We stopped in 2 towns during our tour of the hill country: Nuwara Eliya and Ella. Nuwara Eliya is an old colonial town while Ella is more like a recently created tourist destination.
Hill Country — Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya’s temperate climate gives this town a very different vibe. It is located in the center of a valley surrounded by hills including the tallest mountain in the country, immense tea plantations and picturesque waterfalls including Dunhinda Falls. The British colonials loved this town because of its moderate climate. You might think of Sri Lanka as a tropical paradise (which it is) but includes the moderate climate zones where fruits like apples and strawberries are grown. Leeks are a major crop in backyard gardens surrounding the town — but we never saw them on any menu. We had dinner at the Hill Club — a special experience which took us back 100 years as we were served and toured around the grounds by servers in period costumes. There are paths in the nearby hills through the tea plantations and we hiked to the World’s End with an 800m vertical drop which we did not attempt to ascend — do this hike early in the morning because fog builds up and impedes your view of the plains.

Accomodations — Nuwara Eliya We stayed at Roshan Guesthouse. It’s a recently built 4-room B&B owned by a young couple, Roshan and his wife. Its on a hill with an outstanding view overlooking the town with a convenient path that takes you down the hill through vegetable gardens right into the middle of town. We rate this high on our list of places to stay in Sri Lanka. The owners live in town and show up every morning to cook up a big western breakfast. It’s only small drawback is that you need a local to guide you up the maze of streets on the side of the hill to reach the place. Roshan Guesthouse address is: No 48 Under Bank, Water Field Drive, Nuwara Eliya City Center, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka 22200 Nuwara Eliya City Center, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka 22200 Hill Country — Ella

The second town we visited, Ella, is a beautiful small backpacker-hub on the southern edge of Sri Lanka’s Hill Country. It has become the go-to town in the hill country for tourists and as a result has a reasonably well-established tourism-orientated economy. For example, there is an espresso coffee and fish and chips shop as well as backpacker-style bars aimed solely at the visitor. It’s basically a nice relaxing base for exploring the surrounding country. Ella’s situated in the middle of beautiful countryside, with small vegetable plots in the valleys, tea plantations on the hill slopes and forests on the tops. Some of the finest tea in the world is grown around here where elevations exceeding 4,000 feet. The climate throughout most of the year is typical of the high Hill Country, with a hot sun by midday, but a moderate air temperature. It will often rain in the afternoon, but only for an hour or so.

William befriending the tea pickers Demodara Nine Arch Bridge We walked about 30 minutes from the center of town, past a tea factory and ended up at a little juice bar with a brilliant view of the bridge. The owner of the bar knows exactly what time and which direction the train will be crossing the bridge. We got some great pics on the bridge, and there were several tuk tuks on the other side to take you back to the town if you didn’t fancy the walk! Definitely worth the trek and a major highlight of Ella. 3 Travelers sampling at the Train Bridge Juice Bar
Little Adam’s Peak Little Adam’s Peak can be treked from the town itself. I am not going to lie, there are a few stairs (291) and I was happy to reach the top a little winded. The view is definitely worth it and no doubt you will get some great photos of the surrounding valleys. If you want something more challenging after you reach the top you can still try to trek some other summits. Spectacular View from Little Adam’s Peak
Accomodations — Ella We stayed at the Lark Nest Hotel which is 14km outside of Ella. This turned out to be good accommodations — good rooms, nice restaurant, good western or Sri Lankan menu and reasonably priced. The problem was it took 25 minutes to get into town and the tuktuk drivers charged a premium to pickup/dropoff to/from this location. So, my recommendation is to stay in Ella. There are a number of cheap guesthouses scattered around the center of town. The issue with us was the fact we always need to book every part of our adventure before we leave home — but it seems the dozens of guesthouses in Ella are not Google searchable but don’t worry about arriving in Ella without a place to stay because there is a plenty of accommodation.