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View all Kandy toursKandy to Nuwara Eliya or Nanu Oya Transfer with the Ella Train Connection
A guided transfer from Kandy up into the tea country with drop-off either in Nuwara Eliya or at Nanu Oya station, timed so you can pick up the famous train on to Ella the same afternoon.
Highlights
- Drop-off in Nuwara Eliya or at Nanu Oya station for the Ella train
- Ramboda Falls and a working tea factory on the climb
- The Hakgala botanic gardens, with roses, tree ferns and blue magpies
- Colonial Nuwara Eliya at 1,900 metres
- Timed so you can join the hill train the same afternoon
Kandy to Nuwara Eliya or Nanu Oya Transfer with the Ella Train Connection: Key Facts
| Price | From $36.5 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 7 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
Nanu Oya is the station for Nuwara Eliya and the point where most people join the Ella train, and getting there by road with stops beats sitting on the slow northern half of the line.
The drive climbs out of Kandy through Gampola and Pussellawa, and about halfway up the forest gives way to tea. Ramboda Falls is the first proper stop, a 100-metre drop a short walk from the road. A working tea factory follows, taking the leaf through withering, rolling, oxidation and firing to the grading table — the single best explanation of why the same bush produces six different products.
Nuwara Eliya at 1,900 metres is the hill station the British built and never quite finished making English, with a racecourse, a golf course and Hakgala botanical gardens a few kilometres south, where roses and tree ferns grow together and the blue magpies come to the visitors.
Where you are dropped is your choice: at your Nuwara Eliya hotel, or at Nanu Oya station in time for the afternoon train to Ella.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup in Kandy
Collection with luggage.
Ramboda Falls
A stop on the climb.
Tea factory
The process and a tasting.
Nuwara Eliya
The town, the lake and Hakgala gardens.
Drop-off
At your hotel or at Nanu Oya station.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "08:00", "title": "Hotel pickup", "description": "Three hours of climbing with stops."}, {"time": "11:00", "title": "Tea factory", "description": "Closed on poya days; an estate walk substitutes."}, {"time": "12:30", "title": "Nuwara Eliya", "description": "Hakgala is 10 km south of the town and has a separate entrance fee."}, {"time": "15:00", "title": "Nanu Oya or hotel", "description": "If you are catching the train, tell the operator the departure time when booking."}]
Includes
- Private air-conditioned car with an English-speaking driver-guide, hotel pickup in Kandy, all stops, drop-off in Nuwara Eliya or at Nanu Oya station, luggage carried throughout.
Excludes
- Train tickets, entrance fees at the gardens or factory, meals and drinks, gratuities.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Kandy; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts