Hiker takes terrifying climb up 2,300-foot tall staircase with no handrail

By Leo Black via SWNS

This fearless hiker made the terrifying climb up a 2,300ft-high carved stone staircase -- with no handrail.

Nitish Tiwari, 26, took three and half hours to climb the vertigo-inducing and famously slippery stone staircase, which stands at an 80-degree angle.

The trek is considered one of the most difficult in the Western Ghats, a chain of mountains running parallel to India's western coast.

He made the spine-tingling journey to Kalavantin Durg's peak on a rainy day, making the ascent even more difficult and dangerous.

Two deaths have been confirmed at the site since 2016. Both climbers are believed to have fallen from near the peak.

Nitish, a travel and fitness influencer, from New Delhi, said: "I just started my journey without thinking about anything, I just checked on the internet first on how to reach the top.

"The most difficult parts of the journey were the beginning and the end, where we had to climb using ropes.

"There were many times during my travels that I felt in danger, on the way down the stairs were very slippery from heavy rain."

At one point in the video, he is seen hugging the rock wall behind him, the stairs being too narrow to stand normally, a sheer drop to one side.

Nitish was aware of the deaths that had occurred and chose to undertake it nonetheless.

He added: "I had heard about them on the news only, but it was my decision to climb the peak anyway and overcome my fear."

Kalavantin Durg is said to have been built in honor of a Queen, called Kalavantin, in the 15th century.