It genuinely is one of the great railway journeys. It is also seven hours long, frequently late, and not always worth doing in full.
The hill country line was built between 1864 and 1924 to move tea down to Colombo. It climbs from 500 metres at Kandy to over 1,800 at Pattipola, the highest broad-gauge station in Sri Lanka, and it does so through some of the most photographed landscape in Asia.
All of that is true, and so is this: it is a slow, old, crowded train that runs late more often than not.
Do the good half
The full Kandy to Ella run takes six to seven hours. The genuinely spectacular section is between Nanu Oya, which serves Nuwara Eliya, and Ella. That is about four hours, and it contains nearly all of the scenery people come for.
Unless you specifically want the whole thing, we route guests by road to Nanu Oya and put them on the train there. Your driver takes the luggage and meets you at the other end.
Which class, and which side
First class observation saloon has the big rear window, air conditioning and no opening doors. Second class reserved has fans, opening windows and doors you can sit in, which is what most photographs are actually taken from.
We book second class reserved for most guests for exactly that reason. Sit on the right-hand side travelling towards Ella.
Book early
Reserved seats open thirty days ahead and the good ones go within hours in high season. This is one of the few things in a Sri Lankan itinerary that genuinely cannot be arranged at short notice.
Thinking about a trip like this?
We build every itinerary from scratch. Tell us roughly what you have in mind and we will come back with a written route, suggested properties and an indicative cost.
