A Spot of Tea Country

Sri Lanka's highland "tea country"

NEW! Watch this video clip I shot out the window of the train ride

Beautiful "tea country" in Sri Lanka

The next two days were at least partially “in transit” days. I was finally able to score train tickets on Sri Lanka’s most scenic passage, from Kandy to Ella. It was a 7-hour haul, but most of it was through the mountainous “tea country.” Here is where most of the island’s tea plantations are located. The curving rows of tea plants crowned the slopes, making the landscape look settled and neat, despite the large stretches of forest. The air was cool and fresh blowing in through the windows of my second class reserved car. The view was gorgeous, and most passengers’ eyes were glued to the large windows.

The scenic Kandy to Ella train ride is a beautiful, 7-hour journey

The car emptied out after about an hour or so, and you could stretch out and relax, and enjoy the ride. More than half of the passengers appeared to be Europeans, with most of those British. It was clear everyone was enjoying the ride, despite the side to side jerking of the train, this is definitely not one of those ultra smooth bullet trains, but more of an old school “clickety-clack” choo-choo, its whistle shrieking its warning to those ahead at the road crossings.

Sri Lanka's highlands is where most of its tea plantations and production is located

It was nearly 6 pm when I arrived at Ella. A tuk-tuk whisked me from the train station up and up on twisting roads to my hotel, appropriately named Ella Gap Panorama. The gap being the cleft in the mountain range where the one Road Town is located. This hotel was a slight step down from my previous ones, so far. No AC, and a bathroom that had a waft of sewage odor. I was here for only one night, and the stunning view from my balcony certainly made up for any shortcomings.

More amazing mountain scenery

I had been a good boy on this trip, eating local dishes most of the time. The specialty seems to be rice and curry. However, when they say curry they should pluralize it. Each plateful had of rice comes with 4-5 dishes of various curries — meat, vegetable, grain-based ones…you name it. My favorite so far was Dhal, a mustard colored vegetable curry that I first enjoyed at my hotel in Sigiriya. Anyway, I was curried out, and my guidebook raved a out a local place’s pizza. So, I indulged myself with pizza and beer. Afterwards, I explored the strip a bit, then took a tuk-tuk back to my hilltop perch for an early evening.

The view from my hotel balcony in Ella, Sri Lanka

The next morning, I'd hired a tuk-tuk (same driver) to take me to my next stop, along with a couple sightseeing breaks along the way. Thinking it'd be chilly on the mountain roads, I'd way overdressed in jeans and a cotton t-shirt. It took us only about an hour to descend into the plains south of tea country, and that is with a stop off at a waterfall and a couple scenic overlooks. Once in the plains, the heat rose quickly. The open air tuk-tuk was breezy, though, and plenty comfortable.

Gorgeous waterfalls in the mountainous scenery

My main sight of the day would be the seven standing Buddhas of Bunduruvegala. These are carved out of a 50-foot tall cliff face, and are more than a thousand years old. The tallest one in the center is about 20 meters tall, and still holds traces of paint from centuries ago. The grain of the rock compliments the carvings, which are done in a bas-relief, projecting out about a foot from the natural rock face. To reach them, we bounced along a narrow road that was alternately paved then dirt for about 10 minutes. It was clear my driver had never been here, despite the fact they are only an hour away from Ella. The guidebook went on to say few tourists come here, but I can't imagine why. It was an amazing relic of the medieval world, set in a peaceful forest tableau. One group of Sri Lankan college students were here with their professor, and two Aussies, but other than that, it was deserted.

The 1,000 year old carved Buddhas of Bunduruvegala

Another couple of hours in the tuk-tuk and I finally arrived at my next home for two days: Korovagada Lodge in Tissaharama. I was here for tomorrow's safari in Yala National Park, in the hopes of spotting leopards from among its resident population. I whiled away the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the lodge’s pool, enjoying its rustic (yet air conditioned) amenities. Those who know me may be surprised by such a relaxed schedule. Remember, though, it was a transit day, right?

The Buddhas are carved out of the rock face