Climbing Adam's Peak at Dawn

Pilgrims have climbed Adam''s Peak for a thousand years, and they climb it in the dark. The point is to stand at the summit when the sun comes up — so you start, improbably, at two in the morning.

The trail from Nallathanniya is a staircase, mostly: five thousand-odd steps lit by a chain of tea-stalls that stay open through the night during pilgrimage season. Go slowly. The cold thins the higher you climb, and the steps steepen toward the top where the crowd bottlenecks before dawn.

Reach the summit by half past five and find a place against the railing. When the sun breaks the horizon, the peak throws a perfect triangular shadow across the clouds below — a shadow that seems to stand upright, then collapse toward the mountain as the sun rises. It lasts only minutes. Then the temple bell rings, and the long climb down begins.