Questions about visiting Ella

The classic Ella highlights are the Nine Arches Bridge, the Little Adam's Peak hike, Ella Rock, Ravana Falls and a working Ceylon tea factory. About an hour's drive away is Diyaluma Falls, Sri Lanka's second-highest waterfall, with natural pools you can swim in at the top. For culture there is the Ravana Cave and the Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery. Alpine Activities runs four guided tours from Ella that cover all of these, with hotel pickup included.

Alpine Activities tours cost between $20 and $45 per person. The Heart of Ella day tour, which takes in the Nine Arches Bridge, Little Adam's Peak, a tea factory and Ravana Falls, is $30, plus $6 per person for the tea factory tour, paid on the day. The Diyaluma Falls Adventure is $45. The Spiritual Icons half-day tour and the Ella Rock Hike are $20 each. Prices are in US dollars, include your local guide and hotel pickup, and you pay securely by card when you book online at alpineactivities.lk.

Yes. Hotel pickup is included from Ella, Haputale and Bandarawela for the Heart of Ella, Diyaluma Falls Adventure and Spiritual Icons tours. The Ella Rock Hike starts from Kitalella, just outside Ella town. Tours start at 8am or 9am (Spiritual Icons at 8am or 1pm); you choose when you book, and your guide confirms the exact pickup time on WhatsApp the day before.

Choose a tour at alpineactivities.lk, pick your date, start time, number of guests and pickup hotel, and pay by card in US dollars. Bookings close 24 hours before a tour starts; for anything sooner, message us on WhatsApp. You receive an email confirmation straight away and your guide messages you on WhatsApp the day before with the pickup time. If you want to ask something first, WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us, or email info@alpineactivities.lk.

Between 3 and 6 hours. Heart of Ella and the Diyaluma Falls Adventure are full days of about 6 hours. The Ella Rock Hike takes about 5 hours. Spiritual Icons is a 3-hour half-day tour, so it pairs well with a morning hike or an afternoon train out of Ella.

You can, but the route crosses railway lines and tea estates and is well known for being easy to lose, which is why most visitors go with a local guide. The Alpine Activities Ella Rock Hike takes about 5 hours from Kitalella, is led by a guide who knows the trail in every season, sets a pace to suit your group and costs $20 per person, plus the viewpoint fee near the top, around 930 rupees per adult, paid on the day. Sunrise starts are the most popular.

Yes, in the natural rock pools at the top of the falls, which is exactly where the guided hike on the Diyaluma Falls Adventure takes you. The tour includes a photo stop at the 220-metre base, the hike up to the pools, a traditional Sri Lankan rice-and-curry lunch and the return drive to your hotel. Allow around 6 hours from Ella, including about an hour or more each way on the road.

Yes. It is Ella's most photographed landmark, a colonial-era railway viaduct set in jungle and tea plantations, and it is the first stop on the Alpine Activities Heart of Ella tour. Trains on the Nanu Oya to Badulla line have been crossing again since services through Ella resumed on 20 June 2026, and your guide checks the day's timetable, so you have a good chance of seeing one pass. Entry is free, and there is a full Nine Arches Bridge guide at alpineactivities.lk/blog/nine-arches-bridge-ella.

Ella is a year-round destination. December to March is usually the driest and clearest, so it is the most popular time for hiking and for photographs of the Nine Arches Bridge. The waterfalls are at their fullest after rain, so Ravana Falls and Diyaluma are especially dramatic from October to December. Alpine Activities tours run all year and itineraries adjust to the weather on the day.

Cancel at least 48 hours before your tour's start time for a full refund. Cancellations with less than 48 hours' notice are not refundable. To cancel or move a booking, reply to your confirmation email or message us on WhatsApp.

Alpine Activities is a small, locally run tour company founded by Roshane and Jarnal and based at Ella Alpine Resort in Kitalella, Ella, Sri Lanka. Every tour is led by a local guide who grew up on these trails. The company is rated 5.0 on Tripadvisor and can be reached on WhatsApp, by email at info@alpineactivities.lk, or through the website alpineactivities.lk.