Nine Arches Bridge, Ella: How to Get There, Train Times and the Best Views

By Jarnal Kalsi · 6 October 2026 · Updated 18 October 2026 · 9 min read

The Nine Arches Bridge is a concrete railway viaduct at Gotuwela near Demodara, just outside Ella in Sri Lanka's hill country. It sits between Ella and Demodara stations, about 2 to 3 km from Ella town, and it is free to visit. Trains are running over it again: passenger services between Nanu Oya and Badulla, the stretch that passes through Ella, resumed on 20 June 2026 after the cyclone repairs.

It is the first stop on our Heart of Ella tour, and this guide is what we tell friends who ask how to see it well on their own.

The bridge at a glance

• Where: Gotuwela near Demodara, on the railway between Ella and Demodara stations, Uva Province
• From Ella town: about 20 to 45 minutes on foot, or a short tuk-tuk ride plus a 5 to 10 minute walk down
• Size: nine arches of 30 feet (about 9 metres) each; guides usually say 91 metres long and 24 metres high, but its designer recorded about 400 feet long and just over 100 feet (30 metres) from rail to stream
• Built: from about 1917, finished in January 1919 according to its designer; most guides say 1921
• Entry: free, there is no ticket
• Best time: early morning, before the crowds arrive around 9am

How to get to the Nine Arches Bridge from Ella

Walk from town

The easiest walk follows the Ella to Passara road out of town, then turns off onto a signed footpath that drops down through the trees to the bridge. Allow 20 to 45 minutes depending on your pace and how often you stop for photos. The path is steep and muddy in places after rain, so wear shoes with grip rather than flip-flops.

Walk along the railway

Many people walk the tracks from Ella station, which takes around 45 minutes and passes a smaller bridge on the way. It is a live railway line with no barriers, so keep to the side, listen for horns and step well clear long before a train reaches you.

Tuk-tuk

A tuk-tuk from town takes you to the parking area above the bridge, and from there it is a 5 to 10 minute walk down. Agree the fare before you get in, or ask your guesthouse to call a driver they know.

On a guided tour

The Nine Arches Bridge is the first stop on our Heart of Ella day tour. We collect you from your hotel in Ella, Haputale or Bandarawela, your guide times the visit to catch a train where possible, and the day carries on to a working tea factory, Little Adam's Peak and Ravana Falls.

When do trains cross the Nine Arches Bridge?

Several trains a day cross the bridge, running between Nanu Oya and Badulla through Ella. Cyclone Ditwah damaged the line in late 2025 and the section through Ella reopened to passengers on 20 June 2026. The stretch between Kandy and Nanu Oya was still being repaired in October 2026, so trains do not yet run all the way from Kandy.

We do not print a timetable here because times have changed since the repairs and trains often run 30 minutes or more late. Check the day's times at Ella station, or ask your guesthouse or the cafés above the bridge. Then arrive early and be patient: you will hear the horn before the train comes round the bend.

Best time to visit

Go early. Before about 8am the light is soft, the mist is often still lifting off the valley and you may have the bridge almost to yourself. Crowds build from around 9am and the middle of the day is busy and hot. Late afternoon brings warmer light and fewer tour groups.

In the year, December to March is usually the driest and clearest. The bridge is just as beautiful in the green months, but bring a rain jacket and expect the paths to be slippery.

Where to get the best view

• On the bridge itself, for the classic shot down the line of arches. Only when no train is due.
• The café terraces on the hillside above the bridge, which look down on the curve and the tunnel mouth. Buy a tea and you can wait there for a train in the shade.
• The slopes facing the bridge, for the side-on view of all nine arches. These are working tea fields on private land, so ask the pickers before you walk in and stay on the paths.
• The trail above the tunnel on the Ella side, which climbs to a clearing looking over the tracks.

The real history of the bridge

You will often hear that the British seized the steel for this bridge for the First World War, so it was built without any. No record says so. The bridge was designed by Harold Cuthbert Marwood, the railway engineer in charge of this section, and he wrote up the whole job in a paper read to the Engineering Association of Ceylon in 1922. In the discussion afterwards, the chief construction engineer, M. Cole Bowen, explained that steelwork was impossible to obtain from England, while cement was available at a reasonable price, so they chose concrete. The piers are mass concrete, and the brick look comes from cement blocks made on site.

The curve came first. The line down to Badulla drops about 2,000 feet in 20 miles, and here it swings round a ravine on ground that kept slipping. On a tight curve, short spans are safer, so Marwood chose nine arches of 30 feet each. The arches themselves run straight, and wedge-shaped piers do the turning.

The site was about two miles from any road, so nearly every load came up by pack bull. The wooden frames for the arches were Burma teak, the only machines were a concrete mixer, a crane and two derricks, and local workers built it under British engineers. Marwood recorded that it was finished in January 1919, two years after work began; the 1921 date on many signs is most likely when the line beyond Demodara opened.

Local folklore also tells of a Sri Lankan builder, P. K. Appuhami, who is said to have built the bridge; no document names him, though he may have been one of the local contractors who supplied the labour. In 2023 the bridge was gazetted as a protected ancient monument, with 100 metres of track on each side.

Railway fans should also look for the Demodara Loop, near the next station along the line, where the track circles a hill and passes through a tunnel underneath Demodara station to lose height on its way down to Badulla.

Staying safe at the bridge

• It is a working railway with no railings. Leave the tracks as soon as you hear a horn, and never stand on the bridge as a train approaches.
• Do not sit on the edges or climb the parapets for photos.
• The stone and the paths are slippery when wet. Wear shoes with grip.
• In wet weather there can be leeches in the tea and jungle. Long socks help.
• Take your rubbish back with you. There are no bins on the line.

Make a day of it

The bridge takes an hour or so, which leaves the rest of the day free. Little Adam's Peak is close by and an easy climb, Ravana Falls is a short drive down the Wellawaya road, and there are working tea factories all around Ella. Our Ella travel guide covers the rest of the area, or see all of our tours in Ella.