Asia and Australia 2025
Day 21: Saturday 26 July 2025
Ella
Scenery on the way to the 9-Arches Bridge. Also called the “Bridge in the Sky”, this bridge was completed in 1919 by local labour under British supervision. It is 91m long, 7.6m wide, and 24m high. The chief designer and project manager of the line was a Sri Lankan engineer, D. J. Wimalasurendra, while the viaduct was designed by Harold Marwood The lack of steel available due to WWI meant that stone bricks and cement was used without steel.
The famous 9-Arches Railway Bridge. There were hundreds of sightseers on and around the bridge, and on the single track, who have to scatter when a train comes.
The road winds atop steep ravines to beautiful scenery of terraced rice farms. A white-knuckle ride in a tuk-tuk, but thrilling.
Tuk-tuks lined up on the muddy road before the bridge, a testimony to its popularity with tourists.
This lady was oblivious to the hordes of tourists, as she made her graceful way between them and across the railway tracks.
The rain forest filled the skyline in this view from the 9-Arches Bridge, except where it had been cleared for farming. Forest cover in Sri Lanka has halved, from 40% to 20% over the last century.
A tea picker at his back-breaking work. A herb specialist explained that pickers use a special blend of red sandalwood oil for their aches.
Tea plantation. The crests of the hills in this area are covered in this vital crop.
Close-up of a tea tree. They are usually about waist high. The soil in this region is very red.
A view from the mountains down to the plains to the south-east. Our driver told us that on a clear day you can see the sea. Ella is at an elevation of 1041m.
This outcrop is simply known as “The Rock”.
These Toque macaque monkeys were indifferent to our presence, and even braved the busy road for tid-bits.
Rawana Ella Falls
Street stalls at the Rawana Ella Falls
Street stall and vendor at the “Secret Waterfall”, which basically meant a muddy descent to a rock pool and falls 60 metres below the road. Bit of a fitness test.
Roadside fruit stand, displaying many of the exotic fruits we have been enjoying this week.
People having a picnic alongside the road.
As the day came to an end, some men gathered in the grassy area below the station to play cricket and volleyball.
Travel Diary
sayönara
ohayö gozaimasu
oyasumi nasai
konbanwa