Nuwara Eliya Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

The trip from Kandy takes about four hours and costs Rs 125 in a private intercity express bus or van. It’s a spectacular climb. Buses leave every 30 minutes to an hour. There are also buses to/from Colombo (intercity express Rs 220, six hours). There are direct CTB buses to Haputale (Rs 50, 2½ hours) a few times daily, or more frequent departures to Welimada (Rs 23, one hour), where you can change to a Haputale-bound bus (Rs 22). Similarly, for Bandarawela you have a choice of direct CTB bus (Rs 44, three hours) or you can change local buses at Welimada. To get to Matara on the south coast, one intercity express bus (Rs 260, seven to eight hours) leaves each morning around 7.30am.

Train

Nuwara Eliya does not have its own train station, but is served by Nanu Oya, about 9km along the road towards Hatton and Colombo. Buses (Rs 13 to Nuwara Eliya) meet the main trains, so don’t get sucked in by touts. You can also always take a taxi (Rs 250 to 300) from the station.

The 8.56am Podi Menike from Colombo (via Kandy) reaches Nanu Oya at 1pm. The 9.45am Udarata Menike from Colombo (not via Kandy) reaches Nanu Oya at about 3.40pm. Fares onwards to Badulla in 3rd/2nd/1st class cost Rs 30/119/155. Going west, the Udarata Menike to Colombo (but not stopping in Kandy) leaves Nanu Oya at 9.35am; the Podi Menike leaves at 12.55pm, reaching Kandy at 4.35pm before continuing on to Colombo. Fares to Kandy in 3rd/2nd/1st class cost Rs 51/94/240.

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