nights stay, and my failed attempt to reach Lipton's Seat nearby.

Ride to Ella

From Arugam, the first hour or so is a decent ride through farmland and the edge of a national park with little traffic. Nice, but not overly exciting.

From there, it's into higher ground. And the road gets busier. From about 1 hour out of Ella, it's a progressive climb into the highlands, with a twistier road. You get some nice views along the way, including a big waterfall close to Ella. I didn't get rained on, but the sky was getting dark, and the outlook was not good.

Stay in Ella

I arrived in Ella and the first thing that struck me was just how touristic the place is, more than I expected it to be. I booked a room at Yoho Elegant Homestay on Agoda, which was up a steep "road" of horrible, crumbling pavement. Soon after I arrived, a torrential downpour started and continued for hours. Later that evening, the rain let up a bit, and I went out for a wander. I soon learned that everything costs much more in Ella than the other places I had visited on this trip - like 2x more than Arugam. And there was a massive pack of feral dogs living near my homestay, about 20 of them.

Ella has many tourist sites like the train station, the arched bridge or local hikes. I didn't end up doing any of them. And I didn't take many photos (usually a sign of a not-so-great visit, for me)

While searching for things to do in Ella, I learned of Lipton's Seat, and made a half-day ride there. Read about it here. While Ella didn't do much for me, I highly recommend Lipton's Seat (but make sure you do it when skies are clear)