Walk in the Footsteps of the Gods On Sri Lanka’s Holy Mountain
The stone steps grew steeper and narrower, climbing ever higher. As the hours passed, it seemed they would never end, fatigue and strain tearing at my muscles. Keeping up a steady pace and not stopping was the key. High up on the peak many were struggling, some literally using the railings to try and pull themselves up the holy mountain.
The 4.2 miles straight up to the summit of 7,359-feet Adam’s Peak didn’t seem that daunting to me. But the final segment, the thousands of steep stone steps to the top of Sri Lanka’s legendary pilgrimage site, an incredible 5,500 of them, slowed even the youngest and fittest.
Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians all have deep-rooted religious ties to the mountain, so pilgrims suffer the grueling climb for their beliefs. But outnumbering the pilgrims these days are Westerners, mostly 20-somethings, who trudge up the mountain in the middle of the night just to be able to say that they did it.
Sri Pada (Adam’s…
Categories: The Expeditioner