Scenery Rides
A haven for exploration and adventure, Sri Lanka is filled with truly unique travel experiences. However, fulfilling the maxim that it’s the journey and not just the destination that matters, our island is also well-known for the scenic routes that take you from one unique destination to the next.
A few of these are the hilly train journey from Kandy to Ella, the coastal drive from Colombo to Galle, and the train journey from Anuradhapura to Jaffna, which passes through the hillside, coastal areas, and country plains.
However, located deep inside Sri Lanka’s mountainous landscape, are a number of scenic routes which are just as enjoyable, yet considered ‘hidden’ or ‘concealed’ due to their lesser-known nature.
The one rail journey that features on almost every Sri Lankan itinerary, the three-hour trip from Colombo to Kandy will whisk you away from the big city sprawl to the genteel greenery of Sri Lanka’s spiritual capital, home to the legendary Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, enshrining what’s claimed to be a genuine tooth of Buddha.
On the way, you’ll rattle past rolling hills, paddy fields, lush stands of tropical forest, palm trees waving like giant hands, and miniature village train stations with tin roofs and station attendants standing to attention in immaculate uniforms. You’ll also feel the air cool as you leave the baking coastal plain for the more pleasant climate of the hills.
The journey from Kandy to Badulla takes seven to eight hours, and carves through Sri Lanka’s tea country, passing swirling, curling plantations that appear hollowed into the hilly green landscape like the enormous fingerprints of a giant. Tidy fringes of lemongrass and canna bushes provide an ornamental trim around the edges, while tea-pickers in rainbow saris create vivid flashes of color amongst the emerald sea. To make the most of the views, stake out a vantage point in one of the open train doorways, with your feet dangling above the track.
The final stage from Ella to Badulla is perhaps the most dramatic section of the journey, with some spectacular feats of 19th-century engineering carrying the train across valleys and ravines and around problem outcrops.
Just north of Ella, the tracks curve over the brick-and-stone Nine Arch Bridge before tackling the Demodara Loop, where the line circles a hilltop and passes back under itself. Many travelers end the journey at Ella and hike to viewpoints around the bridge, for one of Sri Lanka’s most popular photo opportunities.
The Indian Ocean washes almost up to the rail tracks on the ride south from Colombo to the Portuguese-founded city of Galle, bringing fresh breezes and the smell of sea salt right into the carriages. So long as you sit on the right-hand side of the train, you’ll have views out over the ocean as the train clatters out of Colombo.
The rail line meets the shore just south of Galle Face Green, a large urban park on the outskirts of the capital, and follows it for almost the entire length of the journey. If the lure of the big blue gets too much, passengers can hop off the train at beachside towns including Moragalla (via Hettimulla station), with snorkeling opportunities amidst coral reefs, or Hikkaduwa, where surfers ride the swells and sip smoothies in shorefront cafes.
The 41 km stretch of road between Kandy to Mahiyangana is easily one of the most picturesque drives on the island. A ‘zigzag’ road with 16 hairpin bends, it has long since been known as one which requires the driver to keep both hands on the wheel at all times. This winding road was widened and made safer in 2011 when the number of hairpin bends was reduced from 18 to 16. As the landscape shifts from the central highlands to the plains of the East, the view comprises misty mountains and hills, lush greenery, and flowing streams.
The historic town of Mahiyangana at the end of the journey is certainly worth the visit as well, with attractions such as the Mahiyangana Temple, Maduru Oya National Park, and Dambana, a jungle village where Sri Lanka’s indigenous people, Veddhas, still reside today.
The 3-hour drive between the town of Maskeliya and Colombo is 60 km of breathtaking scenery. The journey takes you through the best of Sri Lanka’s hill country, with pine forests on either side, babbling streams, waterfalls, and views of misty mountaintops, where the road ahead may sometimes disappear from view as the mist creeps in. The drive further takes a traveler through the very heart of the tea country, offering panoramic views of the Castlereigh reservoir and famous Moussakele reservoir.
Fondly called ‘The Road to Little England’, undertaking this journey via car is an unmatched experience. The journey is an ascent to Nuwara Eliya which is 1800 m above sea level, and travelers can experience the changing climate in the cool, crisp air as they make the climb. A lush carpet of greenery, the cultivated tea plantations are the main attraction throughout the winding roads of this steep, mountainous journey. The hillsides are dotted with occasional waterfalls and streams.
The second highest waterfall in Sri Lanka, the Diyaluma waterfall flows towards Kirinda Oya underneath a bridge on the highway from Beragala to Wellawaya, making this 39 km drive a beautiful and scenic journey. The journey takes less than half an hour to complete, ending in Beragala, a town known for its natural beauty. This unique stretch is one of the lesser-traveled, though picturesque, routes on the island.
