Adam’s Peak in Dalhousie is a climb for the Bucket List. You will meet yourself (and in Pilgrim times a number of others) on this uphill climb, where it’s all about suffering and perseverance. Once you reach the top, you will be rewarded with a magical view of Sri Lanka.
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Adam’s Peak is a sacred mountain for Hindus, Christians and Buddhists. Indeed, they believe that this is where their god first set foot on earth. This foot is taken quite literally as there is a large foot in the stones at the summit. That is why the route up is also called a pilgrimage, and thousands of Sri Lankans travel to the top every year (young and old)
You don’t have to be in the best physical condition to climb Adam’s Peak, although it’s certainly not recommended to start it if you have an injury. In fact, it takes you about 3 hours, climbing 5500 steps. This sounds like an impossible task but it is certainly not. If you take enough breaks and keep walking slowly, it is quite doable.
Best travel time for Adam’s Peak
The period from December to the end of April is described as the best time to climb Adam’s Peak. In the months of May through October, it can be very foggy which can make it less worthwhile. We climbed Adam’s Peak in June, then it was extremely foggy and we got soaked by the rain. Once at the top, we were not allowed “on top” because the monk in charge of opening it could not go up because of the heavy rain. But even so, it was really worth it. The whole idea of sweating so much and persevering, and then being rewarded with beautiful views (which we unfortunately didn’t get to see for ourselves) and beautiful descents (which we did see and were really beautiful!) was amazing. Therefore, it is definitely recommended to take this trip as well in June.
How do you get to Adam’s Peak?
The start of the climb up is in the village of Dalhousie. To get to this village take the train or bus to Hatton, and from here you can take the bus (takes 1.5/2 hours and costs €0.46) or tuktuk (1 hour and costs around €7) to Dalhousie. Read more about transportation in Sri Lanka here. The best known way to get to Hatton is via the train ride from Kandy to Ella. So on the way you get off at Hatton station. After climbing Adam’s Peak, you can continue the beautiful train ride.
Dalhousie is a very small village with a few hostels and a few stores. There is not much else to do here so it is wisest to arrive later in the afternoon. We stayed overnight at the hostel Singh Brothers, where we also had dinner the night before as well as a good nutritious breakfast after returning from the climb. The location is about a 5-minute walk from the start of the climb so it couldn’t have been better. We also had a private room with its own bathroom, for a small price. All this added up is why this hostel is definitely recommended.
Preparation
When you arrive in Dalhousie, the first thing you should do is stock up on plenty of snacks and water. It is hugely important to have enough energy, and since you start at night, you can’t get anything right before. We especially liked having bananas with us and some good granola bars. Furthermore, we had enough with 1.5 liters of water per person but that was because it was raining and cold the whole trip. If you want to climb the mountain when it is warmer, I would still recommend taking 3 liters of water per person. We ourselves had this with us and it was a nice feeling not having to be so frugal with our water intake.
Furthermore, it is important to wear good shoes that allow you to climb stairs and if it is rainy (read: when waterfalls are pouring down) you still have enough grip to not fall.
Climb on!
The alarm clock is set early; it is time to wake up at 2 a.m. because it is best to start the climb around 2:30. When you exit the street you walk straight to the beginning of the mountain,. Here you arrive at a small room. In the room are some monks who put on you a bracelet that is supposed to keep you safe and will bring good luck. After that, it is appropriate to give a small donation (between LKR 500 and LKR 1000, or 3 to 6 euros per person). Then you can really start the climb!
The first hour is fairly easy with occasional steps but mostly leisurely up hills. Here you will also find some tea houses, where (if the residents are awake) you can still get a nice cup of hot tea or a snack. They also sell bottled water so when you run out on the way back you can always get it here.
After the first hour, things get a lot trickier. There are now almost only steps, which is very taxing on your legs. Try to take a break here as often as you need to. It is really important to get enough rest when you need it. Even if you only catch your breath for a minute and then move on. From this stretch we were joined by a dog that walked with us. Each time, it drifted a few steps ahead of us and then waited for us. So sweet!
The last half hour is really steep climbing. This is exhausting and you often think ‘what did I get myself into’. Then the trick is to keep going and keep yourself motivated because you really are almost there!
In the end, it took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to climb up and we did not take huge breaks. We were still young and in reasonably good shape, so if your situation is different, it is wise to stick to the 3 hours. When we arrived at the summit (at 5 a.m.) there was another boy, who waited with us until it was 6. Indeed, that’s when the monk would open the platform. Meanwhile, someone had woken up from our talking and offered us a hot cup of tea. Lovely after all the rain that had made us so cold. Unfortunately, the monk could not go up due to heavy rain and after shooting a few pictures (not well done due to the fog) we started the descent at 6:30.
The descent was still quite difficult, partly due to the intense shaking of the legs after the effort but these views made up for a lot! Even while descending, the dog again walked with us and showed us the way. Although we could not have gotten lost because there was only one road.
As shown in the photos, it was very foggy. Because of this, we were not able to take nice view photos, but you could see a fair amount. Still, it is really recommended to do the climb because it was a super cool experience.
Do keep in mind the muscle pain in your upper legs or calves for up to 2/3 days after the climb. So don’t plan another climb or a hugely long hike after this.
From Hatton, you can take the world’s most beautiful train ride towards Nuwara Eliya, where you can do a very cool hike to World’s End. This hike only takes a few hours and is not that hard on your legs so good to combine! After Nuwara Eliya, you can then continue the train journey to the quaint backpacker village of Ella. In Ella, you can make another challenging climb to the top of Ella Rock. So plenty of adventure to be had in Sri Lanka!
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