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Ella Hidden Gems Day Tour: The Loop, the Secret Waterfall and Both Peaks

Activity provider: Wanderluxe Ceylon
Ella Hidden Gems Day Tour: The Loop, the Secret Waterfall and Both Peaks
Ella Hidden Gems Day Tour: The Loop, the Secret Waterfall and Both Peaks 2
Ella Hidden Gems Day Tour: The Loop, the Secret Waterfall and Both Peaks 3
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A private Ella day that includes the parts most tours skip: the Demodara Loop, an unmarked waterfall, a train leg, alongside Little Adam's Peak, Ella Rock and the Nine Arch Bridge.

Highlights

  • The Demodara Loop, where the railway spirals under itself to gain height
  • An unmarked waterfall down a track you would not find from a map
  • A short leg on the hill railway rather than a view of it
  • Both Ella walks, with a guide for the unsigned Ella Rock route
  • A private booking, so the day flexes around the trains and the weather

Ella Hidden Gems Day Tour: The Loop, the Secret Waterfall and Both Peaks: Key Facts

PriceFrom $80 per person
Duration9 hours
LanguagesEnglish
Tour typeGuided Tour
BookingDirect with the local operator — no OTA markup

Choose from 3 available options

All-Inclusive Complete Ella Day Tour by Scooter

Choose this if you would rather get around Ella by scooter.
9 hours
English
Pickup
$80
Free cancellation

All-Inclusive Complete Ella Day Tour by Tuk-Tuk

Choose this if you would rather get around Ella by tuk-tuk.
9 hours
English
Pickup
$96
Free cancellation

All-Inclusive Complete Ella Day Tour by Car or Van

Choose this if you would rather get around Ella by car.
9 hours
English
Pickup
$151
Free cancellation

Full description

Ella's famous sights are famous for a reason and they are also, by nine in the morning, full of people. The parts of this day worth paying for are the ones that are not on the standard list.

The Demodara Loop is the best of them. The railway spirals a full circle to pass beneath the station it just left, purely to gain height, and it is a genuine piece of engineering from the era when this line was cut. Almost no visitors make the short trip out to see it.

The secret waterfall is down an unmarked track through tea and rubber below the town. You will not find it from a map, and in the wet season it is considerably more impressive than Ravana Falls, which sits beside a road and has a car park.

A short train leg between Demodara and Ella puts you on the hill line rather than beside it — twenty minutes, and the section everybody photographs.

Alongside those, the day covers the two walks: Little Adam's Peak at first light, and Ella Rock, which is the one that needs a guide because the junction where the route leaves the railway has no sign and several plausible alternatives.

Private, so if the train runs late or cloud comes down, the day reshuffles instead of collapsing.

Ella is a village at 1,040 metres in the southern hill country, reached by the train from Kandy that most people rate the finest railway journey in Asia, and its sights are all within a few kilometres: the Nine Arch Bridge, a brick viaduct of 1921 in a gorge of tea, which a train crosses several times a day; Little Adam's Peak, a 40-minute walk through tea to a ridge; Ella Rock, a harder three-hour climb; and Ravana Falls on the road down to Wellawaya. Mornings are clear and afternoons in the wet months bring cloud into the gap, so the walks are done early. Tuk-tuks are the transport, and every guesthouse can find one.

Tour Itinerary

Itineraries are customisable as per your request

The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.

5:30 AM

Little Adam's Peak

Pickup and the walk up for sunrise.

8:00 AM

Ella Rock

The longer walk with a guide.

11:30 AM

Demodara Loop

The railway spiral.

12:30 PM

Train leg

A short ride on the hill line.

2:00 PM

Nine Arch Bridge

The viaduct below town.

3:00 PM

Secret waterfall

Down an unmarked track through tea.

4:30 PM

Drop-off

Back at your hotel.

Detailed Itinerary

05:30

Hotel pickup

A long day. Say in advance if you want to drop a section.

08:00

Ella Rock

Three hours return on unmarked ground. Moderate fitness and proper shoes.

15:00

The waterfall

An uneven track, slippery after rain. Your driver decides on the day whether the pool is safe to swim in.

16:30

Ella

Drop-off at your hotel.

Includes

  • Private vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup and drop-off in Ella, guiding on both walks, all driving.

Excludes

  • Train tickets, the zipline fee if added, entrance fees, meals and drinks, gratuities.

Important information

Meeting point

Hotel pickup in Ella; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.

Know before you go

  • Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts

About this activity

Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Secure payment
Complete your booking safely with Razorpay. Full refund if you cancel 24h prior. Read more
Duration 9 hours
Check availability to see starting times
Live tour guide
English
Wheelchair accessible

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Main Tour Price
Starting from $80
$80
Tour Type
Day TripPrivate TourNature and Scenery
Need a custom booking or have a larger group?Contact Support via WhatsApp
We reply within 5 minutes
Free cancellation
Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Secure payment
Complete your booking safely with Razorpay. Full refund if you cancel 24h prior. Read more

Frequently Asked Questions

Hotel pickup in Ella; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.
The price does not cover train tickets, the zipline fee if added, entrance fees, meals and drinks, gratuities.. Everything it does cover is listed in full on this page, so if something is not on that list, budget for it separately.
Unless the option says private, this runs as a small group. The operator caps it rather than filling a coach, and if you want it to yourselves the private option is priced separately on this page.
Wanderluxe Ceylon. We book with them directly rather than through a reseller, which is why we can confirm your place with the operator before taking it as final.
We confirm your booking with the operator before we treat it as final, and we need at least one day's notice outside India. Once it is confirmed you get the meeting point, the time and a contact number for the day. If the operator cannot take your date we tell you and refund you rather than leave you waiting.
Private vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup and drop-off in Ella, guiding on both walks, all driving.
The duration of the Ella Hidden Gems Day Tour: The Loop, the Secret Waterfall and Both Peaks is typically 9 hours. We recommend arriving 15 minutes before the scheduled start time for a smooth check-in. Your guide will meet you at the designated meeting point and ensure the experience runs on schedule while remaining flexible to your pace.
For most experiences, we highly recommend an early morning start. This allows you to avoid the midday heat, bypass the largest crowds, and capture the best lighting for photography. Your guide can advise on the optimal timing based on the season and specific attractions included.
Yes, once your booking is completed via our secure payment gateway, you will receive an instant confirmation email with your tour details, meeting point address, guide's name, and direct contact information. You can also view and manage your booking through your AsiaByLocals account dashboard.
Yes! All our private tours are fully customizable. Whether you want to add extra stops, skip certain locations, change the pace, or adjust the start time — simply let your guide know in advance or on the day. We aim to create a personalized experience tailored to your interests and energy level.
We offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the scheduled start time for a full refund. Cancellations within 24 hours may be subject to a partial charge depending on the tour type. Weather-related cancellations for outdoor and boat tours are handled on a case-by-case basis, with full refunds or free rebooking offered when safety is a concern.
Most of our experiences are family-friendly and suitable for children of all ages. However, some tours involving extensive walking, water activities, or early morning starts may be better suited for children aged 5 and above. Please check the specific tour description for age recommendations, or contact us for personalized family itinerary advice.
After booking, you will receive detailed meeting point instructions via email. Most tours include complimentary hotel pickup within the central area. For tours without pickup, your confirmation email will include the exact address, Google Maps pin, and your guide's phone number for easy coordination. Guides typically arrive 10 minutes early and will message you on WhatsApp.
We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), PayPal, Apple Pay, and Razorpay for Indian cards. All payments are processed through a PCI-compliant secure gateway with 256-bit encryption. You can also pay in multiple currencies — the price is automatically converted to your local currency at checkout.
Yes, all AsiaByLocals guides are licensed professionals who have been rigorously vetted through background checks, skill assessments, and customer reviews. Many hold government-issued tourism licenses, university degrees in history or cultural studies, and have years of experience leading tours for international travelers. Every guide maintains a minimum 4.5-star rating to remain active on our platform.
A 20-25 minute walk downhill from Ella town through tea and jungle — uphill on the way back. A tuk-tuk to the Demodara side is quieter and saves the climb. It is free, with no ticket and no official viewing area. See our Nine Arch Bridge guide.
Roughly every two hours, but Sri Lanka Railways runs 30-90 minutes late routinely, so any blog quoting exact times is quoting a timetable rather than reality. Ask at Ella station on the morning — staff will tell you what is expected and how late it is running.
Little Adam's Peak for almost everyone — 45 minutes up a stepped path for arguably the better view, out through the Ella Gap. Ella Rock is three hours return, largely unsigned, and people get lost on it regularly; take a guide or an offline map. Compared in full here.
Reserved seats open 30 days ahead and sell out within hours from December to March. Unreserved 2nd/3rd class is sold on the day and always available — you will stand, which is where the open doorways are. Send your luggage ahead by road if you have a driver. See getting to Ella.
January to March for the clearest Ella Gap views. June to September is dry but hazy from the Uva wind; October to December is wet. The real risk is cloud, not rain — at 1,000 m the view can be inside a cloud on a dry day, and mornings are clearer than afternoons in every month. See best time to visit Ella.
Two nights, which gives you two dawns — Little Adam's Peak on one, Ella Rock or a tea morning on the other, with the bridge mid-morning on day one. Our Ella 2-day itinerary sets out the order.
Do everything before nine in the morning. The Gap view is clearer in the morning in every month, Little Adam's Peak has a queue by nine, and the Nine Arch Bridge has hundreds of people on it by ten.
Starting from$80Free cancellation