Adam's Peak, Sri Lanka

Despite my smile, the decent was no easier!!

Every so often you do something on your travels  that makes you wonder, ''how is this a holiday?" You are sweaty. You are tired. You are out of breath. Old women are laughing at how unfit you are as they run down the side of the mountain in their bare feet. I wish that was a joke! Definitely not my finest hour! Days, months, even years later, as you sit on a sofa with a cup of tea and reminisce with your friends, you all agree that you are really glad you did it and it was definitely worth it.  For me, it was Adam's Peak.



The gate to the trek
 at 2.30am.

At 2am one cold April morning in Sri Lanka in 2012, I climbed out of bed groggy and immediately resentful of whoever's idea this was. Six of us met at the door of our small apartment-- Nyssa, Ciara, Karen, Michelle, Emma and I. Dervla had said the night before she would 'wait and see in the morning' and decided to opt out. It was not long into the (over) 5000 step incline before I wished I had had the same sense!

One of the (many) stops for tea!

There are a number of trails you can follow up the mountain and it is important to take note of your trail if you want to return back down the mountain the same way. At various points along the trek, we stopped for bananas, biscuits, ginger tea and water in the small make shift stalls that littered the ascent. Ginger tea helps with altitude sickness too. While the snacks were welcomed, it was these small breaks to catch our breath that really aided me. To be honest though, if it had not been for the encouragement of the girls, I definitely would not have gone to the top! We soon found out that the secret to completing the hike was to pacing yourself. Some of us took one step at a time, while others preferred to take the steps faster and then rest. It was exhausting! It is all fine until you see tiny, old, wizened women almost flying down the mountain laughing at you! Did I mention that there are over 5000 steps to the top? Calling them 'steps' is a little misleading. Yes, there are steps... in places. And the steps are over varying widths, depths and heights! And then there are some places where steps once were but have clearly been eroded away by all the pilgrims. But the point I am trying to make is that there are over 5000 steps of varying sizes and descriptions! You have been warned!  

Karen, Michelle, Ciara, me Nyssa and Emma at sunrise.

Adam's Peak is an important place of pilgrimage for Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Buddhists. Christians believe that this was the first place Adam's foot touched when he came to earth. At the summit, there is the concrete imprint of a foot. Many people que to walk around the shrine in their bare feet. The much revered shrine is decorated with multi-coloured bunting. (It was later described to Dervla as a 'Buddhist Knock'. )

Buddhist Pilgrims

The atmosphere at the peak is tranquil and harmonious. It is not often that a place can unite so many people of different faiths and beliefs. A more cynical observer would argue that the sense of serenity could quite possibly be down to the state of absolute exhaustion one feels at the pinnacle! Arriving just after 5.30 am, we were in a great position to watch the sun slowly creep shyly into the sky. The assembled crowd from very different backgrounds stood silently in awe. The sun painted the horizon with shades of rust and burnt orange as if it was growing in confidence with every head that turned to gaze at it's canvas until it finally splashed bold reds and oranges across the morning sky. It really was beautiful.

This picture belies how steep it was!

The descent was no easier but we could take it slower. By about 9.30 am we reached the village at the foot of the mountain. I have never felt so deserving of a sleep or a shower after an activity in my life.Every part of my body was aching, calling out for the soothing effects of some Tiger Balm and a bottle of beer! But there was no time for that. We were destined to spend the next week walking around like old women! We loaded up our bus for the next stop on our Sri Lankan tour, Kandy! 

I was really exotic with my
ginger hair and white skin!

You will need:

A light jumper (It is pretty cold when you get up at 2 am!);

Good walking/hiking shoes;

A camera;

Some small change for snacks;

Water;

Some good buddies to keep you motivated!