the highlands

jetlag can sometimes be a blessing - we were awake at 5am the next morning and i suggested to hubby that we get a tuk-tuk to the train station and inquire about reserved seats to ella (they hadn't had any when we arrived) as it's a 7 hour train journey and i wasn't keen for a repeat of our trip to kandy. we hesitantly approached the ticket booth and were advised they had first class reserved seats with A/C - we were ecstatic! 

the train journey is spectacular as it meanders through tea plantations and small hamlets, slowing climbing higher into the highlands. we'd envisioned taking pictures from the train windows however it wasn't possible as the windows were filthy! 

we arrived in ella and had a wander around.  it's a cute little town filled with tons of tourists surrounded by tea plantations and gorgeous hillside views. while in ella, we walked to rawana falls - an 80m waterfall, saw heaps of monkeys and visited horton's plain national park. the park is 2hrs from ella and we went to see world's end and little world's end which provide some dramatic views of the canyon. finally, we walked to nine arches bridge, which unsurprisingly is a bridge with nine arches, tons of tourists and
some pretty photo opportunities.