Ella, Sri Lanka · Dorms and private rooms
A twenty-six-bed hostel on a hillside above Ella.
Six dorm rooms, all the same price, and a few private rooms in the building next door. The terrace, the view and breakfast come with the bed, not on top of it.
- LKR 7,500Per dorm bed, per night
- 26 bedsAcross six dorms
- 8:00 – 11:00Breakfast, included
Nobody here gets a better view than you.
Six dorm rooms, twenty-six beds, and a second building with the private rooms in it. Every dorm bed costs the same LKR 7,500 a night — the four-bed rooms, the six-bed room, no difference.
So there is no upgrade on the part that matters. Nobody staying tonight has a better claim on the roof, the long table or the view over the valley than you do. The bed is the ticket. The roof is the reason to come.
Breakfast is at eight, upstairs, under a green translucent roof that turns the whole terrace and everyone sitting in it a slightly unreal shade of sea-glass. A few steps away, past the railing, the light snaps back to normal and there is a mountain ridge across the gap. That is the building. That is what LKR 7,500 buys.
6 dormsThree female fours, two mixed fours, one mixed six.
LKR 7,500Per dorm bed, per night. The same number in all six.
Where you would sleep
Three kinds of dorm, one price. The choice is who you wake up next to, not what you get.
Swipe · three kinds of dorm
There are private rooms too — an apartment and four doubles, in the building next door. We have not photographed them yet and we are not quoting a price for them until we can show you what you would be paying for. Ask us and we will tell you.
The roof is the whole argument
The top floor has no wall on the valley side. Just a railing, and then the drop, and then the ridge.
It is roofed in translucent green panels on a black steel frame, so the light up there is green and the shade is cool. Long timber tables with benches — no two-tops, nobody gets a private corner. Rattan lampshades on rope. Hanging egg chairs. A dog called Sando. Next to it, under its own roof, a pool table.
Breakfast is served here between 8:00 and 11:00, and it is included with every bed. Drinking water is free, from a filtered dispenser, all day.
8:00 – 11:00Breakfast, on the terrace, included with the bed.
All dayFiltered drinking water, free, from the dispenser.
No wallOn the valley side there is a railing and then the ridge.
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The pool table, in the bay next door. -
Under the green panels, the light is green. -
One of the hanging chairs.
Wednesday · Friday · Sunday
Family dinner, three nights a week.
The rooftop becomes a buffet dinner on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It is LKR 1,650 per person.
Tell us before 2:00 PM on the day you want to join.
What you would do tomorrow
We arrange twelve things, and the prices for most of them are on the page. Four of them, as a sample of the range:
Getting here
We are on the hillside above Ella. The walk into the centre of town takes under ten minutes — down on the way in, up on the way home.
That climb is the whole point. Five minutes above a town centre is a quieter place than a town centre, and the higher you go the more of the valley you get back. The last of it is a concrete drive between trees, and then the green roof.
Arriving late, or with a pack you would rather not carry up a hill? Message us before you set off and we will tell you exactly where to turn. Or take a tuk-tuk — the drivers know the road.
Coming by train
Sri Lanka’s hill-country railway was damaged by the 2025 cyclone and has been repaired in stages since.
We do not publish train times or route advice on this site. Anything we wrote would be out of date before you read it, and a wrong timetable is worse than no timetable when you are standing on a platform.
Ask us the week you travel. We will tell you what is running that week and how the people currently arriving actually got here.
About these photographs
Every photograph of the hostel on this site was taken here, on the property, by someone standing in the room you are looking at. Nothing is stock. Nothing is a render. Nothing was shot at a different hostel and captioned as ours.
We have not removed anything from them either — not the overhead cables, not the laminated notice taped to the wall, not the plastic chair. The place has cables and notices and a plastic chair. You will see them when you get here, so you may as well see them now.
The photographs on the Ella guide are of the town, not of us, and they are labelled that way.
What guests said
Three of them, in the words they were written in. The link goes to all of them, including the ones we did not choose.
One of the best hostels in Ella! Amazing mountain views, super clean rooms and incredibly friendly staff.
Sarah · Germany The rooftop café is beautiful and the breakfast was delicious. Highly recommended!
James · Australia Very peaceful atmosphere, comfortable beds and perfect location. We will definitely come back.
Maria · Spain
The gap, at the end of the day
The bed is the ticket. The roof is the reason to come.
Ask about a bed
You send a message and a person reads it and answers. Tell us your dates and we will tell you what is free.
LKR 7,500Per dorm bed, per night, in all six dorms. Breakfast is in the number, not on top of it.
Call+94 77 342 5595 — a real phone in Ella, and it takes calls as well as messages.
Five things people ask
Anything elseAsk on WhatsApp. A person answers, not a bot.
Is breakfast included?
Yes, with every bed, at no extra cost. It is served on the terrace between 8:00 and 11:00.
Do I need to bring a towel?
No. Fresh bed linen and a towel are provided, free.
Is there Wi-Fi?
Yes, free, and it works in the dorms as well as on the terrace.
Can you arrange tours?
Yes — twelve of them, on the tours page, with prices for most. You ask us, we arrange it.
How far is Ella town?
Under ten minutes on foot — downhill into town, uphill on the way home. Tuk-tuk drivers know the road if you would rather ride. Finding us has the details.