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Ella Sights and an Udawalawe Safari: All-Inclusive Private Day Trip

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Activity provider: Nelum Holidays and Tours (Pvt) Ltd
Ella Sights and an Udawalawe Safari: All-Inclusive Private Day Trip
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Ella's sights and an Udawalawe game drive in one private day, with the jeep, the park permit and the Elephant Transit Home all included.

Highlights

  • A dawn Udawalawe game drive with the permit and jeep included
  • Around 600 resident elephants on open grassland
  • The Elephant Transit Home, which releases its orphans rather than keeping them
  • The Nine Arch Bridge and Ravana Falls in the afternoon
  • Both halves of Ella in one day for a one-night stay

Ella Sights and an Udawalawe Safari: All-Inclusive Private Day Trip: Key Facts

PriceFrom $351 per person
Duration12 hours
LanguagesEnglish
Tour typeGuided Tour
BookingDirect with the local operator — no OTA markup

Full description

This is the combined day for people staying only one night in Ella and wanting both the town and the wildlife.

The safari comes first because it has to. Udawalawe is two hours south and the animals move at dawn, so the day starts in the dark. The park was created in 1972 around a new reservoir and the farmland the water displaced became open grassland — which is why the roughly six hundred resident elephants are usually in sight within twenty minutes of the gate rather than hidden in forest.

The Elephant Transit Home on the boundary is a rehabilitation centre rather than an orphanage: orphaned calves are raised with minimal human contact and released back to the wild in groups. Feeding is watched from a platform, with no riding, no bathing and no contact.

Then back up the escarpment to Ella for the afternoon: the Nine Arch Bridge, 91 metres of stone built without steel during the First World War, and Ravana Falls beside the road.

The park permit is included here, which is unusual and worth noting when comparing prices — a cheaper listing that excludes it usually is not cheaper.

Tour Itinerary

Itineraries are customisable as per your request

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

4:30 AM

Pickup in Ella

The drive south to Udawalawe.

6:30 AM

Udawalawe gate

Permits already covered; straight in.

7:00 AM

Game drive

Three hours among the herds.

10:30 AM

Elephant Transit Home

The feeding session from the platform.

12:00 PM

Return to Ella

Back up the escarpment.

2:30 PM

Nine Arch Bridge

The viaduct below town.

4:00 PM

Ravana Falls

The cascade south of Ella.

4:30 PM

Drop-off

Back at your hotel.

Detailed Itinerary

[{"time": "04:30", "title": "Hotel pickup", "description": "Two hours each way. The early start gets you in with the first vehicles."}, {"time": "07:00", "title": "In the park", "description": "Open grassland around the reservoir; elephants are usually in sight within twenty minutes."}, {"time": "14:30", "title": "The bridge", "description": "A 20-minute walk down through tea, uphill on the way back."}, {"time": "16:30", "title": "Ella", "description": "Drop-off at your hotel."}]

Includes

  • Private vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup and drop-off in Ella, a private 4x4 safari jeep with driver and tracker, the national park permit, the game drive, all afternoon stops.

Excludes

  • The Elephant Transit Home entrance, meals, gratuities for the driver and tracker.

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 12 hours
Check availability to see starting times
Live tour guide
English
Wheelchair accessible

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Main Tour Price
Starting from $351
$351
Tour Type
WildlifeDay TripPrivate Tour
Need a custom booking or have a larger group?Contact Support via WhatsApp
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

Private vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup and drop-off in Ella, a private 4x4 safari jeep with driver and tracker, the national park permit, the game drive, all afternoon stops.
The duration of the Ella Sights and an Udawalawe Safari: All-Inclusive Private Day Trip is typically 12 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$351