Adam’s Peak is the most universally venerated mountain in Sri Lanka – its sacred footprint at the summit is claimed by Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, and Muslim traditions, making the December-to-April pilgrimage season one of the most remarkable interfaith convergences in Asia. The night climb begins in the early hours so that the summit is reached at dawn, when the mountain casts its perfect triangular shadow across the cloud layer below in one of Sri Lanka’s most singular natural phenomena. The pilgrim trail community – lit all night, punctuated by warm tea stalls, and animated by people who have made this ascent annually for decades – is itself a cultural encounter of the first order.