One of the world's most celebrated train journeys is the route stretching from Ella to Nuwara Eliya.
Nuwara Eliya, nicknamed Little England, used to be a country retreat for British colonialists, a place for them to escape the heat, hunt (destroy local fauna) and play polo (eliminate local flora). The Railway system was initially built to transport tea and coffee from the Hill Country to Colombo for export. When Sri Lanka gained its independence from Britain the train network was already in place and remains so today. Tourists regularly take these trains to enjoy the impressive views of the landscape they afford, as well as access to the south of the island.
Due to the fact that the trains are of the old model, their doors are not electrified and kept are constantly open. Just like in the Indian film people stick out to contemplate the beauty of the landscape echoed by tea fields and eucalyptus trees and the desire to feed their need for speed and coolness. Many people eventually die.
Dutch colonial building nearby the railway.
For many foreigners a journey on a Sri Lankan train has a kind of romantic nostalgia for a different era of train travel and the kind of journey no longer available back in their own countries.
Just a century and a half ago there was no agricultural production here and the landscape was filled only with trees. At the time production was concentrated on coffee, Sri Lanka the largest exporter in the world. When the crops were destroyed, along with the livelihoods of many colonial planters, the English found an alternative to coffee — tea. Tea and coffee production led to the British to building the railway and is why it continues to rush through the expanse of tea leaves leaving a trail of grey smoke.
With train fares so inexpensive, locals, as well as tourists, use the trains in Sri Lanka.
