Adam's Peak is mostly seen as a sacred place for all religious groups. On the top, the peak treasures a big rock that carries a huge footprint that is believed to be Lord Buddhas in Buddhist tradition, Sri Rama's in Hindu mythology, and prophet Adam's in Christian and Islamic beliefs. The peak is pretty much attractive with thickly vegetated hills all the way up that facilitates the best trekking experience. Also, the peak is headwaters to four prominent rivers in the country named Kalu, Mahaweli, Kelani and Walawe and various other tributaries and features plenty of waterfalls. Being home to a wide range of unique birds, reptiles, and mammals, Adam's Peak has in possession rich biodiversity consisting of lavish endemic flora.

Adam's Peak, whose history dates back to the pre-Christian era, is special to all religions and expressed in different ways if you ask the locals about the history of this sacred mountain, hence relying on whom you are asking. Buddhists believe that it was the residence of their lord. While Hindus hold that according to their folktale it is in Adam's Peak that Ravana, King of Asura, hid Seetha, the queen of Lord Rama after abducting her from India. Muslims have it that after the forbidden fruit incident from Heaven, Adam directly descended on Adam's Peak. Sun-worshippers are said to have made first offerings here in 140 BC with King Dutugemunu who had given staples to monks at Sri Pada; the karma of which incident is said to have healed him at the deathbed.

Here at Adam's Peak, there is much more to do than a pilgrimage to this 2,243 meters tall mountain. You shall be enjoying scenic valleys, rustic looking environments, lush foliages everywhere your entire way up the mountain.

Possibly this one provides you the best trekking and hiking experience up the incline slopes that consist of 5,500 steps in total. You don't need technical hiking equipment to cover the 4 hours of ascent and 2 hours of decent, but a nice pair of shoes or boots and fitness level.

If you are ascending at night in the AM, you are getting the golden opportunity to witness the pure outbreak of sunrise, reaching the summit before 7 in the am, where clouds are passing beneath you. The summit area is reserved for the sacred experience of visiting the footprint, Buddhist monasteries and monks.

There are two alternative mountain feet for you to start ascending to Adam's Peak; the popular one being from Dalhousie, a small village, otherwise known as Nalathanniya and the other one being from Ratnapura, the opposite base of the mountain, which is less common because of longer hours of ascending.

To begin from Dalhousie you first need to arrive at Hatton or Maskeliya, the nearest city, that can be accessed by train or bus from Ella, Kandy, Colombo, etc. Located around 30 kilometers away from Hatton, Dalhousie village can be reached by bus, taxi cars or tuk-tuks both taking around 1 hour going past waterfalls, villages, and tea plantations.

Simply put, the three popular routes to the peak from the base are Hatton via Maskeliya (four miles walk), Rathnapura via Carney Estate (10 miles) and Kuruwita (12 miles).

When the sun is just about to rise, the pilgrims and tourists rush to the eastern side to witness an amazng spectacle. The sun almost leaps over the eastern horizon drawing a perfect triangle of a shadow of the mountain spreading over the western backdrop of the mountain. As the sun keeps on rising, the shadow shifts towards the base of the mountain until it completely disappears, a grand finale to a breathtaking natural spectacle.

On the summit of Adam’s Peak is located a shrine, a belfry and a resting place. The center of the attraction is a stone tablet covering the sacred footprint of Lord Buddha. Most pilgrims attempt the climb solely for the purpose of paying homage to the shrine. This is where mountains sinhala name originates; Sri Pada (Sinhala for Resplendent feet).

Nearly as much has been written about the sacred footprint as has been about the mountain itself. According to Giovani de Marigolli a 13th century seafarer, “The size, I mean the length thereof, is two and a half of our palms, about half a Prague ell. And I was not the only one to measure it, for so did another pilgrim, a Saracen from Spain”.

Robert Knox, an Englishman who lived in Sri Lanka in the 17th century, wrote that it was “about two feet long”. Captain John Ribeyro in his account of Sri Lanka presented to the king of Portugal in 1687 claimed that the footprint “could not be more perfect had it been done in wax”.

In 1859 James Emerson Tennent, the colonial secretary of Ceylon during the period of 1845 to1850, described the footprint as “a natural hollow artificially enlarged, exhibiting the rude outline of a foot about five foot long”.

On the way up, after a few minutes climb you can find the Sama Chatiya, the World Peace Pagoda. This stupa was built by the famous Japanese Buddhist monk Ven Nichi Fuji in 1976. Today it is maintained by several Japanese monks. Though not much could be made out of the stupa and the landscape in the night ascent, during daytime the Peace Pagoda stands out dramatically with the amazing backdrop of Adam’s Peak.

The pilgrims season to Sri Pada traditionally starts on the full moon of December and ends on the full moon of April. During the first half of the season the night ascent isn’t crowded. However during the latter half of the season, more people attempt the climb with each passing day..