An uncommon and exciting route to pilgrimage to Sri Pada

There are most famous places that are many tourism attractions in Sri Lanka.One of them is Sri Pada is located in the Central Highlands of the Ratnapura District of the Sabaragamuwa Province.It is about 2243 meters high. Sri Pada is a place of worship for Buddhists.

The area around Sri Pada Kanda is surrounded by large mountain ranges. It is also home to wildlife such as elephants and tigers. Indigenous animals also live there. It can be reached by 6 roads such as Ratnapura-Palabaddala, Hatton-Nallathanni, Kuruwita-Erathna, Muryawatta, Mukuwatta and Maliboda. Of those roads, Ratnapura-Palabaddala and Hatton-Nallathanni are the two most famous.

Due to the historical value of Sri Padasthana, various ethnic groups call Sri Padasthana by their own names. Buddhists have known the name Sri Pada since ancient times. It is a Pali word. Buddhists believe that the Supreme Buddha marked his foot on the top of the Sri Pada hill. Tamils consider Sri Pada as the place where the footprint of their god Shiva is marked. But other people believe that when Adam came into the world, his footprint was marked at the top of the mountain. Sri Padasthana is also known as Samanala Kanda. It is so called because the butterflies are considered to inhabit the Sri Padasthana during their annual migration.

uncommon and exciting experience

I have worshiped Sri Pada three times. From the aforementioned routes I chose the Hatton-Nallathanni, Kuruwita-Erathna and Maliboda routes to worship Sri Pada. One of them was an unforgettable experience on the way to Maliboda when I was studding period with my friends.

We crossed that road without a guide.But I think we need a guide to go that route. Because there are very few people on that road and the wildlife lives on that road. We did not meet anyone on the road. The bitterest experience was the increase in the volume of the river while waiting for the mind to bathe in the river. Our goal there was to cross the road before dark. We were able to achieve that goal. Eventually we made the pilgrimage to Sri Pada and returned via Hatton Road.