Ella - Little Adam's Peak and the Nine Arch Bridge

I wanted to visit the mountain town of Ella above all for its beautiful surroundings, the tea plantations and a handful of places that draw crowds of tourists. Ella is a smaller town set in gorgeous countryside. It's surrounded by hills covered with eucalyptus trees and tea plantations. You can get there both by bus and by train. The latter is probably the best option. It treats you to a striking spectacle with panoramic views of the surrounding landscape.

I had to opt for the less idyllic but more adventurous route by road. The bus I travelled on was far from the newest. Part of its kitschily decorated interior was, of course, a television screen and powerful speakers that constantly "thundered" out some Indian music or the sounds of the Indian film being shown on the TV. On top of that, the bus's capacity was exceeded by something like 200%, so it really was quite an experience. More than one local was amazed that any European was even willing to travel like this. It's unbelievable how many people fit into a single bus in Sri Lanka. In the tiny aisle between the seats, which is narrower than on European buses, an incredible number of passengers are often crammed together. Among them the ticket seller squeezes his way through, and at the stops often a snack vendor too. A few of the boldest also hang out of the front and rear doors, holding on to the iron rails for most of the journey and essentially flapping in the wind off the side of the bus.

Arriving in town left me a little disappointed. I'd expected the same calm as in the Anuradhapura area, but here new cafés and hotels already lined the road, full of young tourists. I think that in a few years this place will look like Ubud on Bali or Sapa in Vietnam. I found accommodation in a bungalow above the town, tucked away in the forest, and apart from croaking frogs, forest sounds and barking dogs, it was beautifully peaceful there. I also discovered a very pleasant restaurant that made excellent roti (a dish of chopped flatbread, vegetables or meat, eggs, the indispensable curry leaf and other spices). Everything is prepared on a large griddle with metal spatulas, so you can spot the places where they make this dish from a distance by the unmistakable clatter.

The weather wasn't ideal, and low clouds kept racing overhead with the promise of heavy rain. So far, though, only the odd drop had fallen here and there, so I made it all the way to the highest points, which are great for taking photos or shooting various time-lapse videos. I often watch the tourists and observe what they're willing to do, or how far they're willing to climb, just to recreate some daredevil pose they'd seen earlier on Instagram or Facebook. Sometimes it's genuinely entertaining. For about an hour I moved from one viewpoint to another, shot a few videos and photos, and since it was slowly starting to rain, I headed back to town.

Another place tourists head to in Ella is the Nine Arch Bridge. I set off for it essentially just because I happened to have nothing else planned. I chose a more out-of-the-way route, through the forest along a small footpath. That way I reached some interesting views of the bridge through the woodland. The muddy path slowly descended into the valley, and as it wound along, the bridge would appear among the trees for a moment.

I have to admit it's a photogenic piece of human handiwork, but the 50 tourists running around on it, climbing onto its railings and taking all sorts of photos, rather spoil the overall impression. Since I was already there, of course I wanted to get a nice photo of my own too. So I found a suitable spot below the level of the bridge and waited for a train to approach. It crawls along here at about 20 km an hour, hooting constantly. That gives people plenty of time to move away and gather on the little clearing in front of the tunnel entrance the bridge leads into. That was my moment - finally an empty bridge.

I chose a slightly different way back, and that's because I'd noticed a tiny café up on the hillside. Or, more precisely, it was a sort of ramshackle wooden shack where only a weathered advertising board held out the hope of some refreshment. The enterprise of the locals knows no bounds, and so even here, essentially in the middle of the forest, something like a café had sprung up. In the end this spot turned out to be the ideal place to watch the comings and goings on the bridge. From the little clearing by the café there was a lovely view, so I enjoyed the local, over-sweetened tea and was able to take a few more photos and videos while I was at it.

On the way back I just snapped various candid moments in Ella and looked forward to the restaurant I'd discovered earlier and their roti, banana pancakes drizzled with condensed milk, and an unbelievably good, strong ginger lemonade (probably the best I've had anywhere in the world). For the following day I'd planned the climb up the opposite Ella Rock, but I'll tell you about that in the next article.