THE COMPLETE DESTINATION GUIDE
Discover Bandarawela
Bandarawela sits a short distance from Ella along the same hill-country railway line, but sees considerably fewer visitors, giving it a genuinely quieter, more everyday character than its better-known neighbour. Its slightly lower elevation gives it a milder climate than Nuwara Eliya, historically making it a popular retreat, and a number of colonial-era buildings around the town centre reflect this earlier era of hill-country tourism.
The surrounding countryside is given over almost entirely to tea cultivation, and the area's estates offer the same kind of factory tour and tasting experience found around Ella and Nuwara Eliya, typically with fewer other visitors at any given time. The nearby Dowa Rock Temple, with a large Buddha figure carved directly into a rock face beside the main road, is a short, easy stop for travellers passing through rather than a destination requiring dedicated time.
Bandarawela's relative quiet makes it a reasonable base for travellers who want hill-country scenery and tea-estate visits without the busier, more traveller-oriented atmosphere that Ella has developed in recent years, while remaining close enough to Ella's own attractions — the Nine Arches Bridge and the main hiking trails — for an easy day trip. The town's markets and everyday streets also give a more ordinary, lived-in impression of hill-country life than a purely tourist-oriented stop would.
As a smaller, less touristic town, facilities and dining options are more limited here than in Ella, and this is worth factoring into plans. Many visitors treat it as a calm overnight base rather than a place with a single must-see sight, which is very much in keeping with its character.