Ways to reach Sri Pada Mountain

There are several routes to reach the top of Samanala Mountain. Whichever route you choose, you will have to climb the mountain on foot. This will require you to climb thousands of steps and the distance to the top will vary depending on the route you choose. Below are the main routes that can be used to reach the top of Sri Pada Mountain.

Hatton Road - This is the most popular route used by many people and it is easy to climb the mountain as this road has steps.

(This is the staircase leading up to Sri Pada from Hatton Road. All the pictures I have included here were taken while visiting Sri Pada via Hatton Road.)

Ratnapura Route - A fairly difficult route that requires a long journey, and like the Hatton route, many people choose this route.

Kuruwita Road - A challenging road. Traveling is very difficult.

Muriyawatta, Mookuwatta and Malimboda routes - Are so difficult that they are not used by pilgrims.

Among these routes, the most commonly used routes by pilgrims are the Hatton route and the Ratnapura route. To reach the top of Sri Pada via the Hatton route, you have to climb about 6,000 steps, while if you choose the Ratnapura route, you have to climb almost 10,000 steps.

Why do pilgrims come to worship at Sri Pada?

As I mentioned above, Sri Padasthan is a sacred religious place for Buddhists. Buddhists climb the mountain with great effort to worship the Buddha's feet at the top of the mountain. In addition, Tamils, Muslims and foreigners also come to worship Sri Padasthan. Pilgrims are not allowed to go to Sri Padasthan every day. There is a time set aside for that. The pilgrimage season begins with the full moon in December and ends with the full moon of Vesak in May. Other times are the "off season" when it is not allowed to worship Sri Padasthan.

These pictures show views of Sri Pada Mountain.

While climbing Sri Pada Mountain, boards indicating the number of steps are seen at several places.

There are various religious and traditional rituals associated with climbing Sripada Mountain, and the first-time pilgrim is called the "Kodukaraya". Before climbing the mountain, he or she must bathe in a stream called "Seetha Gangula". Seetha Gangula is the river that flows through Sripada Mountain. The water of this river is very cold, so it is called Seetha Gangula. Also, pilgrims climbing the mountain for the first time fix needles and threads at a place called "Indikatupana". This place called Indikatupana is found after climbing about half of Samanala Mountain. While climbing mountain, devotees sing various folk poems to relieve their fatigue. Anyway, after climbing the mountain, they ring the bell there according to the number of times they have visited Sripada. But many pilgrims climb about half of the Sri Pada mountain, are unable to climb the rest, and turn back.