Adam's Peak, Sri Lanka

We were in Sri Lanka from 12-17th March 2012.

This was the first picture taken of me in Sri Lanka. As you can see, I was still excited. Still uninitiated about the the true nature of backpacking!

We arrived at the Negombo International Airport at about 8am (local time). Then took a 4-5 hour trip up straighaway to the Hill Country. The place (above) is Kandy. In the background you can the see famous site, Buddha Tooth Relic temple. Well, we didn't go in. We just took a stroll around the Kandy lake and went back to our family-run place called the Majestic Hotel.

The hotel was decent enough. In comparison, (after staying 6 nights in 6 different places), the Majestic was the only place that provided us soap (!), towels and toilet paper.

We left Majestic Hotel in Kandy, and took 2-3 buses to our second destination--the starting point to climb Adam's Peak. This picture (above) was taken in the middle of the night at about 2 p.m. The lights (as we were about to discover) are actually tea-stalls and street lights that lit the whole way to the top.

 I think it's called the Wathsala Inn. The cost was US$15/night. The downside was the hot water is actually boiling HOT, or non-existent!

The biggest joke was that The Wathsala inn was only 2 doors away from another place called Slightly Chilled (which wanted to charge US$60 per night).

Well, we walked and walked. We stopped 2 times for me to catch my breath and to order a cuppa tea along the way up.

The most amazing thing was as we go UP, pilgrims/devotees were coming DOWN! They were probably part of the convoy of cars, vans and trucks that were streaming past when we were having dinner.
You can see all sorts of pilgrims, the young, the old, but all smiling and satisfied that they've made the pilgrimage.

Oh, and I found out that Adam's Peak is only "open" to devotees, from December to May every year. It is closed for 6 months every year in turn.

Here I am at the peak. It's amazingly cold. But lots of people were milling around. Locals and tourists.
Did you know that Adam's Peak is famous because there is an imprint of someone's footprint there?

Update: the Hindu and Buddhist devotees believed it was Buddha's.
I heard Christians claim it was Adam's (from the Bible).

(The footprint is housed in a tiny temple, and covered with a gold/silver cloth. In the picture, on the right). There are temple officers there. So, no looking and no taking photos of the sacred footprint either.

Ok, I'm now going to draw your attention to that polka-dot headpiece which I sewed myself. (grin)

 At about 6:30a, the temple officers took the altar items from the temple, and walked around the grounds. Lots of pilgrims touched and blesesd the items. Many of the ladies bought pink/white lotus blooms as offerings.

Mine and his shoes just before starting the descend at about 7am. Lots of people so got some time to catch a breather.

 About 30 minutes away from the temple. Still looking fresh...

 About half-wy down, still feeling cocky. Notice, I've undressed as it was getting too hot. Legs starting to cramp.

Darn it. His head is in the way.

 This is me. Exhausted. Tired out. Hungry. But feeling rather heroic. Satisfied that I made it and back albeit limping in the second leg of the journey
.
It was 9am. We have walked for nearly the past 7 hours.

The details of the climb as stated on the walls of Wathsala Inn.