Ella Rock

After two days spent in Ella, the fickle weather had me wondering whether to set off on the next leg of the journey the very next morning. But I was woken by sunshine and a partly clear sky, and so the trip to the coast was postponed to the afternoon. After breakfast I wasted no time, found a tuk-tuk and had it take me to just behind the little railway station, from where climbing paths wound up towards Ella Rock.

But the paths quickly vanished into the tall grassy growth and were so tangled that before long I had no idea which one to choose, and I nicely got "tangled up" in them. But as tends to happen in Asia, a helpful local promptly appeared who, with the prospect of a financial reward, was glad to point me the way. But not only did he show me the right path, in the end he spent several hours with me on the way up to Ella Rock and back, which was unnecessary. In these parts it's clear that once someone attaches themselves to you, you won't get rid of them.

In the first stage the path led past small farms, where beans, tomatoes, chilli, cabbage and other vegetables are grown in the valley. Then a steeper path climbed through eucalyptus forest, and the surrounding air was scented with a pleasant menthol fragrance. The ascent was more demanding than the previous day's walks, because the elevation gain came to about 800 metres. I also walked along a river, which in the rainy season is adorned with waterfalls. Now, though, there was little water, so all I could do was admire, on the way up, the beauty of the eucalyptus trees, their peculiar green colour and pale trunks. Even before the summit itself I climbed onto a small plateau with a magnificent view of the landscape, towards the town of Ella, Little Adam's Peak and the other places I'd visited the previous day. And because the clouds were building up, it was a suitably dramatic sight.

The main summit of Ella Rock was mostly stony, and a few tourists were already enjoying the beautiful views and resting after the climb. Among them was Bruno, an Italian I wrote about in a separate article (https://pribehfotografie.cz/bruno/), who was playing guitar and singing. I photographed and filmed here for a while and finally visited the last small viewpoint at the end of the ridge, where there was a tiny Buddhist temple beneath a rock overhang, to which not many tourists ventured. But it was the loveliest and most peaceful spot on the whole summit.

I took the same route back to the little station. With the local who'd been showing me the way even though it was already obvious and there was no risk of getting lost, I finally settled on a reward of 1,500 rupees.

No tuk-tuk was parked by the station, so I had to walk a few more kilometres along the tracks to the main station in Ella. It was already starting to rain, and before I reached the restaurant I'd taken a liking to here, it was pouring buckets and water was streaming down the streets. I had a late lunch, picked up my luggage from the apartment and set off by bus on the journey towards the sea.

Tip 1: With the help of the map on your mobile phone, find your way out of the first confusing part of the route, or latch onto other tourists; the subsequent path uphill is already clear and there's no need to hunt for a guide.

Tip 2: If you set out from the railway station, the walk to the summit will take you about an hour.