Sri Pada (Adam's Peak)

Sri Pada or Adam's Peak is a 2243mt high mountain in Nallathanniya, central Sri Lanka. On the day climbed it was a cloudy, but rainless sky. Apparently it was the first fine day in three months. It was our intention to rise at 2.30am and trek up and witness the sunrise, but after talking to the locals the day before, it become evident that viewing a sunrise was not going to be possible and walking in the cold, dark and wet, wasn't going to be much fun. It certainly didn't appear like this photo on our trek as we were mostly hiking through mist and the cloud that clung to the peaks the higher we climbed. It was still breathtaking scenery and we stayed dry and warm all day. 

It's not the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, but it's certainly the most visited. A depression in the rocks at the summit looks like a huge footprint and legend says that it's either Buddha's footprint or Shiva's or Adam's, depending on who's telling the story. St. Thomas the Apostle gets a look in too if you ask a Portuguese person.

One of the stories tells of Adam being thrown out of paradise for being recalcitrant and was made to stand on one foot for a thousand years on top of the rock as punishment. He eventually got together with Eve on another mountain (Mt. Arafat overlooking Mecca).

By the ninth century, this divot in the rock was considered one of the most sacred sites in the world. Go figure.

Stairs. Lots. Of. Stairs. If I took a guess, I'd say probably 5km of stairs. It was a 6km trek straight up, trudging up 5200 steps. And then of course 5200 steps down. I'm very grateful to have strong healthy knees and legs as it was a tough hike.

During a full moon festival or Poya, as it's known, the little town is inundated with local pilgrams and tourists. The path from the little town square near our hotel to the top of the mountain is jam packed with devotees wanting to be at the peak before sunrise. It can take up to an hour to move just a few metres. I read somewhere that 20,000 people have trekked over a weekend. We were fortunate in that it was off season and there were no pilgrams, let alone tourists. It was peaceful and beautiful and it's hard to imagine the place any other way. Here's a slide show of the highlights.