Sri Lanka – ADAM’S PEAK, SRI PADA

YAAAAS WE CLIMBED A FUCK OF HUGE MOUNTAIN!!!!

Climbing Adams Peak was definitely one of the larger achievements in life

check the video below for a real insight into how it was!

VIDEO HERE

With over 5000 steps, it one was hell of a walk up there!

We got on the bus about 10pm at night from Kandy and drove for a good 3 hours towards Adams Peak. It was already late, we knew we weren’t sleeping as some of the mountain roads we were driving down in a massive coach were enough to make you think this it, we are going over the edge!

Once we arrived at the Ratnapura district, Sri Pada it was 1:30am and we were ready to go, almost. It was a 1-2km walk just from the bus station to the start of the hike! So we got there at about 2am and had a little warm up. There were endless shops on the way to the entrance to stock up on snacks and water!

Once we made it to the start it was a beautiful big archway with the Buddha laying down. Sri Pada stands for the ‘Footprint of the Buddha’ as it is believed that the stone at the top of the mountain has what looks like a footprint from the Buddha himself making the site an incredibly popular pilgrimage walk.

You must have your shoulders covered and your legs covered for the walk, I did have to change into my hareem trousers as I started in my walking shorts! Can’t get to the top in those! Plus everyone around me was laughing at me so I think that was a significant sign. We walked in groups to keep the bravado up and it worked a treat, we all made it so much farther up than we thought we would.

After a good 4 hours of climbing we had made it as close to the top as we could possible get. It was absolutely rammed and a traffic jam on a staircase was enough to give anyone vertigo. So we managed to stop on a ledge where we had the most perfect view of the valley and the reserve below with two Buddha statues seated politely behind us.

It really was like nothing I had ever experienced before and I am so over the moon we conquered it. We sat at 6am and watched the sunrise come up over the valley and man, it was emotional (mainly because we had smashed it and we had had like no sleep to get here). I really have never experienced anything like it, it made me ready to go and conquer another mountain.

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Walking down wasn’t any easier! Because it was a constant uphill it means it’s a constant downhill. My legs every time we stopped were shaking and like jelly! I did wonder if I was going to collapse and roll down the mountain at one point. The girls were all linking arms and trying to skip down the stairs together at the same time to keep the memento going.

Getting back to the bus once we got to the bottom, taking off my shoes for starters and just sitting down was amazing. I had brought a pillow and managed to sleep the entire way home luckily! After a climb like that, who wouldn’t?

Once we got back and had freshened up we had a SHOW to attend!

We had been invited to the Kandayan Show of Culuture!

At their local theatre we all piled in for an hour long show of traditional dances, outfits and performances! It was amazing to watch and their music and dancing is so extravagant and like nothing I had ever seen before. My favourite parts were the woman’s outfits and the men breathing fire!

We listened to their ceremonial drums, saw peacock dancers, traditional folk dancers, harvest dances and finally,

FIRE WALKING.

Although we didn’t get the option to do it ourselves, thank god!

Afterwards was another home comfort dinner at Sky Lounge after a busy old day and an early night ahead! Tune in for our final night in my next post!