Short note: After 6 months in Thailand, I decided to go to Sri Lanka with a group of friends. Visited Colombo, Thiranagama, Welligama, Mirissa and Ella first, whereafter we went to thewards the North of Sri Lanka. Arrived in Nuwara Eliya afterwards. Spending 2 nights in Nuwara Eliya, our main goal in this small town was to reach the top of Adam’s Peak. Adam’s Peak is known for the Sri Pada. Sri Pada means the “Sacred footprint”. Buddhism and Hinduism are the most common religions in Sri Lanka. Buddhists believe that the Sri Pada is the footprint of the Buddha, while in Hindu it is the footprint of Hanuman or Shiva.
Adam’s Peak is 2.243 meter (7.360 feet) high and good walkable. It is not difficult to climb Adam’s Peak because the stairs are well maintained which count over 6.000 steps. It is smart to take a tuktuk, taxi or van to the start of the climb, which is more then 1.000 meters from that point.
Through our own research it is the best to do the climb after 12 midnight, as you will be reaching the top by sunrise. The owner of the guesthouse we stayed at knew a local guy which brought us to the start. We discussed the best time to go and what we need to bring. We got picked up at 10pm, as it was a three-hour drive to the starting point. Arriving at 1am, and getting some last hours of sleep, the driver of the van decided to come along. He did the Adam’s Peak 6 times already, started when he was around 7 or 8 years old, but most importantly: last time he climbed it was 6 years ago.
This was perfect, because with his experience (at 33 years old) we had a guide for the same price as we payed for driving us and picking us up again. If he decided not to join the climb, he would have waited in his van for over 8 hours. For the whole drive we payed 13.500 rupies, which was around €60,-. As we were with 5 people, it was an acceptable price per person. And don’t forget the free guide it got us!
Start of the hike for Adam’s Peak
We started hiking Adam’s Peak around 1/ 1:15pm, and walked past a lot of shops in the first part. The prices at this shop are insanely high, so be sure to buy enough water, snacks and sources of energy beforehand. I thought I did not bring enough of these energy sources, so bought another coke and chocolate cookies for 300 rupees, which was €1,50. Still no money, but in Sri Lankan terms, it is expensive.
We walked past a laying Buddha (which unfortunately had “no pictures” sign) and a 10-meter-tall Buddhist figure, which marked the walk upwards. We had two stray dogs walking with us. A brown and a light brown dog. I realized that this happens a lot in Sri Lanka, even if you go for dinner, sometimes stray dogs walk with you. They run past you to check ahead (like actually checking the area), waiting and looking back. When you catch up with them, they start running to the next checkout point. Feels like you are really bonding with them, but they were obviously not going up to the top with us. So we lost them at some point.
Along the whole walk we saw a lot of people coming back from the top, all looking really tired and having difficulties to walk. We were scared that this would happen to us as well. Our guide told us that most of these people started walking around 6pm, reaching the top around 10/11pm and spend the rest of the night walking back.
Starting-point of the hike
After some easy stairs we got to the actual beginning of the hike. This was marked with a local putting cotton bandages around your wrist for good luck. But it had to be a cotton-part of your clothes. You would put it around your wrist with a coin you bring with you. The coin goes inside the cotton and would give you good luck. You had to walk over the bridge at this point or you could walk some stairs down to reach the water, and go up some stairs afterwards.
The guide told us that, if it was your first time walking up, you were allowed to clean yourself in the water and under the waterfall. But only if it was your first time! After this point the hike got serious. Stairs got much steeper, weather got colder, and we saw more people along the way sitting, resting and sleeping on the cold stairs. Locals wore, thick winter jackets, warm beanies and ear warmers. People had walking sticks, kids crying or sleeping in their arms. Then we realized how much this pilgrimage means to the Sri Lankan people. They offer a lot to reach the top, no matter what.
Half way Adam’s Peak
A little bit after the halfway-point of the hike there was a dividing. The stairs got divided into a right side, people going up, and a left side, people going down. Because everyone wanted to reach the top for the sunrise, it was packed the way up. But we were lucky. The driver of the van joined the way up, so we had a guy experienced enough to guide us the way up, on the wrong side of the stairs. If felt so bad in the beginning, all these people looking at us, don’t know if they were mad. Had to focus on walking on the right steps, instead of planting face down on the ground.
At some point, we realized that the way up was only 30 minutes left, and the sunrise was still 2 hours away. We decided to sit down for 15 minutes at one of the shops. I still wonder how they can sell this much at these shops. They’d have to walk all the way up with all the soda, water, cookies, chips and roti’s. I think it would take up to 3 hours maximum to reach the last shop. Even though I realized how much time and effort they put into setting up these stores. It didn’t motivate me to buy something.
When we decided to walk again, we got stuck at some point. Of course, our guide was able to take us on the wrong stairs. Until we got to a point which had no fences and had a sharp right curve. We saw some other locals taking the left stairs. One of the shop owners started screaming in “Sinhala”, one of the languages in Sri Lanka. The guide told us to move to the left, because the guy was very mad at those who took the left stairs. So we waited until we could move again. Because everyone was pushing, I got divided by 5 or 6 people, from the group. Which made me choose. Will I stay here and be divided for ‘I don’t know how long’? Or will I get on the left stairs, with a mad guy screaming at me again, but being able to be with the group again?
Sunrise on the way up
When we got onto the next set of stairs (I took the left stairs by the way, he didn’t scream!), we started seeing the sun rise already. It was a horizontal orange line in the sky. We didn’t know what to do, wait on that point or get higher. Our guide had, again, the answer to that. Let’s move up. We covered another 5 meters upwards, until the sun started to rise even better. Like everyone, we decided to sit down on the stairs.
We hoped for people to move, but everyone turned around to see the sun. We got over the fence, and sat on the left side behind each other. As it was dead silent, this was the best sunrise I’ve seen in a long time. The sun began to come up, while we took lots of pictures and videos. There was an English man a couple meters in front of us. He had a ponytail and decided beforehand to cut it while checking out the sunrise. At first, he used scissors, when after his friend used a machine to make it even. It was a great moment for them, but they ruined my videos with the machine sound.
As the sun was up and we could actually look each other in the eyes again, people started to walk up. This was the place where it got even worse. On top of the peak, there is this summit, 7 by 22. So pretty difficult to make your way through. All the way, on the top, there were the footprints, but it would have taken another hour or two to reach it. The guide guided us to the exit, which was 10 meters to the left, and we walked up there. Of course, because we knew a local so ‘we were allowed’.
Warm clothes
As we started walking down, which was so easy because nobody walks up this peak, due warmth, it became hotter. The sun started to bring heat, but it was so good that it was cloudy that day. During the climb down, I got rid of my long pants (had short pants underneath), my windjacket and the sweater. All I had on was a shirt and the thermoshirt, which was very helpful in the middle of the night. If you decide to go up as well, you have to be careful with the breaks you take in the meantime. As your body starts to produce sweat, your body will get cold if you sit down for a longer period. Making yourself catch a cold. The way down took us so much longer than we hoped, but that was because we were kind of done with it. We looked forward to being in the bus to get some sleep, instead of actually being happy to finish the peak.
