Adam’s Peak

Adam’s Peak, mountain in southwestern Sri Lanka. It is 7,559 feet (2,304 metres) high and located 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Ratnapura, the capital of Sabaragamuwa province. It is well known for the Sri Pada (Sinhala for “Sacred Footprint”), a hollow that is 67 inches (170 cm) long and 18 inches (46 cm) wide and resembles the print of a human foot. The Sri Pada is venerated by Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and Muslims. Many pilgrims of all faiths visit the peak every year.

Adam’s Peak is not the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka (that honour belongs to Pidurutalagala), but it stands above the surrounding range, and its conical shape gives it the appearance of a pyramid. The region surrounding Adam’s Peak is a tropical rainforest and includes the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, created as a conservation zone in 1940. It is home to an elephant population isolated from the lowlands by the tea estates surrounding the sanctuary. Three major rivers of Sri Lanka—the Kelani, the Walawe, and the Kalu—originate at Adam’s Peak. The peak is composed of gneiss rock and is known for being rich in garnets, rubies, and sapphires.

The mountain was worshipped by the indigenous inhabitants of Sri Lanka, who called it the Samanalakanda, Saman being one of the four guardian deities of the island. Hindus call the mountain Sivan Adi Padham, as they believe the god Shiva left the giant footprint on the summit. Buddhist traditions, documented in the Mahavamsa, indicate that the print was left by the Buddha during his third and final visit to Sri Lanka. Some Portuguese Christians, on their arrival in Sri Lanka in the 16th century, claimed the impression to be the footprint of St. Thomas, who, according to tradition, is believed to have brought Christianity to Sri Lanka. Muslims believe it is the footprint of Adam, the mountain being the place where he stood in penance on one foot for a thousand years after being expelled from paradise.

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An early mention of the Sri Pada dates to the reign of the king Vijayabahu I (called Vijayabahu the Great), who ruled from 1055 to 1110 ce. Stone inscriptions at a site called Gilimale (or Gilimalaya) indicate that he dedicated the Gilimale village to provide for the needs of Buddhist pilgrims going to the Sri Pada. He also established wayside rest houses for pilgrims. King Nissankamalla (reigned 1187–96) had a concrete slab constructed to protect the footprint. Multiple later Sinhala kings visited the mountaintop shrine. Devaprathiraja, the minister of King Parakramabahu II (reigned 1225–69), constructed roads leading up to the mountain and installed iron chains on iron posts to ease the ascent. Legends claim that the chains were placed there by Alexander the Great, though there is no evidence that he traveled as far south as Sri Lanka.

Adam’s Peak is referred to in literature and travelogues as well. The 6th-century Tamil epic poem Manimekalai refers to the peak of Samantakuta on the island of Ratnadipa (“Island of Gems”) as the site of the footprints of the Buddha. Adam’s Peak is also found in the writings of the explorer Marco Polo and the traveler Ibn Battuta. The Tuhfat ul-Mujahidin, a book on the history of Muslims in the Malabar region of India, ascribes their first settlement in the country to a party of pilgrims returning from Adam’s Peak. The 14th–15th century Chinese traveler Ma Huan describes Adam’s Peak as abounding with rubies and precious stones. Adam’s Peak began to be climbed and written about by more and more Europeans in the 19th century. The doctor and chemist John Davy, in an 1817 letter addressed to his more famous brother Sir Humphry Davy, mentions Adam’s Peak as a having a steep and at times difficult route to the summit and describes the iron chains and rock steps that aid pilgrims. He also attempted to measure the height of the peak using a barometer.