As part of our two week holiday in Sri Lanka, we spent a few days in Ella, and were taking the journey to Kandy next. The best way to get from one to the other was a 6-hour train journey through the spectacular central highlands.
Tickets for the train can be hard to come by, and the reason we are doing this route south to north direction is that it is less travelled and it was the only way we could get reserved seats on this train.
You need to book the train tickets early, particularly at peak tourist times and around the Sri Lankan New Year (which was when we visited). The best option is to book before you leave home, but the only way to do this was through a local company, because you can’t do it yourself. We started along that process, but with the problems we encountered, in the end we organised the tickets through the owner of the hotel that we were going to stay at. Local knowledge goes a long way!
We ended up changing our travel direction at the last minute, going from Ella to Kandy rather than Kandy to Ella, though the hotel owner in Kandy was still able to buy the tickets for us and send them to our hotel in Galle. We paid him after we arrived, which was very trustworthy.
It was a convenient short walk to the Ella train station, but again we were thankful that we had packed lightly, and only had one large and one small suitcase between the five of us.
We had only been able to obtain third class reserved tickets on the train, and were unsure how that compared to the higher classes and what the seats were like. We did although, have reserved seats, a step up from the 3rd class unreserved. Our allocated seats were at different parts of the carriage, but as our section was not full we easily moved and just sat together from the start.
Our train (#1006) left a 9.24 am, due to arrive in Kandy at 3.51 pm, so we relaxed knowing it was a long, slow and windy ride ahead of us. We were expecting possibly a boring ride, and we had come prepared with games and snacks for the kids. There was a small table between seats, so it was easy to sit around.
A few stops into the trip, a large group of Sri Lankans joined us and filled all the available seats and more. Father Peter and his group of Sunday school teachers were keen to chat, so there was no time to get bored.
The continuous shaking of the old rattling train was very relaxing. We loved hanging out the open windows, to see the amazing views and changing landscape along the way.
It was even better standing in the open doorways, but a bit nerve-racking watching the kids do it as we were speeding along.
We had packed a few things to eat on the train, but we did not need too much as the ubiquitous tea man came along, and also the egg samosa man, allowing us to try some local delicacies.
We did miss having a can of soft drink, so at one station Rob jumped out of the train looking for the buffet car which was apparently further forward, but could not find it.
At another stop, he jumped out and went into the station cafe, but was too worried about the train leaving without him so did not hang around to order. Oh well, we’ll cope without for one day.
What Rob discovered in his dashes along the train that most of the other carriages were overflowing, we were happy with our decision to book 3rd class.
The views out the window were spectacular, especially the tea plantations around Nuwara Eliya.
The facilities were as expected, but for such a long journey it was handy to have a toilet on board.
Overall it was a great experience, and a great way to get to our next destination.
We had organised a free pick up from the train station arranged with the hotel. The friendly hotel owner was waiting for us at Kandy. So began the next part of our journey. Read our Kandy blog.
