Nuwara Eliya to Tissamaharama (Yala) taxi: private transfer at a fixed price

From Nuwara Eliya the driver leaves past Lake Gregory and the Hakgala Botanical Garden, then follows the A5 down through vegetable terraces to Welimada. From there there are two good ways down off the hills, and the driver picks the one that suits the day. One continues to Bandarawela and Ella, then drops through the Ella Gap past Rawana Falls on the long, winding road to Wellawaya. The other runs along the ridge to Haputale and Beragala and comes down past Koslanda, near Diyaluma Falls, to the same town. Wellawaya marks the bottom of the hills. From there the road runs south through Thanamalwila and dry, thinly settled country to Tissamaharama, where the big white dagoba and the Tissa Wewa reservoir greet you on the way in. Without stops, allow about 3 hours 35 minutes. If you want to pause at Rawana Falls or for lunch in Ella, plan on four and a half to five hours.

The first half of this drive is all bends. The A5 below Hakgala winds down a steep hillside of market gardens, with lorries carrying cabbages and carrots to Colombo and buses taking the corners wide. Whether the driver goes via Ella or via Haputale, the descent to Wellawaya is long and twisting, with sheer drops on the valley side and very little room to pass; it is driven in second gear and it is the reason the trip takes longer than the distance suggests. Mist can sit on the road above Welimada or around Haputale until mid-morning. Once at Wellawaya the road flattens and straightens, and the last hour to Tissa is easy driving on a quiet road. Wild elephants are a real presence in this dry-zone country, especially towards dusk, which is one more reason to arrive in daylight.

Two people travelling light are fine in the economy sedan, which takes up to three passengers and three bags. The comfort sedan is worth considering for the long descent, as it rides the bends more smoothly and has room for four bags, which matters if you are carrying both warm clothes for the hills and beach gear for later. Families and groups should take the Comfort van (6 seats), or the 8-seat van for seven or eight people. If anyone in your group suffers from car sickness, tell the driver: he will take the bends gently and stop at a viewpoint halfway. Child seats are free on request. Your safari is done in a separate open jeep from Tissa, arranged through your hotel or a local operator, not in this car.

There is no railway to Tissamaharama; the hill-country line ends at Badulla, well to the north. The public option is the bus, which means at least one change, usually at Welimada or Wellawaya, on crowded vehicles with little room for bags, and most of a day on the road. Some travellers combine the train from Nanu Oya to Ella with a taxi from Ella to Tissa, which works well if you want the famous train ride and have a free afternoon in Ella. If you would rather keep the same driver for several days, from the hills to Yala and on along the south coast, hiring a car with driver by the day can be the better arrangement.

Leave Nuwara Eliya around 08:00 or 09:00, once the morning mist has started to lift, and you arrive in Tissa in the early afternoon. That leaves time for an afternoon game drive in Yala if you want one, or a quiet evening by the reservoir before a pre-dawn morning safari. Avoid driving the descent after dark: the bends are unlit and elephants cross the lower roads in the evening. Nuwara Eliya can be wet at any time, with the south-west monsoon bringing rain to the western slopes from about May to September and the north-east monsoon soaking the Uva side, around Ella and Wellawaya, from about October to January. Yala’s main block usually closes for a few weeks in the driest part of the year, often around September and October, so check before you plan the trip.