Next on the agenda was one of the most highly recommended places in the whole country. Ella. Famed for it stunning mountainous landscape and tea plantation gardens. Everyone makes it a stop on their travel plans.
I only had two days to make the most of it so as soon as I arrived I set out to take in the sights. My hostel was advertised as having "good views" which I would say was an understatement. My room was a little tucked away from the main town/road but is was worth it.
As it turns out, Ella is a small town created with the tourists in mind. According to other people I was talking to, it didn't even exist ten years ago. There is one short stretch of road, about 200 meters worth that is all cafes, bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. It was OK for two days but the characterless atmosphere must felt out of place in the middle of such incredible scenery. I did however managed to get a beer, which was an unforeseen issue of traveling a very religious country.
The view from the top very incredible! sadly it was a little hazy so my pictures don't really give an idea of just how green it was.
The top got quite busy with people wanting to pose in interesting and instagram friendly ways. Lots of mountain top yoga going on, which was hilarious to watch. I hung around long enough to cool down and really soak in the green before beginning the descent. Going down was much slower as it was getting busy now (midmorning) and the track was too narrow for people to cross safely. About 45mins up and well over an hour down.
As I was walking back to the hostel I noticed a sign for a shortcut to the 9 arches bridge. This was a lie, but a nice walk through some pretty thick jungle nonetheless.
The bridge itself was crawling with people as apparently I had just missed the train. Its one of those weird places where it seems to get very busy on the bridge, yet the most impressive view was from much further away. I stood and watched for a while as people tried not to get into each others pictures before walking back into town along the train tracks. A very long walk back into town!
By this point it was about 3pm and I was fit to drop. As if someone upstairs was watching out for me, the afternoon was completely obliterated but a very impressive thunderstorm. I had no choice but to relax on my balcony for a few hours. You can't really tell, but the difference in the pictures hold give an indication of how heavy the rain was.
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