Adam's Peak (Sri Pada)

Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) is a 2,243-meter mountain in Sri Lanka revered by four major religions, each of which claims the footprint-shaped impression at its summit as sacred. [1][2]

Pilgrimage to the summit has been documented for over 1,000 years. The mountain is mentioned in accounts by Arab traders, Chinese Buddhist monks, and European travelers from the medieval period onward. [1][2]

Buddhists believe the footprint is that of the Buddha; Hindus attribute it to Shiva; Muslims and Christians associate it with Adam's first step after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. The mountain is one of the rare sacred sites venerated by multiple religions simultaneously. [1][2]

The pilgrimage season runs from December to May. Thousands of pilgrims climb the 5,500 steps to the summit, typically beginning at night to arrive for sunrise. [1][2]

The pilgrimage season runs roughly from December to May, outside the monsoon, when a steady stream of pilgrims and visitors ascends the thousands of steps to the summit, traditionally climbing through the night to reach the peak by dawn. Lamps and rest stations line the route, and the appearance of first light on the footprint shrine is the focus of the ascent. [1][2]

The summit is crowned by a small shrine housing the sri pada, the foot-shaped hollow in the rock that gives the mountain its name. The conical peak rises to about 2,243 meters in the south-central highlands of Sri Lanka, and the surrounding wilderness is protected as a conservation area. [1]

Adam's Peak is unusual among sacred sites in being venerated at once by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, each reading the summit impression through its own tradition. For Sri Lanka, whose population is majority Theravada Buddhist with significant Hindu, Muslim, and Christian minorities, the mountain is a shared landmark of overlapping devotion. [1][2][3]