Sri Paada Kanda is Sri Lanka’s holiest mountain and is claimed by most of the country’s religions as the site where Buddha came to earth. Every good Buddhist is expected to make a pilgrimage to its peak at least once in their life. It is a stiff climb.

It is a 2,243 metres (7,359 ft) tall conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka. It is well-known for the Sri Pada "sacred footprint", a 1.8 m rock formation near the summit, in Buddhist tradition held to be the footprint of Lord Buddha.

Although the central highlands of Sri Lanka rise to over 2500 metres, there are few distinct peaks. The one exception to this is Adams Peak, which rises like a mini-Matterhorn out of the surrounding tree-clad slopes. You can drive pretty close to the summit but it is still a steep climb to the top. The peak has been a site of pilgrimage for over a thousand years and there is now a well maintained set of over 4500 steps that take you to the top.

The climb is traditionally done in the dark to allow the pilgrim to witness the sunrise from the peak and to return again before the heat of the day. The path is well-lit by ugly strip lights which ascend in the darkness blending confusingly with the stars, so at times it looks like the path goes on for ever up into the heavens. In fact climbing in the dark is best as you can’t see how much further you have to go.

The mountain is located in the southern reaches of the Central Highlands, in the Ratnapura district of the Sabaragamuwa Province - lying about 20 km northeast of the city of Ratnapura. The surrounding region is largely comprised of forested hills, with no mountain of comparable size nearby.

Access to the mountain is generally provided by a bus that travels between Sri Pada and the nearby town of Maskeliya, to the northeast. The summit of the mountain, however, may only be reached on foot.

The mountain can only be scaled from December to May. During other months it is hard to climb the mountain due to very heavy rain, extreme wind, and thick mist. It is almost impossible to hike there through lesser known jungle tracks because of flooding rivers and animals.