Sri Lanka pilgrimage - from Colombo to Adam's peak & low-budget hotels and guest houses at the foot of Adam's peak

There are three ways to get to Adam's Peak (or Sri Pada) from either Colombo, the airport or Negombo Beach and so on. You can take the train, hire a taxi or take the bus. Regarding comfort level, the train is the most comfortable, then a taxi and probably lastly the bus. Regarding prices, the train is also the cheapest, then the bus, and most expensive is if you take a taxi all the way from Colombo. Thus whichever budget you have, the train is probably your best choice if you are travelling alone. If you are with a small group, hiring a taxi is a good idea, and for even larger groups hiring an air-conditioned bus can be a very good option.

Train
All the guides seem to agree, and I can also affirm personally, that the train is a very good option indeed. There is mention in the guides that you should reserve the train before hand, as 1st and 2nd class can get booked out. But I didn't do that, and there were plenty of seats. But perhaps on full moon day or if you're simply out of luck, that could be another story. If you happen to be in Colombo before hand, perhaps you can just go to the train station and reserve a ticket.

If you leave from Negombo Beach, you can already take the train from Negombo station. A tuktuk will take you there for around 200 rupees. Here you can only buy a ticket to Colombo, which would only cost 50 rupees or so. The trains seems to go almost every 15 minutes, first an express train, then a slow train, then an express and so on. The only catch here is that the express train, which presumable goes straight to Colombo, is packed, Indian train style, during rush hour. So a better choice is the slow train, which stops at each station. I left at 6:50 at arrived in Colombo train station at 8:15. When you arrive you need to cross the rails to the main building to get a ticket. But you can also take a tuktuk from Negombo Beach to take you to the train station in Colombo, which will take an hour or so and would cost between 2000 - 4000 rupees.
If you leave from Colombo, the only thing you need to do is take a taxi or tuktuk to the train station.

There are many ticket counters at the train station, but the one you need for Hatton, which is the station closest for Adam's peak, is counter nr 17. It's a bit hidden but if you stand in front of the counters, it's all the way to the left. Inside you need the counter for Triconmalee and so on.

Ticket counter for Hatton

A ticket for 2nd class is only 600 rupees. I was lucky and just caught the train at 8:30. The train is very comfortable, even for western standards. As some guides tell us, it's indeed better to go for 2nd class, without airco. The windows are always open, giving a very nice breeze, and the airco is not needed. Also, if you have airco you might not be able to open the window, which obstructs nice pictures.

1st class

2nd class, my fellow traveller chatting with locals

Rice fields and palm trees

The train goes up to Kandy, and then goes down to Hatton.

Buddha statue in the distance just before Kandy

We arrived around 13:45, only a bit later then planned. Thus it took just over 5 hours.

Once you get to Hatton, you can take either the bus, a taxi or a tuktuk. Many tourists get out here, and before I could even find the bus station, a group of westerners approached me, asking if I wanted to share a big taxi with 6 persons. It was 2500 rupees, and thus only 400 rupees per person and takes you to Dalhousie or Nallathanniya (which is were you need to go) in less then an hour.

Taxi or tuktuk
I've heard prices for 100 dollar and up. If you're with a few friends it's not that expensive, but it will probably take about 4 or 5 hours at least. The advantage is that you'll go straight to you final destination, and this is probably the quickest option.

Buses

I'm not very informed about the bus at the moment, but if you go to Colombo bus station, for sure you can take a bus to Hatton.

Accommodation at the feet of Adam's peak

A first glance at Sri Pada

I've heard some people say, that accommodation would be limited at the feet of Adam's Peak, but that seems incorrect. Hotels and guest houses are abundant. That is of course to be expected, since the mountain is a sacred place of pilgrimage for all of the people of Sri Lanka, whether Buddhist, Christian or Muslim. Many islanders I've met went there at least once in their lives, and with 20 million people in Sri Lanka plus a bunch of tourists you can imagine they need quite a few hotels. During the season though, thing for sure get crowded, and at full moon days it might be impossible to get a room.

Many people go for only one day, walk up during the night and leave straight away next morning: the new modern way of speedy pilgrimage. Now in November, the pilgrimage season has not started and you barely see locals, only foreigners. About mid December, during full moon the season will start and then it will get very, very busy. Interestingly, since now it's about one month before the season starts, the whole area looks like a big construction site, with everybody racing to upgrade and extend their hotels for the new season!

One of the construction sites

If you look online for Hotels, obviously you will only find those on the higher end of the spectrum. For those with a smaller budget, perhaps when you arrive first take an hour or so to explore your options leisurely. Asking for a price and then walking away is also a great strategy for getting better prices. Especially outside of the pilgrimage season, you can negotiate. Talk to the locals, and you will find cheap home-stays for as little as 500 rupee (but then don't expect hot water). There are also nice places for around 1000 rupees or so, but you'd have to look for them. Getting a room for 1500 is not that difficult. But if you take a room in one of the fancy hotels, next to the roads, prices are more likely to be around 20-50 dollars.

Han, december 2015