---
type: Place
title: Nine Arch Bridge
description: The 1921 colonial railway viaduct outside Ella — nine stone arches carrying working trains across a valley, with a coconut stand at the viewpoint and a photo spot below the crowd.
tags: [sri-lanka, ella, nine-arch-bridge, railways, colonial, viewpoints]
coordinates: {lat: 6.8769, lng: 81.0607}
timestamp: 2026-08-06T15:50:00Z
---

# Nine Arch Bridge

A stone railway viaduct in the hills outside [Ella](/places/ella.md), in
[Sri Lanka](/countries/sri-lanka.md), 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](/tips/agree-the-price-before-it-starts.md).
- **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 🇱🇰](/videos/CHfoPiIeL-U.md) —
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHfoPiIeL-U