How long did Siddhartha Gautama practice asceticism before his enlightenment?

Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as the Buddha, practiced an ascetic life of renunciation for six years before attaining enlightenment.1

After witnessing the "Four Signs"—an old man, a sick person, a corpse, and a meditating monk—he renounced his life of luxury at age 29 to seek a solution to the problems of old age, disease, and death. Following his six-year period of asceticism, he concluded that extreme withdrawal was not the answer and instead discovered the path to bodhi (enlightenment) through meditation.12