Ella or Kandy?

Neither town is a beach destination. Both sit in the hill country about three hours from the sea, so the coast at Arugam Bay or in the south has to be a separate leg of the route.

What swimming there is differs a little. In Ella it means a careful dip in waterfall pools in dry weather. In Kandy it means a hotel pool, since the lake and rivers are off limits.

Kandy offers somewhat better eating, mainly because its local eating houses near the clock tower and market serve rice and curry, hoppers and bakery short eats to a local crowd rather than to visitors. Ella's strip leans towards traveller cafés with smoothie bowls and pizza, and its best meals come from homestay kitchens and family cooking classes using garden spices.

Neither has ambitious restaurants, and in both towns tea is the drink that matters most.

This is where the two differ most. Kandy was the last royal capital, and its UNESCO-listed old city centres on the country's most revered Buddhist shrine, where drummers, pilgrims and daily offerings make a visit feel like more than sightseeing. The palace buildings, the lake, the colonial centre and the Garrison Cemetery fill a full day.

Ella has the Nine Arches Bridge, the Ravana cave with its Ramayana story and the working tea factories, and very little else. Visitors who base themselves there see the island's heritage on other stops.

Both are quiet after dark, but Ella has slightly more going on. Its rooftop cafés and backpacker bars on the main road, some with fire pits and music, fill up with hikers in high season for a few sociable hours.

Kandy is a sacred city, and the streets around the lake empty soon after dinner, leaving a hotel terrace or one of a few old-fashioned bars. Neither has clubs.

Ella has the edge for anyone who wants to walk out of the door into the landscape. Little Adam's Peak, Ella Rock, Ravana Falls and the railway paths through tea all start from the village, and Horton Plains and Yala are within reach for bigger outings, in cooler air at around 1,000m.

Kandy's nature sits closer to town than you might expect, with Udawatta Kele forest just above the temple and the Peradeniya botanic gardens a short ride away. Its serious hiking in the Knuckles Range needs a full day out, and the warmer, humid climate makes walking harder work.

Kandy is by far the better base for excursions. It is the gateway to the Cultural Triangle, with the Dambulla cave temples and Sigiriya to the north, a medieval temple circuit at Embekke and Lankatilaka nearby, and spice gardens and Pinnawala's elephants for easier days.

From Ella the outings are smaller in scale: the tea towns of Haputale and Bandarawela, the Dowa rock temple, the ancient carvings at Buduruwagala and Nuwara Eliya by slow train. They are pleasant additions to a walking stay rather than reasons to come.

Both are welcoming to children without having anything built for them, and the hill-country train is the highlight in either. Ella suits families with children old enough to walk, who will enjoy Little Adam's Peak, ziplining and watching trains cross the bridge, though the roads are narrow and the big hikes too steep for toddlers.

Kandy offers gentler outings in the Peradeniya gardens and elephant visits, but the centre is congested and the temple asks for quiet. Families there do best in a hillside hotel with a pool.

Ella is easier to get around simply because there is so little of it. Everything lines one main road, and the main walks are reached on foot, with tuk-tuks and day drivers for anything further and a torch needed after dark.

Kandy's centre is also compact, but traffic squeezed through a narrow valley, fumes, broken pavements and steep climbs to hotels make walking tiring. Most visitors rely on tuk-tuks and a hired driver for day trips.

Kandy has more to buy, though neither town is a shopping destination. Its central market, the fixed-price government craft shop and dealers in lacquerware, brass, batik and masks give some choice, though gem showrooms reached through drivers need caution.

Ella's handful of main-road shops sell tea, spices, sarongs and traveller clothing. Tea bought at an estate factory is the one souvenir worth seeking out there.

Both are cheap places to stay, with family guesthouses, local rice and curry and almost nominal train fares. The costs come from different places.

In Ella, the main things you do, walking and taking in the views, are free, and the extra spending goes on visitor cafés, guided hikes and boutique hotels on the slopes. In Kandy, the separate foreign-visitor fees at the temple, the botanic gardens and the northern ancient sites, plus a car and driver for day trips, add up quickly over a stay. Rooms also cost more during the Perahera.

Kandy is the home of Kandyan dance, and cultural halls near the lake stage drummers, fire walkers and dancers in silver headdresses every evening. In July or August the Esala Perahera brings nights of torchlit processions with elephants carrying the relic casket.

Ella has almost nothing comparable beyond the odd café guitarist or a hotel dance show, so performance lovers should save their evenings for Kandy.

The wellness offer is much the same in both: Ayurvedic oil massages, herbal steam and longer programmes, often paired with yoga at hillside resorts, and no bathing tradition. The difference is in the setting.

Ella's cool air, birdsong and views over the gap make slowing down easy, and a massage follows naturally after a hike. Kandy's centre is noisy and congested, so its calm comes from retreats in the surrounding hills and early mornings by the lake.