Saturday 14th February 2026

Dowa Rock Temple :  Nine Arch Bridge : Little Adams Peak : Ella

Well, we have another beautiful view from this hotel, which is in the Central Mountains of Uva.  The distance from here to the capital city, Colombo is 210 km, and to Kandy, it is 120km.

Our itinerary today is full, including a couple of hours hike; at the end of the day, we will return to the same hotel.

Having read about a rock cave temple that was more or less on our route, we asked Anoura if we could do the slight detour.  He happily agreed.

Dowa Rock Temple has an 11metres high Buddha statue and a Cave Temple Complex.  On the roadside, only a stupa and a car park are visible; a stairway leads downwards to the hidden marvels.

Although we had all known that we had hoped to visit this site this morning, both Dave and I were inappropriately dressed; we were both wearing shorts.  Usually we would be wearing long trousers to visit a religious sight as is required.

For some reason, we hadn’t thought about it properly.  Dave said he was happy waiting outside taking some photos of the stallholders selling their different products including offerings for the temple.  I of course wanted to visit the Buddhist Site.

Thankfully Pete came to the rescue, he lent me his fleece which we fashioned into a skirt, by zipping it up and then I stepped into it and tied the arms around my waist. It did the trick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anura and the three of us descended the steps, and then with Anura’s help, we had to scramble upwards and across some rock to be able to view the imposing carving.

I stood in front of the weathered sculpture of Buddha, its stone surface is worn and pitted by centuries, the lichen growing on it adds to its timeless grandeur.

After sometime we scrambled back down, and leaving our footwear outside, we entered the cave temple which is built into the rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cave temple is spectacular.  Elaborate colourful murals cover the walls, seated Buddha statues surround one of the cave chambers, a statue of a reclining Buddha is in another, and the low rock undulating ceilings are brightly painted with traditional Kandyan style art.

My concern was that in Sri Lanka, the rule is not to stand with your back to a representation of Buddha; it was impossible!

There are statues of Buddha and his two chief male disciples.  One of the disciples is portrayed as being blue.  Apparently, in ancient Sri Lankan art, a blue coloured pigment was used to depict a person with dark skin colour.

Anura informed us that we had to watch the time as we didn’t want to miss seeing the train on the viaduct, so we left the intriguing temple.

As we were walking back to the minibus, lots of folk were walking to the temple.  One group of young ladies were clearly giggling at my make-do attire. I stopped, and we chatted and laughed together even though we couldn’t speak the other one’s language.

A one pound coin had been going backwards and forwards between us couples.  Just one of the many silly and fun things we do. The four of us had a little bet on something, Pete and Anne lost so we had the coin.  I thanked Pete for the loan of his ‘skirt’ and he said “that was a £1!”  So they got the coin back.

By the end of the day, Dave and I had it back in our possession. I had offered Anne a custard cream biscuit, and when she said “oh yes please” licking her lips,  I told her they were 4 for £1!  I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist!

We set off to the Nine Arch Bridge, the heavily hyped tourist attraction was built during the British colonial era.

A couple of tuk tuks transported us down a steep, muddy 1.5 km narrow track, and then we walked along the railway tracks to the railway viaduct.

 

 

 

 

 

The bridge is quite an impressive sight to see, it is 91 metres long. It was completed in 1921 without the use of steel. Quite a lot of tourists were wandering over the bridge and photographing it from different angles.

After a short time, Anura informed us that he had just learnt that the train would be 40 minutes late and asked us if we wanted to wait or not.

The four of us agreed that the time waiting would eat more into our already busy schedule; we had seen the bridge, and been on the train, so we decided to leave.

The tuk tuks were doing a roaring trade (and also charging inflated prices), carrying people up and down the hill. The dirt track had just enough room for two of the tiny vehicles to pass each other.

Our next stop was Little Adams Peak, where we would do a hike which promised stunning panoramic views of lush tea plantations, and the surrounding Uva Highlands.  A zip line was also available to do, and Pete was seriously considering doing it.

Shortly after we had arrived, the clouds descended, the heavens opened, and it started to pour down.

Donning our cagoules, we rushed to shelter close to the zip line ticket office.

The zip line was closed as the weather became heavier.

We kept hoping that the rain would ease off so we could start the hike, but it really didn’t look promising.  Hikers were arriving back absolutely drenched; they were taking their t-shirts off and wringing them out.  Their footwear was thick with mud as the trail had soon turned boglike.

A short while later, Anura checked the weather forecast, and advised us that the inclement weather was expected to continue until 5pm.  He said that there was no real option but to return to the hotel.

The four of us decided we may as well go to Ella, have a walk around, and some lunch.  Ella is apparently a backpackers’ paradise.

It was still drizzling when we arrived, but at least it wasn’t pouring down!  Dave and I went for something to eat while Pete and Anne went for a wander.

 

 

 

 

 

After a bite to eat, we walked along Ella’s main street, we saw the bread tuk tuk and also spotted a police tuk tuk.

Almost an hour before we were due to leave, we bumped into each other and agreed that we were ready to return to the hotel.  As Pete said, the place was mainly bars and spas, and of course, a few souvenir stores.

By doing this, Anura would also have an extra hour to return home. He had informed us yesterday that he was returning to Colombo today to start another tour. Danesh, our original driver, would be joining us again early this evening.  Both guides were travelling by bus.

Back at the hotel, we chilled out for a couple of hours before dinner.  Danesh arrived as expected, and we were pleased to see him.

 

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