Exciting hiking experiences in Ella

From Arugambay we now headed inland for the first time.

Since we were still very tired from the previous safari night, we treated ourselves to a taxi ride through the country. The closer we got to Ella, the more the landscape changed. Beaches turned into mountains and dry land suddenly became lush green forests and tea plantations.

On the first day in Ella, Merle and I hiked up the 'Ella Rock'. At the beginning, we had to walk along a long stretch of still used railway tracks. A bit creepy, but the train announced itself early enough with a loud horn and drove along the tracks at a snail's pace.

Eventually, after crossing a waterfall, we climbed up the mountain.

We didn't have a map with us because our hostel owner told us that the path would be easy to find. However, we two specialists naturally took a wrong turn and ended up in dense undergrowth. We asked a local for directions, who encouraged us and said that we were on the right track. As a goodbye, he asked us if we were afraid of snakes.

What a question!! Of course... especially of big ones. But we told ourselves that we would be able to handle such a famous hiking route that is walked a hundred times during the day.

With a slightly uneasy feeling, we continued walking and searched for the main trail. The paths became more and more overgrown until there were no paths anymore. I walked cautiously, with Merle close behind me, repeatedly saying, 'Lucie, Lucie. What are we doing here?'
And then, in fact! Not two meters in front of our feet, we suddenly saw the end of a huge snake crossing our trail. We both had never seen such a big snake in the wild before. We screamed, ran a few meters back where it was just as overgrown, screamed, jumped in circles, screamed again, and... ran. As fast as we could, we ran out of the thicket. I almost wet my pants.

Merle did too. That is.

Suddenly, an older local called out to us, two startled chickens, and led us to the standard trail where our hike could finally begin properly. On the way there, he told us that many cobras live in this densely overgrown area and pointed to a large sandy mound that was their home. These were exactly the kind of sand mounds we had passed regularly. Lucky us.

Otherwise, the hike was exhausting but great! We didn't get lost anymore, the climate was pleasant, and we enjoyed the incredible view from the top. The whole way back, we were accompanied by a stray dog, whom we named 'Hugo', and later we even came across a large family of monkeys.

The next day, we walked across the 'Nine Arches Bridge' and hiked up the 'Little Adams Peak'. Also a wonderful hike.
On the same evening, we left Ella and took the train to 'Nuwara Elya', where we were welcomed by darkness, freezing temperatures, and pouring rain.

The weather wasn't any better the next day. Were we really still in Sri Lanka?? Or had we arrived in Norway??

Our hostel resembled an abandoned retirement home, we were cold, and all our things were damp.
Spontaneous as one can be on such a trip, and with the thought in the back of our minds that we only have a good week left in Sri Lanka, we went to the train station after breakfast and left Nuwara Elya.
Too bad, because I would have liked to stroll through the famous tea plantations of the town. But it just wasn't enjoyable that way.