Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A taxi from Kandy to Elkaduwa should cost Rs 1500. Alternatively, take a bus to Wat-
tegama (from near the clock tower in Kandy), and then catch another to Elkaduwa.
Adam's Peak (Sri Pada)
Elevation 2243m
Located in a beautiful area of the southern Hill Country, this lofty peak has sparked the
imagination for centuries and been a focus for pilgrimage for more than 1000 years.
Variously known as Adam's Peak (the place where Adam first set foot on earth after be-
ing cast out of heaven), Sri Pada (Sacred Footprint, left by the Buddha as he headed to-
wards paradise), or perhaps most poetically as Samanalakande (Butterfly Mountain; where
butterflies go to die). Some believe the huge 'footprint' crowning the peak to be that of St
Thomas, the early apostle of India, or even of Lord Shiva.
The pilgrimage season begins on
poya
day in December and runs until
Vesak festival
in
May; January and February are busiest. At other times the temple on the summit is unused,
and between May and October the peak is often obscured by clouds. During the pilgrimage
season pilgrims and tourists alike make the climb up the countless steps to the top.
Walkers leave from the small settlement of Dalhousie (del-
house
), 33km by road south-
west of Hatton, which is situated on the Colombo-Kandy-Nuwara Eliya railway and road.
In season, the route is illuminated by a sparkling ribbon of lights which are visible from
miles around and from afar look like a trail of stars leading into the heavens. It's a view
that cannot but fail to send a quiver of anticipation through most people. Out of season you
will need a torch. Many pilgrims prefer to make the longer, more tiring - but equally well-
marked and lit - seven-hour climb from Ratnapura via the Carney Estate because of the
greater merit thus gained.
As dawn illuminates the holy mountain, the diffuse morning light uncovers the Hill
Country rising in the east and the land sloping to the coast to the west. Colombo, 65km
away, is easily visible on a clear day.
Adam's Peak saves its most breathtaking moment for just after dawn. The sun casts a
perfect shadow of the peak onto the misty clouds down towards the coast. As the sun rises
higher this eerie triangular shadow races back towards the peak, eventually disappearing
into its base.
