Qualla: Nine Arch Bridge https://qualla.com/nine-arch-bridge en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/1/x/nine-arch-bridge-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Nine Arch Bridge https://qualla.com/nine-arch-bridge Nine Arch Bridge: Introduction https://qualla.com/nine-arch-bridge/ Photo credit DaemonX, CC BY-SA 4.0. When the steel shipment never arrived, the locals built it anyway. The Nine Arch Bridge, rising 24 meters above a lush valley between Ella and Demodara in Sri Lanka's hill country, was completed in 1919 using stone, brick, and cement, but not a single steel beam. The timing was no coincidence: World War I had redirected the steel meant for this railway viaduct to British military projects, and construction ground to a halt. Rather than wait for a war to end, local workers and engineers found another way.

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Image: DaemonX | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/1/x/nine-arch-bridge-wp/tc1x-nine-arch-bridge-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Nine Arch Bridge: Stone and Stubbornness https://qualla.com/nine-arch-bridge/ Photo credit MichaelJames2468, CC BY-SA 4.0. The bridge stretches 91 meters across a valley along the Colombo-Badulla railway line, navigating a challenging nine-degree curve and steep gradient. Its nine graceful arches are built from concrete cornice blocks for structural support and locally produced sand-cement blocks for...

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Image: MichaelJames2468 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/1/x/nine-arch-bridge-wp/tc1x-nine-arch-bridge-stone-and-stubbornness.mp3 0:06 2 full Nine Arch Bridge: The Legend of Appuhami https://qualla.com/nine-arch-bridge/ Photo credit DaemonX, CC BY-SA 4.0. Local folklore credits a Ceylonese builder named P. K. Appuhami with the bridge's construction, working in consultation with British engineers. The story goes that Appuhami, born in 1870 in the Kappatipola area near Melimada, was a traditional drummer and devil dancer who turned ...

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Image: DaemonX | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/1/x/nine-arch-bridge-wp/tc1x-nine-arch-bridge-the-legend-of-appuhami.mp3 0:06 3 full Nine Arch Bridge: The Bridge in the Sky https://qualla.com/nine-arch-bridge/ Photo credit Surangi Kasturirathne, CC BY-SA 4.0. The bridge's other name, the Bridge in the Sky, makes sense the moment you see it. The nine arches frame patches of green jungle and open sky, and when a train crosses, its blue carriages seem to float above the canopy. The viaduct sits on the railway line between Ella and Demoda...

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Image: Surangi Kasturirathne | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/1/x/nine-arch-bridge-wp/tc1x-nine-arch-bridge-the-bridge-in-the-sky.mp3 0:06 4 full Nine Arch Bridge: A Landmark Endures https://qualla.com/nine-arch-bridge/ Photo credit Saaremees, CC BY-SA 4.0. More than a century after its completion, the Nine Arch Bridge carries trains daily. It has also become one of Sri Lanka's most photographed landmarks, drawing visitors who hike down to the valley floor to see the arches from below or who stand on the tracks to watch trains rumbl...

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Image: Saaremees | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/1/x/nine-arch-bridge-wp/tc1x-nine-arch-bridge-a-landmark-endures.mp3 0:06 5 full