Adam’s Peak and a scenic train ride

Adam’s Peak is commonly known as Sri Pada is a sacred mountain in the highland region of Sri Lanka which is equally popular with foreigners as well as in Sri Lankan tourism. The typical climb is started in the middle of the night so you can reach the peak for a breathtaking Adam’s Peak sunrise. And Believe me, the sunrise blended with the cozy atmosphere with charged fellow trekkers make it a unique experience.

Historical connections of Adam’s Peak

How did we get there

Our story of the Scenic Train Ride

The train was running towards Hatton and we had just crossed the Candy station. We started our journey from Colombo and had a plan to take a short break at Candy before continuing our journey to Hatton but the train route was beyond our imaginations and scenery along the track forced us to continue our scenic ride. The train was running fast into the green forests, along with the stations which have eye-catching building colors and beautiful water crossings.

We had taken the ticket for the 2nd class and there was no reservation available for this class. The train was overloaded with passengers and we had traveled in standing position till candy. Although 1^st class tickets seem better if you want to avoid the crowd but we opted to travel by second class to see the passing-by scenes from the open windows. Besides, in 1^st class, we can’t open the window to take some superb shots. Moreover, travel with local people was a more enchanting experience for us to feel and enjoy.

Candy to Hatton through Tea Gardens

At Candy, most of the passengers left the train and we comfortably got our seats for the next leg of the journey. Here the series of green tea gardens of Srilanka started to come up with new turns and tactics. Now the travel had two faces. One the outdoor scenery and the second, the indoor activities of our local fellows. There was a group of students who were singing lively songs in their language. Although the meaning wasn’t conveyed to us, however, the music has a universal language to listen to and understand. We bought a couple of local snacks from the train. At every station, we used to get off the train for a couple of minutes and then again get on it.

Hatton to Adam’s Peak Base

We finally get off the train at Hatton and hired a tuk-tuk for Nallathanniya which is a base to Sri Pada known as Adam’s Peak. The tuk-tuk ride was slow but awesome. On the way, we stopped at a couple of places especially Castlereigh Lake which is about 5km long and came after an hour of tuk-tuk ride from Hatton.

Our next stop was another beautiful lake which was even bigger than the previous one and named Maskeliya Lake. Tea gardens beside the lakes presenting a stair-like Mozaic.

After passing by a couple of huge waterfalls we reached Nallathanniya. We went to our pre-booked budgeted guesthouse. We visited in last week of November and the weather was pleasant there. I booked a basic Guest room on Booking.com. In the guest room, I had met another guy who had a similar plan to trek Adam’s Peak right the next morning. Rather than morning, we can call it a  midnight trek as it is assumed to reach the summit before the sunrise to see the first rays of a sunrise there. So, we decided to go along for the next morning trek.

Trek to Adam’s Peak

After a halfhearted sleep, we left the guest house at 02:30 and found many travelers at that time who were also going to the peak. Just after a few minutes trek, we passed by the laying Buddha statue

Then we started to count our steps. Although the trek length and height are moderate, even then 5500 steps matter a lot, and a lot mean, A LOT. Reached there much before the sunrise, and the weather there was a bit cold. The moment was memorable when everyone was standing and shouting with joy while welcoming to the first rays of the morning.

The descending leg was about 1.5 hours and after reaching the ground level we have forgotten how to walk in our natural style. We took our breakfast at the guest house and packed for the next leg of our journey.

few Facts about Adam’s peak