Photo and caption by Lucia Griggi

Deep in the Forest of the remote island’s south-eastern jungle I’m hacking through the debris trying to find a legendary trail. For over centuries the native people have experienced the homeless life of a beggar, who trod this trail for over a millennium, leaving everything behind but a bundle of essentials. Starting from the island's far North and arriving nearly two months later at the Kataragama shrine in the southeastern jungle, the Pāda Yātra(the pilgrimage) has played a major role in perpetuating Kataragama's spiritual traditions throughout Sri Lanka and South India.

Location: Yala National Park, Sri Lanka.