Sri Lanka’s hill country: Kandy to Ella

Up from the plains

In the south-centre of the island the land climbs from sea level to more than 2,500 m. The air cools, the forest turns to tea, and in the mornings cloud fills the valleys. The highlands catch rain from both monsoons, which is why they feed most of the island’s rivers, and part of them is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its rare wildlife.

Kandy

At around 500 m, Kandy was the capital of the last Sinhala kingdom, from the late 15th century until 1815. Its heart is the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa), which keeps a tooth relic of the Buddha. Drummed ceremonies (pujas) happen three times a day, at about 5:30am, 9:30am and 6:30pm; cover shoulders and knees, and take your shoes off. Every year in July or August the Esala Perahera parades the relic casket through the streets on ten nights with dancers, drummers and decorated elephants. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tea country: Nuwara Eliya and Hatton

Coffee came first. Then, from 1869, a fungus called coffee rust wiped out the plantations, and planters switched to tea. A Scot, James Taylor, had planted the first commercial tea field at Loolecondera, near Kandy, in 1867. Today the green ridges around Nuwara Eliya (about 1,868 m) produce some of the most prized “Ceylon” teas. The town itself, with its racecourse, golf course and old hotels, was a British hill station and still feels like one. Pidurutalagala, the highest mountain at 2,524 m, rises behind it.

Adam’s Peak (Sri Pada)

A 2,243 m summit with a footprint-shaped mark at the top that Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians all hold sacred. In the season, from the December full moon (Unduvap Poya) to the May full moon (Vesak), pilgrims climb about 5,500 lit steps through the night from Dalhousie to watch the sunrise and the peak’s triangular shadow fall across the clouds. Allow three to four hours up. Outside the season the path is unlit and the summit is usually in cloud.

Horton Plains and World’s End

A high plateau of grassland and cloud forest at over 2,000 m, with sambar deer, endemic birds and a sheer drop of about 880 m at World’s End. The loop via Baker’s Falls is about 9.5 km. Wildlife staff check bags for plastic and polythene at the entrance, so carry snacks in paper or boxes. The nearest station is Pattipola, at 1,897.5 m the highest on Sri Lanka’s railways.

Ella

A small hiking village at about 1,041 m with big views through the Ella Gap down to the southern plains. Walk up Little Adam’s Peak for sunrise, or the steeper Ella Rock; then time a train over the Nine Arches Bridge, built of stone and brick in 1921. Trains run on the Nanu Oya–Ella–Badulla section again since July 2026.

Getting around the hills

The famous Kandy–Ella train is only partly running after Cyclone Ditwah damaged the line in November 2025. Kandy–Nanu Oya is expected to reopen around the end of 2026 or early 2027. Until then, drive or take the bus to Nanu Oya (for Nuwara Eliya) and board there for Ella. Roads in the hills are narrow and winding: allow three to four hours from Kandy to Ella by car. Full details and a live line map are in our transport guide.