The Nanu Oya to Ella section of Sri Lanka’s highland railway consistently appears on lists of the world’s great train journeys, with open carriage doors, tea estates falling away into the valley and the Nine Arch Bridge on the final approach into Ella. Reserved observation carriage seats should be booked several weeks ahead during peak season. The wider Kandy to Badulla line offers the same character across a longer stretch for travellers with more time. The journey itself, rather than the destination at either end, is the point.