Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 ~”Nine Arches Bridge in Ella”
With perfect timing, we made our way to the Nine Arches Bridge, from our villa; about a 20 minute drive in a Tuk Tuk, on the only bad road we have experienced in Sri Lanka. We made a quick run for it, when we had the slightest break in the rain. (well, nobody ran). From the Tuk Tuk, we carefully made our way down the slippery slope of the jungle path, to reach the train tracks below.
We had been told no scheduled trains would be going by, just before we started crossing the bridge. All of a sudden, people were running towards us to get off the bridge, and then we heard the long, loud train whistle. We had an unscheduled train, coming our way! We turned to get off the bridge, and watched as the train crossed.
It was just about the most perfect timing for everything, on this day of adventuring; the timing of the train, and a break in the weather. After we were done hanging out on the bridge and at the tunnel, we made our way, slowly, back up the slippery slope jungle path. Once at the top, we took a break with some King Coconut water, then ate the coconut meat, followed with some creamy vanilla ice cream! About the time we started drinking our fresh coconut water, the skies opened up and drenched the earth; once again, but we were comfy and cozy, under cover and grateful for a dry hike and dry photo time at this iconic bridge.
This bridge was built during the British Colonial period.
Locally, it is known as “Ahas Namaye Palama,” meaning; nine skies bridge in the Sinhala language. The name derives from the visual experience, when standing below the bridge and looking up, one can see the sky through the nine arches.
The unique part about this bridge is that it is built entirely from rocks, bricks, and cement, with no use of steel or metals throughout the structure. The bridge was commissioned in 1941 and as the story goes, while the bridge was being planned, World War I broke out. The steel and metal materials that were destined for the bridge build, were reassigned to be used for military purposes.
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About Us
Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More