We had a lot of distance to cover today to make our way back down to sea level. This meant we needed to be packed, breakfasted and on the bus by 7:30. We left Nawara Eliya on time as we made our way to our first major stop of the day at Ella.
Ella is a small town that is approximately 200 kilometres east of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of 1,041 metres. The area has rich bio-diversity, dense with numerous varieties of flora and fauna and is surrounded by hills covered with cloud forests and tea plantations. Like Nawara Eliya, it has a cooler climate than surrounding lowlands, due to its elevation. At my first glance Ella seems to have a lot more western style shops than other towns, as it is now a stepping off point for hiking and adventure activities aimed at the backpacker tourism market.
Close to Ella is the a famous railway bridge called the Nine Arches Bridge which is a viaduct bridge and one of the best examples of colonial-era railway construction in the country. The bridge was built entirely by local labor under British supervision, and faced significant logistical challenges, including difficult terrain and material transport. It was completed in 1919 and is still in use today.
Following our stop at Ella, we continued to descend on some very windy roads. We were expertly driven by our bus driver who also had to navigate the plethora of vehicles, such as tuk-tuks, motor bikes, trucks and buses that are all capable of different speeds. This is typical of sub-continental traffic, but I do still want to shut my eyes at times. In the end it always seems to work out. By about 1:30, we reached our lunch destination for another curry and rice meal.
After lunch, it was time to head to the Yala National Park for a safari. Yala (යාල) National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean. The park covers 979 square kilometres and is located about 300 kilometres from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900. The park is best known for its variety of wildlife and is important conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and aquatic birds.
We drove around the park spotting water buffaloes, wild boars, spotted deer, crocodiles and a huge array of birds. Parts of this park were inunadated by the 2004 tsanami that affected many parts of south-east asia. Forty-seven people were known to have died at the park, however it is believed that most of the elephant population made their way further inland prior to the tsunami arriving. We had to leave the park by 6 PM just as the sun was setting.
We have an early start tomorrow to go a different part of the park, so I’ll post some more safari pictures then.
Until tomorrow
Rob's "Beats Working" Blog 