1,840 Steps and Testing Nerves in Sacred Mihintale, Sri Lanka

1,840 Steps to Nirvana in Mihintale,



Mihintale, Sri Lanka - Okay, I had to conquer something here. After paying yet another 500 rupees - just to punish myself, I had to climb 1,840 steps to a rock outcrop stupa! You think I did it? That's so many steps more than Bagan's Mount Popa, and all those stamina-chasers combined! Yes, I actually got to the top. My problem was coming down! These rocky excrescences didn't have stair formations but slightly carved imaginings to help you reach the top. My nerves were crying out overtime. At some point, part of me was panicking but knew I had top make it down since no one else was there.

I went to Mihintale very early in the morning before the harsh heat of the sun took over, and before the wild throng of the faithful would be able to see me make a fool of myself! This sacred city of Mihintale is the birth place of Buddhism! Despite my mortifying experience, I was too glad to get there!

On my way back to my three-wheeler, I chatted with a school teacher who took his students there. If I wasn't trying to catch my bus to Kandy, I'd have loved to chat up more. Most people get to Mihintale on a bike from Anuradhapura, I was told, but I had a baggage with me.

This is the Eye in the Sky on the Sri Lankan roads to adventure!