Adventure
Adam's Peak night climb
Start at 2am and climb around 5,500 steps through the night with pilgrims and tea stalls to reach the 2,243-metre summit for sunrise and the mountain's famous triangular shadow.
Good value
Hill Country
Adam's Peak (Sri Pada)
Five thousand steps, in the dark, with thousands of pilgrims
- Hill Country
- Best Jan–Apr
- 1night suggested
Sri Pada is sacred to Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians alike, and has drawn pilgrims for at least a thousand years. The climb from Nallathanniya is around 5,500 steps in the dark, timed to reach the 2,243-metre summit for sunrise and the peak's famous triangular shadow.
The season runs from the December Unduvap full moon to the May Vesak full moon. In season the path is lit, tea stalls are open through the night, and on poya weekends it can be shoulder-to-shoulder the whole way up.
Outside the season the lights are off, the stalls are shut and the weather is often appalling. It can still be climbed, but it becomes a serious unsupported night hike rather than a pilgrimage.
Most climbers start between 2 and 2.30am and take three to four hours up. It is relentless stair-climbing rather than technical walking, and the last section is steep. Take warm layers for the summit wait — it is cold and windy up there.
The descent is hard on the knees and takes two to three hours in daylight, with views over the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary that you climbed straight past in the dark.
Highlights
- Sunrise from the summit and the peak's triangular shadow
- Climbing through the night with pilgrims and tea stalls
- The Peak Wilderness Sanctuary on the way down
- Tea estates and waterfalls around Hatton and Dalhousie
- Hill Country
- Jan–Apr
- 1 night
Pilgrimage season runs from the December full moon to the May full moon; outside it the path is unlit, facilities are closed and the weather is usually poor.
Where it is
Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) is in Hill Country.
Getting there & around
Advisory door-to-door estimates for typical road conditions, not live routing output.
Experiences here
Nearby destinations
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