When Jamie and I got off the train in Hatton, we loaded our things into another tuk-tuk and we headed out on the scenic route for Dalhousie. It's definitely an interesting ride in a 3-wheeler.
It was slow going, but it meant that we really got to see so much of the view. We took our time winding up through more tea plantations skirting a beautiful little lake.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
We passed all kinds of small villages, temples, shops and farmland.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
As we wound our way up towards Dalhousie, we passed by a beautiful little lake. The changing weather up in the hills made for incredibly dramatic photos of nearby storm clouds out over the water.
Eventually we made it up into the hill town of Dalhousie. This is the starting point for the pilgrimage hike of Adam’s Peak, or Sri Pada.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
There are all kinds of legends about the depression at the peak of the mountain, many say it is the footprint of the Buddha or of Adam when he was cast out of heaven. Regardless of what the stories say, this remains largely a Buddhist pilgrimage site. So during the months of December through May you share the walk with tourists and pilgrims alike. The small town is also much busier during that time so it can be tough finding a place to stay, especially if you're on a budget. It is absolutely worth the trip though!
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
It’s 5500 stairs to the temple at the top and the view from there reaches far and wide. Pilrgims often leave sometime in the evening so they can reach the top in time to enjoy the view at sunrise.
We were there in January, and as luck would have it, we managed to make it there for the full moon, or poya, as well!! As we started asking around town what time we needed to start the hike in order to see the sunrise, we kept hearing earlier and earlier and EARLIER times!! We hadn’t realized just how huge this pilgrimage was! In the end we left around 9pm, hating ourselves, thinking we were WAY too early, but too afraid to miss the show too! So with smiles and slight apprehensions we pointed ourselves in the direction of the crowd and away we went.
It was actually one of the most special things I’ve ever witnessed!!! As we set out from our guesthouse, we could already see the lights glowing in the distance indicating the route to come. We made our way slowly though town as the food vendors tried to entice us into bringing snacks. In hindsight, knowing the arduous journey to come, that might have been a good idea LOL. As my nerves picked up nearing the base of the actual mountain, the crowd started to thin a little. I was relieved, until I saw why.. The steps were beginning, and some of them were so steep, they were a couple feet tall. But we put our heads down and started the climb.
As we made our way up we couldn’t help noticing all of the work that would have gone into carving out those steps. Devotees would have spent years carving out the rock and then hauling all of the materials to the top to build the temple. It puts into perspective how special this place is to these people. We also spent a lot of time watching the people. There were old ladies with no shoes on leaning on a family member or a walking stick for support; there were groups of teenagers and young children practically running up with flip flops or even barefoot; there were whole families making the trip together. Some of them told us with pride how many times they’d already completed this journey in the past. Some teased us and asked us questions, others kept to themselves, but it was always good-natured and we always felt welcome. For some stretches of time we had locals to walk and talk with, in Sri Lanka you can always find someone to talk to!!
As we got closer to the top and the climb got steeper, we kept a little more to ourselves and took breaks often. Luckily there is a handrail for the steeper bits and that really helped make the climb a bit easier for the people who were struggling. As the hours wore on and the crowd near the top got thicker, we actually started to worry that we might not make it to the top in time for sunrise. We powered on though, and waited in line, knowing that others were there for more profound reasons than just seeing the sunrise from the top.
Eventually we were climbing the final steps to the temple. You can’t wear your shoes inside so there were thousands of pairs of shoes and flip flops all over the steps here. We were afraid we would never find ours again so we tied our shoes to the outside of our day packs and inside we went. We had no idea that this would be a problem until we started to pass through the temple and Jamie laid his bag on a table that was definitely NOT meant to have bags holding shoes on it!! We were kindly asked to leave, which actually suited us fine. We found that observing their religious moment was the first and only time that we felt like we were imposing on something private between the people and their god.
Back outside the atmosphere was that of celebration and relief, we were free to enjoy the view and some conversation with some of the pilgrims that had already made it to the top.
As we started to relax and wait for the sunrise, the chill of the dawn started to seep in and we shivered as we waited for the sun to grace us with it’s warmth. When the sun finally did cross the horizon, the cloud and fog was still too thick to see much.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
Feeling a little anticlimactic letdown, we started our long walk back down to town.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
As we located the stairs leading back down the mountain, we could see stretching before us a longggg line of other tourists and pilgrims that hadn’t left early enough. We felt simultaneously sorry for them and slightly jealous because as we made our way down, the sun came out and lit up the valley below us. The view was still dramatic, but I can imagine that from the top it would be very satisfying to see!
Still onward we pressed, since we’d been up all night we were starting to feel the effects of a night without sleep and we were longing for our beds. First though, we still had thousands more steps down the mountain ahead of us. There’s something so different about going down stairs as opposed to hiking down a mountain. Your knees and thighs ache so much that even when you stop for a rest, they still wobble and shake and make you feel like you're still moving.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
Eventually we made it back to our hotel. Up til this point we were able to forget the 50 stairs we now had to climb to get up to our room to bed LOL. Eventually we made it, and we crashed pretty hard for a couple hours until it was time to check out of our room and we headed back down the mountain to Hatton again because the accommodation was cheaper. We slept and slept the day away and when we went out to get some dinner, we were delighted to find that a festival was taking place in town that night. We couldn't believe our luck!! We'd been hoping to catch a festival sometime while we were in Sri Lanka, but we never expected to find one in the tiniest little town!!!
There were all kinds of traditional dancers and performers, there were elephants and fire shows. It was so beautiful and all of the people were so happy to see the few tourists who were there enjoying so much.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
After our recovery day we were feeling pretty restless so we hopped on a bus for Kandy for a change of scenery. When we arrived, the hunt was on again for a place to stay. We found a pretty basic guest house in an old colonial building that had definitely seen better days. It suited our needs though because we had nothing but exploring planned and we were within a few minutes' walk to the lake and the temple.
First though, we headed for an afternoon of ayurvedic treatments. We both had a massage to try and ease the aches and pains out of our sore leg muscles. We also did a hot oil treatment over the forehead (3rd eye) and hair. To finish we laid inside long, wooden steam chambers that felt a little like laying inside a very warm coffin with your head sticking out. It was all so nice and relaxing after the train ride and the hikes to just be pampered in such a lovely setting.
Our second day in Kandy we explored the Temple of the Sacred Tooth. It’s an incredible temple said to house one of the Buddha’s teeth.
Naturally there are many Buddhist worshipers visiting the temple. As you walk through the first tunnel you already get a glimpse of the incredible detail and how well it has all been maintained. The carvings are what really drew my attention from there on out, but there are paintings and statues, you can only imagine the work that went into building this house of worship. We wandered through for a couple hours observing the various forms of art throughout the entire complex.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
After the temple we took a walk around the lake to enjoy the atmosphere of Kandy town.
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
(Photo Credit Jamie Smy)
While we were walking around we met a young man named Muhammad. He walked with us for a while telling us about his business as a driver and he invited us to come and meet his wife and his kids for dinner. We had plans to leave town very early the next day so we had to turn down his offer. But we were planning to return to Kandy after we visited the north of the country so we promised to stay in touch.
Before we knew it, the countryside was calling us back and we hopped back on a bus for Dambulla. There's not much there to see but it's a starting point for trips to the Lion's Rock, or Sigiriya, which I'll tell you about in Part 4 along with a trip to see the Golden Buddha and cave temples in Dambulla and the ancient ruins of Anuradhapura. I hope you'll follow along with our story :)