Where to stay in Ella

The one main street and its offshoots hold most of Ella's cafés, restaurants, bars and guesthouses, with the trailheads for Little Adam's Peak and the Nine Arch Bridge starting a short walk away. It is the most convenient and sociable base, everything on foot, and the station close by, though the centre has grown busy and a little traffic-choked in season, so light sleepers may prefer a room set back on the slopes.

The tea-covered ridges around Ella, along the Passara Road and the slopes towards Little Adam's Peak, hold the area's finest boutique hotels and estate retreats, many with infinity pools and chalets facing the Ella Gap or the mountains. Cooler, greener and blissfully quiet, they are the choice for a romantic or restful splurge, at the cost of a steep walk or a short tuk-tuk ride down to the town's cafés and the station.

The green, rural pocket below and around the Nine Arch Bridge, where guesthouses and small hotels sit among tea and jungle with the famous viaduct, and its passing trains, within a short walk. Peaceful and photogenic, it's a lovely, better-value alternative to the town's bustle, especially for catching the bridge early before the crowds, though services are thinner and you'll walk or ride a tuk-tuk into the centre for dinner.

The practical, low-key area around Ella's railway station and out towards Demodara, famous for its looping railway spiral, where budget guesthouses and homestays offer some of the best value in the hills. It suits rail arrivals and those watching the pennies, with the trains and a laid-back local feel on hand, though it lacks the cafés and the views of the town and ridges, and you'll head into the centre for the evening.