The peak's shadow
A triangle over the plains on clear mornings.
Vital Vidun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sameera Madusanka — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rehman Abubakr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lasitha Sandeepa Kurukula Arachchi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Astronomyinertia — CC BY-SA 3.0
Adam's Peak, or Sri Pada, is a 2,243-metre conical mountain in Sri Lanka's central highlands. At the summit, a footprint-shaped hollow 1.7 to 1.8 m long is revered by four faiths: Buddhists see the Buddha's footprint, Hindus Shiva's, and some Muslims and Christians Adam's, left on his descent to earth. It lies in a wildlife sanctuary within the Central Highlands World Heritage Site. The Mahavamsa chronicle tells of the Buddha's visit, and Marco Polo noted the pilgrimage in 1298. Arab geographers called it the mountain of Sarandib, their name for the island; Yaqut al-Hamawi recorded it as al-Rahun, where, he wrote, Adam came down. Ibn Battuta climbed it in 1344. Its Sinhala name, Samanala Kanda, is linked to Saman, the peak's guardian deity. The usual climb from Dalhousie (Nallathanniya) gains about 1,000 metres on some 5,500 steps, past a Japanese Peace Pagoda to a steep, railed final stretch. Leave around 2 am to reach the top for dawn and the peak's triangular shadow. At the small shrine over the footprint, remove your shoes and cover shoulders and knees; pilgrims ring a bell once per ascent. The pilgrimage season runs from the Unduvap full moon in December to Vesak in May, with a lit path and all-night tea stalls. Dalhousie is about 72 km by road from Nuwara Eliya via Hatton, two to two and a half hours' drive. Allow three to four hours up, more on busy nights, and two and a half down. A longer path climbs from Ratnapura; Horton Plains lies 33 km east as the crow flies.
A triangle over the plains on clear mornings.
Beneath a small shrine at the summit.
Lamps and tea stalls from December to May.
Dalhousie (Nallathanniya) trailhead, south-west of Hatton
Foreigners can, with a Wildlife Department permit, but the steps are usually unlit and the tea stalls and summit shrine shut, while rain, wind, mist and leeches are common. Take a local guide, a strong torch and rain gear.
He wrote that he saw it from the sea at nine days' distance, and described two paths up, named Baba and Mama after Adam and Eve, with iron chains fixed to the rock. He put the footprint, set in a black rock, at eleven spans long.