Adam's Peak

Adam's Peak (Sinhala Samanhela), mountain, southern Sri Lanka, east of Colombo. The 2,243-m (7,360-ft) summit contains a depression about 1.5 m (5 ft) long by about 76 cm (30 in) wide that is shaped like a human footprint. The origin of the footprint is explained in various ways depending on religious and cultural tradition. According to Muslim tradition, the summit was the scene of the penance of Adam (after his expulsion from Paradise), during which he stood on one foot for a thousand years. To Buddhists the footlike depression is the sacred footmark left by Buddha on his departure from Sri Lanka; to Hindus it is the footprint of the god Shiva.