The Half Way Challenge

After a few weekends of exploring the island we decided to brave ourselves for Sri Pada, also known as Adam's Peak. The sacred footprint at the summit is worshipped by Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims, therefore making it the holiest mountain in Sri Lanka. There is a lot of legend and history behind Sri Pada, which has been interesting to find out about, especially concerning the mysterious footprint, which lies beneath a precious gem covered by a large boulder. There are different routes to climb to the peak too, with Ratnapura being the oldest, longest and viewed as the most difficult. We climbed up the Hatton trail, with about 5,200 steps up to the peak, 2,500m above sea level.

The pilgrim season runs between the Poya (full moon) days in December and May, with weekends bringing the largest crowds. So we were expecting it to be a tad busy. But we had no idea what we had actually let ourselves in for...

We started the ascent at 1.30am on Saturday morning, so that we could see the sun rise from the temple at the top for Rachel's birthday. So this left us a lengthy five hours, plenty enough time for some leisurely rest stops at the tea stands on the way up too. Our friends had made it up in under three hours a few weeks previously, so if anything we thought we'd be waiting around in the cold for too long at the top!

However nothing in Sri Lanka is that simple. At 4am the queuing began. One step every ten to fifty minutes. With absolutely no clue how long or how far it was to the top. I remember thinking that we were so close at this point, and when someone said it might take two more hours we scoffed and said that was ridiculous! As if!

Seven hours of queuing later...

So we eventually reached the peak at 11am, feeling drained and delirious, five hours late. But with a huge sense of achievement for our physical and mental determination! The temperature and morale had plummeted after a few hours of queuing amongst thousands of dedicated people, compacted all the way up the narrow staircase to the top. Luckily we'd taken a few extra layers, but I think it was the biscuits, singing and laughter that pulled us through! Although we weren't at the peak for the sunrise and the apparently spectacular shadow it casts, I must admit we had a pretty incredible view. It forced me to appreciate it a whole lot more, and I was actually kind of glad that I was able to just stand there and take it all in properly. I also gained a lot of respect for those that were climbing for their beliefs and religion. It was really motivating and inspirational to see some of the people who had already made it to the top - elderly, sick, disabled, mother and baby, with most of them being barefoot. I saw a man with one leg and another man with prosthetic legs, which just goes to show their dedication to their religion and their belief of a better rebirth. I reminded myself of this when I wanted to complain and moan - if they could do it then we could too!

We hadn't anticipated being out in the sun and heat at all, so after some celebratory photos and chocolate at the top we had to get on with the steep knee buckling descent! Breakfast was waiting for us at 2pm, eight hours late, which we needed after no sleep or food all day. It was an extremely long and exhausting day, and most people did not want to speak about it for days after as the memories were still too painful! Nonetheless I thought it was still an absolutely amazing experience and the view definitely made it worth all the hard work! This challenge marked the half way point for my time in Sri Lanka, so the achievement celebrated what we have accomplished in our projects and life in Sri Lanka.

Saying that though, the remainder of the weekend still didn't go to plan... When we got back to the guesthouse we realised that no one had our room key, and after an hour of searching we had to get the bolt and padlock removed, pay the damage cost, then got stuck in a bad traffic accident on the windy hill roads and then caught in torrential rain, eventually arriving at Bentota seven hours later for the rest of our 'relaxing' weekend by the beach! I did have my first Sri Lankan train experience on the way home though, with people hanging out the doors and the sea being right out the window only three metres from the track! So the weekend was certainly an adventure, but left us feeling physically and mentally exhausted for days, so much that most of us were unfortunately vomiting and bed bound for the rest of the week!