From Kandy to Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya, also called "Little England" is one of the prettiest places in Sri Lanka. Unlike rest of the country, Nuwara Eliya has very few historically important places. Yet, it is one of the most popular place among both native and foreign travelers. This is m ainly because of its welcoming weather and the beauty. Anyone who has visited there will agree to the fact that it is really 'The Little England'.

Planning the Journey

So, as I was dreaming for years, it was time to put a mission in motion. A mission to travel on my own. I have visited Nuwara Eliya several times with my parents, but this time decided to visit there on my own. But I wasn't alone. Three of my best friends joined me on the journey. Planning the trip was not so hard because it was only a one day journey. My friend suggested that we should go by train because she had heard that you can witness the true beauty from the train. Usually the cost to travel by train is less, but travelling to Nuwara Eliya by bus or the train costs the same. We later realized that this is because the rail road takes a longer path than the main road. On the other hand  I had little experience regarding travelling by train, so it was really exciting for me.

April is the best time to visit Nuwara Eliya. The weather is so welcoming at this time of the year. The temperature is at its most comfortable value. But, we couldn't postpone our journey till April because none of us had free time at the time of the year. So we chose to travel late in March. The weather is not very bad in late March. The temperature is optimum and the only problem there will be is light showers that hit the city in the evenings. We also check the weather report of Nuwara Eliya and choose the best date to travel.

At first I thought that I will have to go to the railway station to check the train schedule, but then I found the website of 'Government Information Centre'. Surprisingly the website provided all the information we need. There is no train straight to Nuwara Eliya from kandy. So, we had to catch the train to Baddulla and get off from Nanuoya. The cost for the journey was Rs.90.00 in the third class. There were three trains to Baddulla. We decided to take the earliest train because we had to come back to Kandy on the same day. The earliest train was at 3.30 am. The website said that the train reaches Nanouya at 9.02 am, so there would be plenty of time to look around.

Train to Badulla

The next problem was how to know when we reach Nanuoya Station?'. Yes, it is true that there are boards at every station displaying the name. But, since I had little experience regarding trains, I had to take precautions. So, I look in to the google maps to find the names of stations that comes just prior to Nanuoya station. then we could get an idea about the time we should get ready to get out of the train. After 'Hatton' there are four railway stations before Nanuoya station. They are Kotagala, Thalawakele, walagoda, Great Western and Raddalla. From Nanuoya, we will have to take a bus to Nuwara Eliya. 

We planned to go to Botanic Gardens Hakgala, Nuwara Eliya Victoria Park and the Gregory Lake. then we could catch a bus back to Kandy at about 4.00 pm and come home at about 7.00 pm. 

The next most important thing we had to include to our plan was food, the most important thing of the day. The basic idea of choosing public transport was to finish the trip with minimum cost. We had heard that the price of a decent lunch packet would be closer to Rs. 200.00, which will be a waste of money. So we decided to make sandwiches for both the breakfast and the lunch. We also planned to make sure of our way by logging in to google maps. After planning that, we put our mission in to motion.

From Kandy to Nanuoya by Train

On the day before the journey, we went to bed early hoping to get some sleep because we had to wake up at least 2.30 am to catch the train at 3.30 am. We came to Kandy Railway station and bought our tickets, got in to the train and waited till it starts its journey. We actually forgot to ask someone regarding the side of the train we should sit to witness the most beautiful scenes. So, at first we took a right sided seat. After a while we thought the left side would be much better and changed our position to the left side and it was a mistake. So, if you want to witness the beauty throughout the trip, right sided seats are the best.

The train was nor crowded or deserted. It was a train carrying goods. There were two oil tanks and three compartment for passengers. We couldn't complain about the seats. The seats were not that comfortable, but was adequate. Anyway we were not going on a train to have nice sleep. Soon all the downsides of the train was forgotten once the sun rose. We understood that it is better to avoid seats near the toilet due to the horrible ammonia smell. There was at least one person in each row of seats. Most of them were preparing to sleep. The passengers were not a problem. Passengers were very friendly except for some young males who were talking and hanging on the the door of the compartment, trying to get our attention. The best thing was to ignore them and then there was no problem. Later we found out that they were a bunch of girls and boys who were in the train to get to 'Siripadaya', the mountain top where the foot print of Lord Buddha is present. We also found out that you have to get off from the train at Hatton Station. One of the passengers said that there is a special bus service from the station for those who are travelling to Siripadaya, since it was the season to worship Siripadaya.

First we passed the 'Sarasawiuyana station', where the train stooped for about a minute. Then came the 'Peradeniya station', Gampola Station' and 'Nawalapitiya Station'. The train stopped for about 25 min in  Nawalapitiya Station to get the goods off.

Sarasavi Uyana Railway Station

Nawalapitiya Railway Station

 It was really dark until we got to Nawalapitiya. Then the  golden rays of the sun started to peek through the mountains. It was the most beautiful scene ever. We tried to capture every ray, but the photos didn't come out the same. Maybe I needed to refine my photography skills.

Sunrise 

Bewitched by the breathtaking surroundings, we looked out the windows to grab every moment of it. Since the train was not crowded, we had the opportunity to walk around the compartment and find the best places to look out the windows. We also had the opportunity to stay at the door which is a little dangerous. Not only the sun, but also the mist was also doing its best to enhance the beauty. The mist was there in between the mountains and the trees. It was like the heaven has come down to earth just in front of us.

After passing several other railway halts, we arrived to Galboda and then to Watawala. Even though Watawala is considered as the city receiving the highest amount of rain, at that time it was not rainy. But, there were signs of recent past event of rain.

By this time we passed several tea estates. The mountain tops were covered by tea trees as if they were  wearing green color caps. The occasional water streams running between these estates are able to maximize their beauty by thousands of times. Even though we kept our cameras ready to capture every breath taking scene, we failed to capture most of them because the train was going so fast. The waterfalls were long gone when the picture is taken.

Then we passed Rozella and arrived to Hatton. The train stooped at several stations and stayed for a while at some stations to allow other trains to pass through. Judging by the time the train is taking to get here, we knew that we will not be able to get to Nanuoya at 9.00 am, but couple of hours of delay was not a problem, because we had enough time. At Hatton, most of the people in the train got off. Most of them was going to "Siripadaya Peak". We met a local lady who was very friendly. She said that there are special bus service from Hatton to Nallathanniya for those who are going to Siripadaya Peak. She was very helpful and kind enough to share our breakfast.

The train stopped for about 30 minutes at Hatton railway station. They were transferring more goods in and out of the train. This gave us the opportunity to get out of the train and go to the restaurant and to the wash room. The washroom was no different to that in the train. The smell was horrible. What we didn't understand is why people don't flush the toilets even when the water is supplied by tap lines in to the toilets.

The train left Hatton station in about 30 minutes. Then the train was climbing around another mountain. The railroad is made around the mountain, so we were able to see the same scene at different sea levels. We realized that the train was going in rounds when we saw the same seen over and over again. But we never felt that the train was going in rounds. It was a strange feeling. Few minutes after leaving Hatton, the train was climbing the mountain slowly. One of my friends was looking out at the window. Suddenly she started shouting there it goes, there it goes'. At first I didn't understand what she was talking about. Then the train became slower and stopped at last. After a while we found out that the engine of the train has detached from the rest and left. Thank god the rest of train just stopped. What would have happened if it went backwards? I don't know whether there is a way to stop a train that is going backwards without an engine. It took about another 20 minutes for the engine to come back and the staff to attach it back in to the rest of the train. The same thing happened again after we passed Great Western Station. It was a great experience that I will not forget for my entire life. These two incidences made our journey more unique and interesting.

The Engine Left

We also passed Kotmale dam.

Upper Kothmale Dam

After passing Thalawakele station, Watagoda station Great Western and Raddalla Station, we finally arrived at Nanuoya Station. The time was about 10.10 am. The train was about an hour late. You have to make sure that the tickets are with you all the time. There are officers to check them. Our tickers were checked at the exit from the Nanuoya Station. After coming out to the station, we had to walk few meters to get to the bus.

Galboda Railway Station

Great Western Railway Station

Great Western Railway Station

Inguru Oya Railway Station

Kotagala Railway Staion

From Nanuoya to Nuwara Eliya

Nanuoya Station

It took about 20 minutes to get from Nanuoya to Nuwara Eliya. The bus fee was Rs.23.00 and the bus was not crowded. We all had seats. It was peaceful. There was nothing much interesting on the way. There were only regular houses and gardens. We got off from the bus at Nuwara Eliya bus station, where we were able to grab a bus to Welimada, since we were planning to go to Hakgala Botanical Garden. On the way we also passed 'Seethaeliya'.

Hakgala Botanical Garden firn

The bus was fast and we arrived to Hakgala Botanical garden within about 15 minutes. The garden was amazing. Then we came back by bus and got off at Gregory Lake. We walked form there to Nuwara Eliya Town It was a long walk and we were able to appreciate the beauty of the Nuwara Eliya city as much as we want. There were number of beautiful flowers on either side of the road. Most of them were the once grown by the house owners and hotels. But there were plenty of beautiful flowers growing on their own. We were able to pick some beautiful lilies, some beautiful yellow and purple flowers of which I don't know the names. In Nuwara Eliya city we were able to buy some strawberries, peaches, some 'wal pera' and some pears from some stalls built in the car park.

A Lilly in Nuwara Eliya City

Victoria Park Nuwara Eliya

Then we went back to the Nuwara Eliya bus station and confirmed the time of the last bus back to Kandy. In the bus station there was a time table beside the office, showing the times of the buses. The last bus to Kandy was at 4.30 pm. It was about 3.00 pm, so we decided to visit the Victoria Park since we had some time left.

From Nuwara Eliya to Kandy

The bus left the station at 4.30 pm. It was fast. The road was amazing. In fact Nuwara Eliya Kandy road is one of the most beautiful roads in Sri Lanka. The  road looked gorgeous as it made it way through the amazingly beautiful tea states. Some parts of the road were completely covered with mist, making it impossible to identify anything else outside beside the road. It took only two and half hours to get to Kandy. Finally we went to  our homes with thousands of unforgettable memories.