Hike to Adam’s Peak in Sri lanka was on our bucket list as soon as we knew, we are traveling to Sri lanka.
We have never been early morning risers, but when an adventure is ahead of us, everything gets another perspective. The alarm clock woke us up in the middle of the night – it was 3am! It will be a long day today, as we were heading to the top of the Adam’s Peak – one of the most important pilgrim places in Sri Lanka.
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Hike to Adam’s Peak
Adam’s Peak belongs to Buddhists, Catholics and Hindus
Adam’s Peak is an unusual combination of religions, but Adam’s Peak really belongs to all three religions. What connect these religions are actually mysterious footprints. Catholics say it belongs to Adam and that this is his first footprint when he was exile from the paradise. Hindus claim that the footprints are of Shiva God and Buddhists believe the footprints are no one else’s than Buddhas. The original name of Adam’s Peak is Sri Pada, meaning “The Holly Footprints”.
Five thousand steps to reach Adam’s Peak
It does not really matter to whom the footprints belong, as just climbing up to the top of the Adam’s peak will make you humble. There are more than 5000 steps towards the top and you have to beat 1000 meters of sea level, which stretch on 7 kilometers long path.
Praying strings and white clothes
Adam’s Peak has been a pilgrim’s place for more than one thousand years and is very important to people in Sri Lanka. Lots of people make the climb barefoot and that is not only because of poverty, but also to make the pilgrim walk harder and more meaningful. Most of them wear white clothes, which symbolize their purity. During the climb to the Adam’s Peak, they also drag a praying string.
Birth or Death
You have two options to climb the Adam’s Peak – you can start at mid-day and wait at the top for the sunset (death) or you can start climbing during the night and reach the top for the sunrise (birth). We recommend reaching Adam’s Peak during the night as it is cooler and less humid. The good news is the whole path is lighted, but having a headlight would not hurt either.
Pack your warm clothes
To reach Adam’s Peak, which is 2243 meter high, you have to overcome more than 5000 steps, but to make your step firm we would recommend closed shoes. We always travel with our hiking shoes and we were not sorry to have them with us for the hike. If you are traveling light and without a wind jacket and a fleece pullover, you can always buy some before the climb. There are many stands offering clothes, food and even souvenirs.
Respect in locals eyes
Our hike to Adam’s Peak was the highlight of our Sri Lanka travel without a doubt. It is something we will remember forever; after all we had sore legs and muscle pains from the hike for several more days. But to put this aside, the hike was amazing also because of the pilgrims, who showed us clearly that our respect for their religion and culture brought us their respect too.
I didn’t have any sleep the night before climbing Adams peak! I travelled hours by train and bus from Kandy, tried to nap in a restaurant at the base of Adams peak (but were told off) so started climbing at about 1am. Thankfully it all worked out in the end as I needed long breaks to catch my breath!
The sunrise was amazing, like something out of national geographic!
Adam’s Peak can be quite a challenge, but when reaching the TOP every step and sweat is well worth the effort. It is amazing there. But descending is a bit difficult again – our knees were shaking from all the steep steps. Anyway, we would do it all over again! 🙂
Hey Nina, I’m going to travel to Sri Lanka in September. I would like to trek to Sri Pada. Did you do this with a guide or did you do it by yourself? If so, can you give me the name of the guide of travel agency? 🙂
Thank you!
Hi there!
Hiking the Sri pada, there is no guide needed as you cannot miss the path. There are lots of pilgrams and just follow them 🙂