Those who say ‘it’s about the journey, not the destination’ may have been on this train through Sri Lanka’s Central Province.
The local train journey is known as one of the most scenic train rides in the world and it lives up to expectation.
I’ve loved train travel ever since I was young when our family outings to Fremantle, Western Australia involved catching the train which was exciting for a child.
My childlike curiosity and love for going on adventures hasn’t slowed down.
I’ve since travelled around Europe, the UK and India by train and love nothing more than gazing out the window at the world passing by, getting a glimpse into the way people live and farm.
The train route between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya is known as one of the most scenic train rides in the world.
The train’s carriages are a pretty shade of blue and the tracks wind through quaint stone tunnels, along viaducts overlooking lush green countryside, tea fields and scenic valleys and rivers.
Catching the scenic blue train to Ella, Sri Lanka
Asha and I travelled by train between the country’s former capital city Kandy and the mountainous hiking destination Ella. You can see my video of our adventure here or read on and watch it at the bottom of this article.
This train route in Sri Lanka is rapidly gaining popularity with Westerners thanks to the incredible photos on social media of people hanging out the side of trains over pretty views.
The train carriages have open doors and pretty relaxed rules – only once did a security guard motion for me to move back inside the carriage.
These train journeys not only offer a great view, but a chance to meet and chat with locals.
I had a funny moment meeting some local guys. We were taking turns getting photos out the carriage door, when they took an interest in my professional camera and asked me to take their picture.
All of a sudden I was involved in an impromptu photoshoot with them, showing them my camera and letting them have a go too.
It was so sweet, they laughed at the pics and insisted in broken English that I send them on Messenger right away.
This actually happened several times throughout my trip in Sri Lanka. Most locals only have cheap phones (it’s rare to see an iPhone, let alone a proper camera) so they’re excited to have their picture taken and are quick to upload the pics to social media.
How to book the train ticket for Kandy to Ella
One thing we learnt in Sri Lanka is don’t believe everything you hear! There is a lot of misinformation, even from official train ticket offices.
We were told by local travel agents in Kandy that the train tickets were already booked out months in advance.
The staff at the Kandy Train Station told us the better tickets were sold out but we could turn up on the day to purchase third-class tickets.
So we got there nice and early to buy our train tickets, and were actually given the choice of second- or third-class tickets. We opted for the fancier ones at a bargain price of 230LKR ($2AUD) for a six hour train journey.
Our journey ended up taking longer…
Our train suddenly stopped half way and an announcement came over the speaker in Sinhalese. All the locals stood up and started getting off.
We had no idea what was happening but luckily my newfound train friends explained and we followed them onto a replacement bus to get to the next train station to continue our journey.
I would definitely recommend travelling by train in Sri Lanka, not just as a mode of transport, but as an attraction in itself.
It was really sweet to see even the locals, who lived alongside the tracks, offering smiles and waves to the passengers on the passing trains.
What wonderfully warm people.
The vendors pacing the carriages selling tasty snacks was also a highlight, getting to try the dhal vadas and deep-fried rotis.
I have also caught a train cross country from Batticaloa in the far east to Colombo on the west coast to go to the airport.
This was a smooth and enjoyable ride and an affordable option for getting across to the airport and it certainly beats the night bus.
More on that dreaded night bus in my next post…
Until then, here is my video of this epic train ride below.
