Ella

1041 meters above sea level. Welcome to Sri Lanka's highlands! For comparison: Mainz is located at an elevation of 89m above sea level.

But let's start from the beginning. About the train journey. Would we do it again? I (Isi) don't think so. After about 4 hours, we discovered an incredible number of spiders crawling from all corners - and then had to deal with them for another 4 hours. BUT the view was partly really beautiful.

Arriving in Ella, we had to realize that our usual apps to order Tuk Tuks probably wouldn't work here. There seems to be a Tuk Tuk Mafia that drives up the prices significantly and makes it impossible to order through Pick Me or Uber. Luckily, we almost always had a Tuk Tuk available through our Air BnB.

The next morning we started the day with breakfast and an incredible view. Feli is adapting so well to the locals that she even eats spicy food for breakfast.

After strengthening ourselves, we went to our first tourist spot, the Nine Arches Bridge. The famous trains drive over this bridge, from which you can often see people hanging and taking photos. We were lucky to have a train on the tracks just as we arrived. So we also got to experience the view of a passing train directly from the tracks.

From the bridge, we continued to the Ravana Falls and the Secret Falls. Two waterfalls that we had expected a bit more from, but unfortunately couldn't climb up to. We also made some animal acquaintances in the form of monkeys and - ATTENTION - leeches during our exploration.

Then we returned to the city and browsed through the small boutiques and enjoyed the first heavy rain shower from the safe interior of a restaurant. Overall, we were very lucky with the rain. Whenever we had just finished our tour, it rained briefly but heavily and afterwards we could continue.

For the next day, we had planned a bigger excursion to the Diyaluma Falls. One and a half hours away by Tuk Tuk, our hike to the second highest waterfall in Sri Lanka at 220m height began. Fortunately, we let ourselves be talked into getting a guide, without him we probably wouldn't have found the way. The efforts of the journey were rewarded with a breathtaking view and a bath in the natural pools.

Exhausted but happy, we returned to our accommodation to freshen up. We ended the evening with good food and a few cocktails in the city.

Today we got up at 6:30 am to drive to Little Adams Peak at 7 am and attempt the climb. This went faster than expected, so we were back by half past eight and now enjoy the view a little longer before continuing to Wirawila at 11.