Wanderlust - 04.2020

viaKadugannawa(hometothe

island’snationaltrainmuseum),

wherethetrackinclinesnearly

430minjustover20km.

FromKandy,continueto

Hatton,acolonial-eramarket

townsurroundedbyabreath-

catchingsceneofteaestates,

lakesandforests.Navigateestate

trailsonfootandtourtea

factoriesbuzzingwithclunky,

century-oldmachinery.Stopfor

lunchatNuwaraEliya,aformer

Britishhillstationdatingbackto

1847,a15-minutedrivefrom

NanuOyastation.

AtPattipolathetrackreaches

itshighestaltitude(1,898m)

Shutterstock;

4Corners

SRILANKA

wanderlust.co.uk April 2020 91

DURATION12Œ14days

ROUT o•Kandy

• Hatto raEliya


• Haput •Demodera
  WHYDOIT?Toexperience
  oneo stscenictrain
  route orld.

TheMainLineRailwaywasbuilt

inthelate19thcenturyto

transportco˜ee,andlatertea,

betweenthehillsandColombo

incolonial-era‘Ceylon’.Ittook

over 50 yearstocomplete,and

thetrackcrosseswaterfalls,

climbssteepescarpmentsand

tunnelsthrough 46 hills.Takeit

allinonaslowjourney,hopping

onando˜toexplorekeysights.

Second-classcarriagesreward

with better views as you can

open the windows.

Begin in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s

multi-ethnic capital city, and get

your bearings on a Colombo City

Walk (colombocitywalks.com).

Join charming, in-the-know

guide Mark Forbes as he takes

you through key precincts such

as the Pettah Market district and

Colombo Fort.

Then board a train from Fort

Railway Station to cultural Kandy

The Mail Line rail route

Bestfor:Railways,colonialhistory,

dramaticlandscapes,teaestates&trekking

⊳

beforeitdescendsintoSir

ThomasLiptonterritoryand

Haputale,alongridgemarked

byviewpointwalks.The

widescreenpanoramasreveal

low-lyingplainsandhazy

glimpsesoftheIndianOcean,

75kminthedistance.

Togettoend-of-the-line

BadullayoucrosstheNine

ArchesBridge,althoughthere

arebetterplacestostaynear

Demodera,wherethetrack

makesa360-degreeloopunder

andintothestation.Ortryin

Ella,wherethemountainshikes

areupthroughmistyteaestates

andoldpineforests.

II

III

IIII

III

III

III

II

III

II

III

IIIIII

III

IIII

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

III

II IIIIII I

II

IIII

III

III

II

II

III

IIII

II

III

III

I

III

II

I

III

III IIIIII

IIIIIIIII

II

IIII

II

II

III

IIII II

IIII

II

II

II

IIII

II

III

III

III

II

II K

nu

ck

les

Ra

ng

e

III

IIIIII

Kandy

Matale

Kadugannawa

Dambadeniya

Nuwara

Eliya

Pattipola

Haputale

Demodera

Badulla

Ella

COLOMBO

0 20 km

(Hill Country)Hatton

⊳