Take the train

You may well go to Kandy with a driver and car or minibus. If you get the chance and you are arriving from Columbo take the train. There is no way to book in advance either online or by phone. You just have to go and buy tickets although you may be able, as we were, to get a nice local to go and buy them for you. They are very very cheap. We travelled first class in the observation car - but this is not first class as it would be in Europe or US. No AC - fans in the roof. Curtains at the window. Toilet is a hole. But its only for a few hours and the views and sights you will see are incomparable. It runs along the edge of a mountain - awesome. Local people live literally on the edge of the tracks and use them as a local footpath. Do this if you get the chance, its an experience and some.