![IMG-20240318-WA0013.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPbCn1vPcCbNdHMDqDvybEGDZfA4jSke29oQpe6rexw2B/IMG-20240318-WA0013.jpg)

The official pilgrimage season begins on Fullmoon Day in December and it runs until Fullmoon Day in May or Vesak Poya Day. Annually millions of loals and foreigners pilgrimage to the Siripada during the Season. This is my 5th time of visiting the Siripada.

I visited Siripada on a weekend which was on 16th and 17th March with my friends. Altogether there were nine people in our group of friends. There are many popular routes to climb the Siripada but the Hatton - Nallathanni route was our choice of journey which is most use and popular route among people who visit Siripada. We got to Hatton by Badulla train Udarata Manike which started from Colombo Fort at 8.30am. The journey by train was very smooth and scenic. After a happening and beautiful journey of nearly 5 hours, we reached to Hatton about 1.30pm. 🚞

![IMG-20240318-WA0094.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmd8ctThqRm88Ju8M4PquuUaqCNpMdyQ3f4SLUyotfPXVf/IMG-20240318-WA0094.jpg) Nallathanniya is the starting point for climbing Siripada. So we took a bus from the main bus stand in Hatton to Nallathanniya. The journey from Hatton to Nalathanniya took about 2 hours.
We ascended the mountain in the night hoping to reach the top just in time to see the magical beauty of sunrise in the morning. Before we starting the climb of nearly 5000 steps lead up to the sacred footprint, we had a bath and refreshed ourselves with icy cold water in Seetha Gangula. ![IMG-20240318-WA0092.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmS95nAa9XSYRkYuqH9ynFFESegewxAVYoL1SeJJrKc4A6/IMG-20240318-WA0092.jpg)
After leaving Nallathanniya the climb began to ascend very gradually passing by a number of tea shops, massage spots, shrines, temples and number of dansals offering refreshments and medical assistance to pilgrims. We didn't forget to enjoy the hot cups of tea and refreshments from those wayside dansals. 😋
The first thing we met was noteworthy near the start of the journey was a beautiful arched stone gateway called the Makara Thorana which marks the beginning of ascend properly. ![IMG-20240318-WA0006.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQ5a9vmg5aTq4ougSvS1gGbqapSLXZk3CC3CZp7dJyay6/IMG-20240318-WA0006.jpg)
The journey was continued from here to the top. Let's see how we reached to the top of Siripada after long hours of climb in the next part. To be continued... 🫶♥️