Adems Peak (Sri Padaya) is the holiest mountain of Sri Lanka where the religions come together and is located in the Peak Wilderness.
For over 1000 years, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists have climbed this holy mountain. And everyone has his own story about this. But also for non-religious people this is a beautiful trip with a magnificent view.
From December until the end of April, early May is the pilgrim season and you can climb this mountain. The best time to start walking is at night is around 2 o’clock so you stand at the top (2243m) at sunrise. For this you have to climb over 5000 steps. The road is lighted in most places.
At the top there is often an icy cold wind before sunrise but when the sun rises you will be rewarded with beautiful views over a large part of Sri Lanka and it gets warm quickly. With a little luck you can see the magical triangle on the clouds. This is the shadow of the mountain and can be seen just after sunrise. When the sun rises a bit, the shadow disappears.
At the top of a small temple lies the golden holy footprint (Sri Pada). This large footprint is according to the Hindus of the god Shiva, the Christians and Muslims ascribe it to the apostle Thomas or Adam and according to the Buddhists it is the footprint of Buddha.
What to see and do:
Walking, view, temple
Pictures:
