A train ride in paradise: one of the world's most spectacular journeys in Sri Lanka
When we research online about what to see in Sri Lanka, the railway, that runs through the picturesque landscapes always plays a prominent role. Besides of these, of course, you can also read a lot about the must-visit ancient cities, mountain peaks, temples and tea plantations.
Spoiler! It wasn't the original intention to build a beautiful, arched viaduct surrounded by palm trees for tourists to visit. The railway network, as well as the mentioned, iconic Nine Arches Bridge, are a legacy of British colonization. Originally it was created to transport coffee from the plantations (yes, I wrote that correctly, in the first half of the 19th century, Sri Lanka was the world's 3rd largest coffee exporter), and then to deliver tea to Colombo in the western coast. According to the anecdotes, the legendary bridge was built by the British with the help of the locals. It was very difficult to get steel due to the First World War, so only bricks, stone and cement were used, which also required the knowledge of the Sri Lankans (obviously...). At that time, no one thought that one day hundreds of tourists would come here to take pictures in various postures on the birdge to post them on Instagram..
By the way, there are several routes that show different sides of the archipelago.
Some of the most famous routes:
Through tea plantations: Nanu Oya - Ella (approx. 2-4 hours)
If we are only interested in the Nine Arches Bridge: Badulla - Ella (1 hour)
This takes you through the mountains and highlands: Kandy - Demodara (7 hours)
Ocean road: Colombo - Galle (2-5 hours)
At first, we might think, especially if we spend only 1 week in Sri Lanka, that there is so little time and so much to see, then why spending several hours or even half a day to get on a train? Not to mention what might be our first feelings, if the hungarian national railway socialized us. We also hesitated when we put together our itinerary and tried to squeeze everything. In the end, we decided to do it, and what a good decision we made!
"...when our tour guide told me that it was unlikely that there would be any train service due to a national strike, I was quite devastated."
Regarding the circumstances, the beginning of this adventure was quite familiar, not everything went smoothly. I like it when there is a plan or a schedule, so when our tour guide told me that it was unlikely that there would be any train service due to a national strike, I was quite devastated. Since we had plenty of time thanks to this, we went to a restaurant and had a peaceful lunch. After all, the world is more beautiful with a full belly, right? In the meantime, I was still a grumpy cat, because if we had known this, we could have spent more time on the tea plantation and wouldn't have rushed so much. After several phone calls and chats, it turned out that there would be one train that will depart, I think mostly because of the tourists. Joy and happiness, we wouldn't need to skip this! We rushed to the station, which was in a relatively nearby town, Bandarawela. When we arrived at the ticket office, my first thought was, what the hell? How could I have thought, that it would be a good idea? Why would I travel to the other side of the world and do everything to hop on a train in Asia just for fun? We bought the ticket from the grumpy ticket clerk and they said that we could board. Well, not because we are leaving, but because this way we would have a place to stand! Sounds like a good deal, right?
"You can feel some kind of inner peace when you take the train not only to reach your destination, but just to enjoy and observe the scenery."
Then something happened that I didn't even expect. I thought that it would turn out to be a good experience in the end, but I had no idea that it would be so much more! Imagine leaning out of the open carriage of a train that is moving at a comfortable pace. You look at the landscape, the cool afternoon breeze blows, and you glide past the valleys and tea fields. You can feel some kind of inner peace when you take the train not only to reach your destination, but just to enjoy and observe the scenery. We did all this in such a way that a spontaneous party developed in our carriage. A girl sang a few songs, accompanied by a guy with an acoustic guitar. I was on the other side of the world, far away from home, and people from all nations and age groups crammed together on a train humming Despacito and simply enjoying the moment. I couldn't imagine such a thing happening at home. If we would put so many people into such a small place without any system, especially in the middle of a national strike, most probably there would be tension within a short time. It wasn't perfect here either, there were those who paid either more or less attention to oneanother, but there were no fights for 20 centimeters of space. I couldn't care less, about the little guy next to me, who kicked my shoes in every 5 minutes while he was playing around his mom. I was in complete zen after the first 10 minutes. I enjoyed the trip! This was also the kind of moment for which one buys a plane ticket, organizes the trip for herself, breaks away from the group travel framework and starts to explore in complete freedom.
I didn't mind either, that I didn't have a seat. There are many ways to buy a ticket, and it was tempting for me before the trip to buy it online, especially when I saw that there was air-conditioned first class. However, when I found out that it had to be picked up physically at one of the designated stations, I ignored it. Not to mention that it would have been in vain, because of the strike. Usually these tickets can't be reimbursed. Regardless, if someone is interested can purchase it online through the site of the Ministry of Transport or through some agencies with a good reputation: 12goAsia, Visit Sri Lanka Tours. All in all, I think we can still stick with the old-fashioned methods in this instance and buy it at the station an hour before the train leaves. It is even possible that the cashier will be more smiling than the one we met.
"Everyone waved kindly as we passed by."
There are usually three classes of carriages on the trains. If we're lucky, we might even have a seat, but if the train journey is short, I think it's unnecessary. Figuring out which side to sit on, where the scenery is more beautiful, takes away the charm of the whole thing. For us, this spontaneously formed, open carriage experience was unforgettable. Of course, we couldn't miss taking some pictures of us hanging out of the train, which we also saw on the internet. I expected crowds of tourists to fight for this opportunity, but I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone waited for their turn patiently, everyone could spend as much time as they wanted. If you didn't like the picture that was taken, because your belly was too big, or your hairstyle wasn't the best, you could easily go back for another round.
From time to time, we saw people hiking on the paths along the tracks, and locals working in their gardens. Everyone waved kindly as we passed by. This reminded me of the school trips, when we used to wave enthusiastically to everyone we saw from the double-decker bus. The route we originally chose, and the local railway as well with the strike, took us to the famous Nine Arches Bridge. We didn't know if we would just pass by, slow down, or what exactly would happen. Finally, we stopped for a rest of about 15 minutes, when it was possible to get off the train to take pictures. We are Hungarians, so we wisely divided the tasks with Ádi. He got off and took some photos, while I stayed and protected our standing place and backpacks. There were many people at both ends of the bridge who were there just to record the train and its passage. I know it sounds quite crazy, but anyone who has been a part of this spectacle would understand. A beautiful valley bridge built of stone, surrounded by palm trees in the valley with an old-fashioned train passing by. The atmosphere was quite unique. While I was waiting, I saw several drones fighting the wasps, which they disturbed, but luckily they didn't come too near to the train. Our final stop, Demodara, was not far from the bridge. The train ride ended here, we got off and continued our journey to Ella.
All thing considered, is it worth it?
Although we didn't go on the originally planned route, where we could have seen more of the most beautiful tea plantations, it still turned out to be a great experience. As I wrote, the atmosphere was one of its kind. Even though our story had several twists, we were not nervous or tense at all. Despite of the crowd, surprisingly, I was still able to be in zen mode the whole time. The musical duo also played nice music, but it was a lucky coincidence that we travelled with them. Would I hop on a train for half a day or even a whole day? Not sure. Although we can travel through truly fabulous regions by train, it is not the fastest means of transport. I'd rather use that time for something else. They advertise it a lot on the internet, I also read that many people say that we should travel for 4 or even 7 hours and shouldn't miss it. We did choose a shorter option, but we didn't regret it. Think about what your priorities are! How much time do you spend on the island? If you can enjoy this in complete peace regardless of the circumstances, then do it! If this is not really your cup of tea, then choose a shorter route. This way you can check it off your bucket list and also enjoy the view, but with minimizing the unpleasant side of it! You really shouldn't miss it, but you don't necessarily have to devote long hours to it.
Would you try it?
Thanks for reading! Have I caught your interest? Check out the related articles and if you have any questions, write to me or leave a comment!
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