Adam’s Peak is the fourth largest mountain in Sri Lanka. In my opinion, unscientifically proven of course, it is the tallest. In relation to the ground to the peak, I believe it is the tallest. The other mountains’ bases are at a higher altitude than the base of Adam’s Peak, so they have a head start.
Just a little back-story before I paint a word picture of my adventure. Adam’s Peak is a very sacred place. It is believed that Buddha stepped upon the peak of Adam’s Peak and left his footprint at the top. We were told that many religions have their own stories about how the footprint was indented into the top of the mountain. This means that this mountain is very popular to climb for the Sri Lankans, as well as the tourists.
We were supposed to begin our journey at 2:30am to reach the peak by 5:30am for the sunrise. It was a solid plan that was researched and calculated where we would have enough sleep, but still could see the sun waking up Sri Lanka. That plan was shot to hell. When we arrived to the Grand Adam’s Peak hotel, they informed us that it would be a busy night because of the holiday weekend and full moon, so they suggested we should leave at 1:00am instead. Feeling an hour and a half of sleep torn from our bodies, we reluctantly agreed we would leave at one. After dinner, reception stopped us again. “You must leave by 12 or you will not make it to the top.” If I am waking up at 11:45pm (yes, PM!), I better make it to the top.
So after three hours of sleep, my alarm went off signaling the start of the hike. Molly and I began walking through the shops that stay open twenty-four hours. The beginning of the hike was uneventful. Yes, there were a lot of people on the trail even though it was after midnight, but we thought the woman at reception was exaggerating when she said it would take hours longer than it should.
About halfway up, we arrived to a horde of people. It reminding me of what you read about on the news. You know, those stories about how three hundred people are trampled to death in a crowd? We waited on these steep stairs with enough room only to breathe, but not much else with what seemed to be the population of Sri Lanka. After about thirty minutes off in the corner of our eye, we saw some people climbing through these bushes that led off into the darkness of the mountain. We contemplated our tough decision ahead of us. Would we rather be trampled or get lost at 2:00am on the side of a mountain? We chose the latter and walked through the bushes.
Good thing we both had our flashlights, because we had a dark trail ahead of us. Not to spoil the surprise, but we later learned this trail connected with another trail on the other side of the mountain. This trail was not as popular because it left from a town much further away, taking about seven hours to climb from the bottom if there are no crowds. The rest of the hike was a little crowded at times, but uneventful. I am anxious to arrive to the good part of the story, so I will skip ahead.
Finally, we had arrived to the top of Adam’s Peak at around 3:30am. On our left was a massive room with people sleeping all over the dirty floor. The people who could not fit in the room were sleeping in ever corner and crevice. Police officers were ordering us to take off our shoes, being that it was a sacred Buddhist site. After being moved around, we found our new Irish friends who we befriended on the trail. We met them in the beginning, and then ran into them from time to time on the way up. Our other friends from AIS were also hiking the trail on the same night; they strolled in about an hour later.
The next part of the story is the part I will remember for a long time. It had been a long time since the hike had begun, so I went off to find the bathroom. Now, allow me to try my best to describe my surroundings. We were sitting in these cement stands facing the direction of the impending sunrise. They were absolutely packed with people. On the left, a large line was waiting to visit the bell. I will explain soon. On the right, there was a path back to the alternate trail we had climbed. The crowd was so large that it would have been easier to travel like the people who dive into a mosh pit.
As I snaked my way through the crowd, I had to take my shoes off again because I was about to walk past the bell. The Buddhists ring the bell to signify they have made it to the top. You ring the bell for the amount of times you have climbed Adam’s Peak. At the time, I had no idea the significance of the bell. It was just one of those things I knew I would be out of place if I had tried waiting in line to ring it.
On the other side of the stands past the temple was what seemed to be some Buddhist ceremonies. I wound my way through another crowd and found the bathroom. I will skip the next ten minutes of the story. Let’s just say it involved large amounts of mud, a line, dim lighting, and a bucket.
As I made my way back to the bathroom, I saw that they had closed the gates to the temple. Remember that room I had mentioned before with all the sleeping people on the ground? I again took my shoes off (I can see why the Sri Lankan people climb Adam’s Peak barefoot) and lightly stepped around men, women, and children strewn amongst the floor. I seemed to be the only person who looked like me walking through the room that never ended.
As I exited, the peak had gotten even more crowded. It took about fifteen minutes to walk about 20 paces. After my forty-five minute adventure, I was back safe and sound with my friends. I uttered “Hamdullah” loudly as I climbed back onto the stands.
The rest of my Adam’s Peak experience was just like the rest. During the sunrise, they stuffed about three times the limit of people the stands could hold. But, it was worth it. The sunrise was beautiful.
The way back down took about two and a half hours. We walked through the front doors of our hotel at roughly 8:30am covered in mud, sweat, and a few tears of joy.
I would not say I had a negative experience climbing Adam’s Peak. I would definitely say it was one of the most unique nights of life. I would not climb it again under those circumstances, but I am thankful I was naïve enough to climb it during a full moon and holiday the first time. It was quite the experience and I think it has prepared me for more interesting experiences in the future. The hike was not difficult. There were roughly 5.5k stairs up to the top. The difficult part of the hike was the amount of people. However, looking back on my other travels, it was a different type of crowd. Generally, we encounter crowds of other tourists while we are travelling. This time, the crowd was predominantly Sri Lankans. This made for a very authentic and worthwhile experience.
Sri Lankan Tip of the Day:
Climb Adam’s Peak. I have many more stories about how six men were carrying a woman on a sheet and how people walk up the mountain carrying 65kg bags of rice to supply the shops. It was nice to step out of my comfort zone, because in the end, life is just all about the stories.
I have a few GoPro videos of the various adventures around Sri Lanka. I will upload them when I get better Internet!