On the way to the tea plantation covered hill country we went on safari in Yala National Park. We saw Asian elephants (smaller than African elephants with smaller ears), a leopard in a tree, crocodiles, too many birds to count (including the beautiful green Bee Eater), a jackal, mongoose and other critters.
We arrived in the beautiful hill country town of Ella and enjoyed some typical rice and curry with the Sri Lankan Lion beer.
Ella enchanted us with verdant tea plantations, rocky cliffsides, dreamy waterfalls and fun loving backpackers. There are plenty of hikes with different levels of difficulty where you can see monkeys in the trees, tropical flowers and tea pickers on the hillside.
While in Sri Lanka you must try the egg hoppers for breakfast! Made from rice flour and coconut milk, pan fried into bowl shapes and then a fried egg nestled in the center gets topped with sambal. Sambal is chili and spice based, and can be made with coconut meat or tomatoes as shown in the picture below.
After three days enjoying Ella we boarded the train headed for the most important area for tea production, Nuwara Eliya. The train ride was the most beautiful one we have experienced up to date!
