Ella Rock Trailhead

Unclaimed

Good, pretty easy hiking trail if you‘re used to hiking - if you do the sunset hike you should start around 4:00-4:30am at the bottom to reach the top right before sunset. Bring a flashlight of course (phone flashlight does the trick) Trail is frequently marked by orange circles and arrows on trees and rocks but i would recommend to get the strava app an turn on heatmap mode, there you can follow the paths others have taken, makes it easier to follow the path, especially in the dark when doing the sunset hike. (For the adventurous ones, this is also the way to find and follow some shortcuts or other paths different from the main paths, which take you through the forest, etc - was fun?)

Absolutely lovely hike and one of the best activities we did in Ella. There was a large fire a couple od days ago so the mayor top part of the forest around the trail was affected by the fire. Like the others said we followed the trail from All trails and we didn’t have any problems. The only thing that bothered us was the fee at the top for the viewpoint. We found it absurd to charge more than 3$ for a public place just to see the view. We didn’t want to pay and we wanted to go just for the second viewpoint so we wen’t around the top. A local ran screaming at us that we have to pay him the entrance fee even though we didn’t enter the payed area. That is why I recommend the hike anti clock wise as you can easily access the free viewpoint.

Wonderful experience and really serene at the end, must try when you are at Ella. I used AllTrails to get through even though it was difficult at some points to find way, but that is the challenge though! I was beware of the reviews where people mentioned on scamming locals to divert you on wrong trials, I always double checked the route on alltrails and locals helped us on the way, big thanks to them. There are two viewpoints , we chose to go to the second one first and moved on to the 1st, there were no fees to be paid. Take care of the weather as it started pouring hard after we reached the top and waited a while for the rain to calm down before hiking down

Ella Rock is one of my go-to adventures whenever I'm in the area. What I love about it is the peacefulness — far fewer tourists than at more popular spots. The hike itself is a real challenge, tougher and longer than the climb to Little Adam’s Peak, but so worth it. There's a small entrance fee of 1000 rupees. Along the way, I missed the cheerful old lady who used to sell that unforgettable salty lemonade. Be prepared: prices at the few stalls are a bit higher, but if you forget to bring water, you'll be thankful they're there. And the view from the top? Absolutely breathtaking — endless hills rolling into the mist, pure freedom. It’s the kind of view that makes every drop of sweat worth it.

A beautiful hike - you do not need a guide there are many different paths that take you there and you can easily do it alone! You have to pay for the 1st viewpoint but we just went around it and got to the 2nd viewpoint which is free and just as beautiful! Take a small detour to visit the forest monastery ( 3 simple structures with 4 lovely monks living there - no tourists around, a great spot for some quiet contemplation in the mountains)