Nine Arch Bridge

A stone railway viaduct in the hills outside Ella, in Sri Lanka, and the town’s headline sight. Also called the Bridge in the Sky.

What it is

• Nine arches, carrying the hill railway across a valley on a long curve.
• Completed in 1921, so it passed its centenary just before Harry’s visit.
• Built by a Ceylonese builder — named in the video description as P. K. Appuhami — in consultation with British engineers, and described there as one of the best surviving examples of colonial-era railway construction in the country.
• It is still in use. Trains cross it on the working timetable, and people stand on the bridge to watch them come.

Visiting

• Getting there from Ella is by tuk-tuk, quoted around 1,200 rupees. It is further and harder to reach than the map suggests, and part of the route is unsurfaced — see the warning about paying for speed below.
• The best photograph is from below and to the side, away from the crowd on the deck, where the whole curve of the arches is visible.
• A coconut stand sits at the viewpoint: king coconuts at 150 rupees, opened with a knife in front of you.
• There is a security officer on site.
• It is busy. Harry notes the crowd and then notes, after a viewer pointed it out, that he is part of it.

Harry’s tips

• Don’t pay your driver a bonus for speed. He offered 1,500 rupees against a 1,200 quote to get there quickly, and was taken the long way round for the larger fare — losing a race to the friend whose driver took the direct route and charged least. See agree the price before it starts.
• Time it for a train, which is what everyone on the deck is waiting for.
• Walk down for the photo rather than shooting from where you arrive.

Source

• The Most BEAUTIFUL place in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHfoPiIeL-U