Fake shortcut guides on the Ella Rock hiking trail
4 Answers from travellers
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Yes, this is the classic Ella Rock scam. The bridge is never broken. Locals will intentionally misdirect tourists onto difficult, overgrown paths, get them completely lost, and then demand 3000 LKR to "rescue" them and guide them to the top. Just ignore them, keep walking straight on the tracks until you reach the Kithalella station turn-off, and use Maps.me.
If you do want a guide, hire one through your guesthouse, not a random guy on the tracks.
They even paint fake arrows on the rocks to confuse you. Trust your GPS app over the hand-painted signs.
Scam Watch: ella
People outside stations offer to "help" buy tickets but charge large markups. They may buy cheap third-class tickets and sell as more expensive classes.
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