Our tour started early on Tuesday morning when our driver (Randika) picked us up for the two-hour drive to be at Yala National Park at 6am and, after a coffee stop, we boarded our jeep.  Yala is home to a wide variety of wildlife but is particularly known for herds of Sri Lankan elephants and the high density of leopards   It was still a half hour drive to the park entrance where we joined a queue of similar vehicles to go through the gate.  On the dirt tracks inside there was a great jostling for position by the jeeps as some stopped to look at the birds around the many lagoons and others, us included, headed deeper into the park.

The sun rose as we approached the park in our safari jeep.  The lagoons mean there is plenty of water for wildlife, even in the dry season

We saw plenty of smaller wildlife and our driver gave us the full safari experience round the rougher tracks finally getting away from other vehicles, but we had almost given up on the bigger animals when we came round a corner to find a baby elephant in the middle of the track.  A short while later we found a large female that waggled her ears and came towards us in a way that made our jeep driver back off.  After a while she settled down and we managed to pass and get some photos.  But still no leopards until we were well past the time when we expected our safari to end, then we came across a group of jeeps parked up a side track.  Our driver reversed up the track between the other vehicles stopping at what appeared to be a random spot, but he must have had inside knowledge as we were only a few vehicles back from where a leopard crossed the track and came down through the trees past us.  Then there was a mad rush by all the jeeps round to an adjacent track, where our driver stopped and let others pass us.  This time the leopard walked across the track immediately in front of us and stopped to examine the bushes!  

We saw peacocks, mongoose, buffalo, local deer and colourful small birds during the first part of the safari

Adult female and young elephant.  We were told that chewing on her trunk was a sign that the female was ready to mate, which may have been a reason for her initial aggression

Apparently this was an animal they call Lucas: one of the dominant males and not at all worried about the presence of humans.

Our next stop was Ella, at just over 1,000 meters in the mountains.  We were expecting to stay at a hotel close to the town with great views over the Ella Gap but were taken to one down in a valley with views of the brick wall next door.  A few phone calls by our driver and the original hotel found space for us.  They only had one other room occupied that night, possibly affected by the Middle East situation as tourists from Europe have to go through airports in that region.  The views were as promised but the bed was like a rock.  Breakfast was good and the same format throughout the trip: fresh fruit to start then some combination of pancakes, toast and pastries and eggs cooked to order

On our first night in Ella we were walking to town for dinner when we saw a small, local restaurant beside the road and decided to go in.  There was no menu, they served a typical Sri Lankan mix of curries and sauces with rice, and it was very good.  Breakfast the next morning came with a view

We had the next day in Ella and took the opportunity to do some walking.  Firstly, with our driver, we walked down into a valley to see the Nine Arches Bridge.  This was built around the start of World War 1 by Sri Lankan labour supervised by the British.  Due to war time restrictions, it was built without the use of steel.  After that we persuaded Randika to let us continue on our own - he felt responsible for our safety and was unhappy with our independence! We climbed up to Little Adams Peak for the views and then followed paths and the road back to Ella for lunch, finally making the climb back to our hotel.  It felt good to be in the mountains, in the cool and using our legs for a change.

Nine Arches Bridge, in the foreground are young tea bushes.  They plant them on the most inhospitable slopes.  Little Adams Peak and the rickety cafe, attached to the side of a building, where we had lunch in Ella.  We had Kottu, a Sri Lankan street food, and weren't impressed!

On our third day we had a train ride through the mountains.  It was a two-hour trip from Ella to Ambuwela - the track onward towards Colombo has been closed since a major storm last November which caused major flooding and landslides across the country. 

Views from the train.  This area seems to be the market garden of Sri Lanka and crops were growing everywhere.  Despite the views lots of passengers were more interested in watching a Mr Bean video being shown in the carriage 

Randika picked us up at Ambuwela Junction for the drive to Nuwara Eliya, known as Little England due to its colonial architecture, where we had lunch and a walk around Victoria Park.  One of the gardeners walked us round (with an eye to getting a tip) and gave us some interesting information on the plants. 

We had rain showers most nights during our tour.  Randika called it 'sudden rain' and said it wasn't real rain but was still prepared for it with umbrellas in the car.  The only time it rained during the day was when we were walking round the gardens when his umbrellas came in handy.  

Our hotel that night was about 15 miles further on at Ramboda Falls.  It was too far from anywhere to walk to a restaurant, so we ate in the hotel that night.  It was probably the worst meal we had on the trip, but the views and the comfortable bed made up for it

Our chalet at the Ramboda Falls hotel and the view from the front patio