Climbing up Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak) was arguably the highlight of my entire trip to Sri Lanka in 2016.
Cost
There is no determined cost for hiking up Adam’s Peak, however there is a table you must pass by for you to sign in and make a donation. We donated 1000LRK which seemed to be the norm of most travellers.
How to Get There
As you may already know, my experience travelling in Sri Lanka was much different than my usual way of travelling. As I was travelling with family it was better for us to hire a driver and a van for the weeks that we were there. We stayed about an hour away, and had our driver take us to Sri Pada in time for a 2:00am start!
When to Begin the Trek
The best time to start hiking Adam’s Peak is 2:00am! Yes – that is the correct time. This gives you lots of time to trek the 7km up that it takes to get to the top. Although we gave ourselves 4 hours to reach the summit, it actually only took us a mere 3h and 20mins.
What to Bring
Bringing a small travel bag with you is probably your best bet when climbing Adam’s Peak since the temperature gets colder the closer your reach the top. It is windy at the summit so having layers is key. I started my trek with leggings and a thin long-sleeve T, and ended with a windbreaker get-up at the top. A part from dressing in layers, you really only need some running/hiking shoes (although you’ll see locals climbing in sandals or bare feet!) and a bottle of water.
You will also want to some to bring some cash. There are toilets that you can use on the way up, and they cost 200SLR to use.
En Route
The path you take to get to the stop is well light. I did see some other tourists take a flashlight/headlamp as well.
What is really neat is that there are plenty of stops along the way! Most of the shops sell the same things. This can range from biscuit snacks to rotis, and from water to soda drinks, and tea. In general the prices are quite cheap. You are looking at around $1 CAD for a small bottle of water, and about 50 cents for a snack pack of crackers.
At the Top
With a great sense of accomplishment (and relief) you’ll reach the top! It might seem a little bit overwhelming at first, as there are a large number of people waiting at the summit for the sunrise. Upon arrival, you will see signs to take off your shoes! There will be a place where you can leave them with about a hundred other pairs, but we chose to attach ours to our travel backpack.
As you enter the summit area, you now can see Buddha’s footprint! It is really amazing to see, because let’s not forget the purpose of this historical site. Sri Pada remains to be a Buddhist temple. As a tourist, you may choose visit Adam’s Peak only once in your lifetime, but locals travel to the top every day.
As you wait for the sun to come up you’ll notice that the majority of people are staying on the East side; however we opted to have a view on the west to wait and see the drawing of Sri Pada’s shadow in the mountains. We did take turns looking at the sunrise on the other side of the temple, and that was really neat. If sunrises are your thing – then wait on the East side (good viewing spots fill up quickly). If you want a different type of experience as we did, then I suggest waiting by the West side to see the shadow. It. Was. Unreal.
After the sun is up, most tourists make the journey back down right away. We stayed at the top for about an additional hour. We saw a small Buddhist ceremony take place, and it was truly a special time at the summit.
Hiking back Down
We had read that the journey down was to take about 2 hours or so. We actually travelled down in just over an hour. We basically trotted the entire time, but it seemed easier for us. But by taking your time a good 2 hours seems like an appropriate time estimation.
Where to Stay
For our accommodations, we chose to stay in Laxapana, which is about an hour North West away from Adam’s Peak. The reasoning for that is that we were travelling with family, and there was an amazing house we stayed at that could fit 8 people at a great price! We arrived at our Air Bnb in the evening, which was enough for a quick bite and an early bedtime. Again, since we have a driver, it was easy for us to stay a bit further away from Sri Pada, however , there are places for you to stay at the bottom of the mountain.
