Year 3 -25 January 2026 – Yala National Park-Ella -Sri Lanka

We woke about 6.40am and walked to breakfast through the huts and bush. We came to the path to reception and it was full of grey linder monkeys. There must have been 30 of them and they were right in the way. I was not sure we should try and pass through and so went back to our room and phoned reception. When I got back to the path the monkeys had thinned out somewhat and Rhys was coming back the other way. He went for a walk earlier and when he came back they were there. He said they were quite aggressive to him and so he went back for some coffee.

We managed to make our way through and there were a number in the trees above us and they were roving around the roofs of the hut. We saw some fresh elephant poo too, so it must have come through in the night. We also saw 2 monitor lizards by the path and a hare running through as well.

As we got down toward reception there is access to the lake and I hoped we would see a leopard. What we did see was a number of crocodiles on the banks or shallows with their mouths open. There was a deer carcass floating around and a crocodile was clearly having his breakfast.

After breakfast we packed and got ready for Chinta to arrive as we were going to Ella in the mountains today -about a 3-hour drive. 

Ella is a small town in the Badulla District of Uva Province, Sri Lanka governed by Ella Pradeshiya Sabha. It is approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of 1,041 metres (3,415 ft) above sea level. This is the Southern part of the Central Highlands. The area has a rich biodiversity, dense with numerous varieties of flora and fauna. Ella is surrounded by hills covered with cloud forests and tea plantations. The town has a cooler climate than surrounding lowlands, due to its elevation. The Ella Gap allows views across the southern plains of Sri Lanka.

We clambered into our van and set off and passed a large lake which had a convention of Painted Storks on it and of course Wild Buffalo wallowing in the water with the white egrets on their back keeping them free of bugs.

Driving through Sri Lanka is a workout for your sight sense. There is so much variety and colour. There are the green paddy fields and crops grown everywhere. There is a fantastic variety of trees some of them being very large. There are lots of lakes some covered in green vegetation with lovely lilies flowering and showing off their beauty. There are cows and buffalo everywhere. Then there are the buildings ranging from bamboo and wood huts with reed rooves, to single story huts and houses to larger buildings in the towns which are covered with colour from washing hanging out to billboards and advertisements. There is a wide range of vehicles on the road from mopeds (some carrying up to 4 people) to tuk tuks which are as assorted range of colour to cars, trucks and buses with colourful livery. Then there is the driving to contend with and sometimes it takes your breath away with the closeness of vehicles to each other. How more accidents do not happen I do not know. There is so much to see your sight gets a good workout and rightly so as it is very scenic and beautiful.

We came to a large lake and I recognised it from when I had been before and I recalled a series of trees where the fruit bats slept during the day before they ventured out at night. We went to these trees and sure enough there were hundreds of fruit bats hanging upside down from the trees. It is quiet an amazing sight.

We continued on and after about an hour and a half we started to see the Central Highlands laid out in front of us rising up from the plains. Pidurutalagala is the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, reaching an elevation of 2,524 meters (8,281 ft) near Nuwara Eliya. Other top peaks include Kirigalpotta (2,395m), Thotupola Kanda (2,357m), and Adam’s Peak (Sri Pada, 2,243m), primarily located in the central highlands. Most are located in the Central Province, offering scenic, high-altitude hiking. 

We started to climb and there are only 4 roads through the mountains and they are all b roads. In other words slow and windy and there are lorries and buses to hold you up until you can pass them. The scenery was lovely and began to take an alpine feel with villages perched on the mountainside with sheer drops. There were lots of terraces where they grew rice and crops and it began to feel cooler. We climbed for some time and then stopped at a new modern café for a coffee which also had good cakes.

We continued to climb and then came to a large waterfall called Rawena Waterfall named after an old King. This waterfall came down from the top of the mountain. We got out and went to a viewing area. There were macaque monkeys hanging around and vendors selling drinks and food. The waterfall was quite impressive.

We drove on and came to Ella which was quite a busy place but it is a Sunday. We could not get into our hotel so we parked the van and walked up Little Adams Peak which was about a 30-minute walk up. It was very attractive as we were walking through a tea plantation part of the way and also because of the views down to the flat plains many miles below. We walked up to the top and took some nice pictures and admired the views. You could see the town spread out across the mountainside. Ella is about 1041 meters and Little Adams Peak is 1141m.

We walked back down and decided to go to our hotel otherwise we would have gone to the 9 Arches Bridge but we will do that tomorrow. In fact Chinta took us to the railway station where he could park the van and we took tuk tuks with our luggage to the Rock Hotel which is where we are staying. The lane leading up to the hotel was very steep and we were delayed as a tourist had hired a tuk tuk but could not drive it up the hill. Chinta got out of our tuk tuk and drove it for her.

The hotel was modern and had a fantastic view through the gap between Ella Peak and Little Adams Peak looking down toward the plains. We could also see the top of the Rawena Waterfall and a train bridge where the odd train passed.

Chinta had suggested that we go out to a restaurant called Chill so we agreed to meet him there at 7.00pm.  This is now a bit of a backpacker town and quite trendy for Sri Lanka. The restaurant was very good and we had a good meal. However, the music was quite loud and and the place felt quite upbeat for Sri Lanka but fun.

After the meal we walked back and look forward to exploring more tomorrow.  

The picture of the day is of some of the monkeys in oir path as we went for breakfast.

Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK. 

I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town (mid June to end of July) and from Cape Town to the Azores and then to the UK (mid August onwards). If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com