Day 623 - Pilgram's Peak

After pretty much being awake all night we were actually rather keen to get our arses into gear and get to the top of Adam's Peak (2243m). Our sole focus was the distant dot that our eyes strained to see, some 4,800 steps away!

Adam's Peak is a holy mountain for many religions and throughout the night we passed hundreds of pilgrims of all ages, many barefoot, making their way to the summit for the sunrise and ceremonies that accompany it.

We'd been led to believe it was a hard climb taking around 4 hours, so we set off at 2am to ensure we'd get there by 6am. But at 4.30am we were at the top and we'd managed to sneak in a few drink stops along the way as well.

This meant that we had a freezing hour and a half huddled together amongst the masses - some who had been there all night by the look of it. The sun rise we were treated to was well worth the effort and the cold, and we joined in with the ooh-ing and aah-ing of everyone else when the golden dome burst out of the clouds and into the sky.

We also got to witness the strange phenomenon that the sun rise causes: as it rises it casts a shadow of the peak onto the mist covered valley beyond, creating a perfect triangle.

We charged down the hill enjoying the view over the misty valley, our youthful bodies giving us an advantage over a majority of the climbers. We packed as fast as possible and headed in search of a bus to take us back to the Hatton train station. We were lucky with our timing and the fact that we knew where the train station was, because as soon as we got there we bought our ticket to Kandy and seconds later a train rolled in.

Once in Kandy we joined forces with a British couple we'd met on the train and set of in search of a cheap place to stay, and once this was finally accomplished food was next on the list!

Apart from a quick browse around the supermarket, our bodies that had been on the go since 2am screamed for a break. So we made a slow wander around the Kandy lake towards home.

Adlibing Adam's Peak.