Hinduism
Asia
Sacred rituals, meditation & morning prayers on the holy Ganges
Buddhism
Asia
Sacred Buddhist temples, monasteries & spiritual teachings
Tibetan Buddhism
Asia
High-altitude temples, monasteries & spiritual enlightenment
Hinduism/Yoga
Asia
Ancient yoga traditions, temple ceremonies & spiritual healing
Buddhism
Asia
Temporary monk ordination with teachings & monastic life experience
Zen Buddhism
Asia
Traditional Zen Buddhism, meditation & temple living
Buddhism
Asia
Buddhist temples, spiritual villages & mindful living practices
Hinduism / Yoga
Asia
World yoga capital on the Ganges, home to historic ashrams where Beatles studied with the Maharishi
Hinduism
Asia
One of the seven holiest cities in Hinduism; gateway where the Ganges enters the plains
Buddhism
Asia
Where Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree — the most sacred Buddhist site on eart
Buddhism
Asia
Where Buddha delivered his first sermon after enlightenment — birthplace of the Sangha
Hinduism
Asia
Home to the world's only major Brahma temple and a sacred lake formed by Brahma's lotus
Hinduism
Asia
Home of Lord Venkateswara — the world's most-visited religious site, drawing 50,000+ pilgrims daily
Hinduism
Asia
Ancient Tamil temple city built around the 14-tower Meenakshi Amman Temple — 2,500 years of unbroken
Hinduism
Asia
Where Rama worshipped Shiva before crossing to Lanka — one of the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites
Hinduism
Asia
Land's end of India where three oceans meet — sacred to the goddess Kanya Kumari
Hinduism / Advaita
Asia
Sacred Arunachala Hill — manifestation of Shiva as fire, where Ramana Maharshi lived and taught
Hinduism / Vaishnavism
Asia
Birthplace and childhood land of Lord Krishna — the heart of bhakti yoga
Hinduism
Asia
Birthplace of Lord Rama — capital of the legendary Ikshvaku dynasty in the Ramayana
Hinduism
Asia
Krishna's legendary kingdom now submerged in the Arabian Sea — one of four Char Dham sites
Sai tradition (Hindu-Muslim syncretic)
Asia
Home of Sai Baba — the saint who united Hindu and Muslim devotion through "Sabka Malik Ek"
Hinduism / Shaivism
Asia
One of seven holiest cities, home of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga and host to the Simhastha Kumbh Mela
Sikhism
Asia
Holy city of the Sikhs — home of the Golden Temple, a beacon of equality and selfless service
Sikhism
Asia
High-altitude (4,632m) glacial lake where Guru Gobind Singh meditated in a previous birth
Hinduism / Shaivism
Asia
Highest of the 12 Jyotirlingas at 3,583m — Shiva took the form of a bull here to escape the Pandavas
Hinduism / Vaishnavism
Asia
Vishnu's Himalayan abode at 3,300m, where he meditated for 1000 years sheltered by a badri tree
Hinduism / Shaktism
Asia
Mountain shrine of Mata Vaishnavi — 14km uphill trek to a goddess cave at 5,200ft
Hinduism / Tantrism
Asia
One of 51 Shakti Peeths — where Sati's yoni fell
Hinduism / Vaishnavism
Asia
Char Dham site of Lord Jagannath, host to the world-famous Rath Yatra chariot festival
Hinduism / Sun worship
Asia
UNESCO Sun Temple — Surya's chariot in stone, with 12 wheels representing months
Hinduism / Ayyappa
Asia
Lord Ayyappa's forest hill shrine — devotees observe 41-day austerity before pilgrimage
Hinduism / Vaishnavism
Asia
Krishna's Bhuloka Vaikuntha — the temple where Krishna himself worshipped in his childhood form
Hinduism / Vaishnavism
Asia
Padmanabhaswamy Temple — Vishnu reclining on Anantha serpent, world's wealthiest temple
Hinduism / Heritage
Asia
UNESCO World Heritage ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire — sacred Shiva-Pampa landscape
Jainism
Asia
57-foot monolithic Bahubali statue — site of once-in-12-years Mahamastakabhisheka head-anointing
Tibetan Buddhism
Asia
Home of HH the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile — McLeod Ganj is "Little Lhasa"
Tibetan Buddhism
Asia
Largest Tibetan settlement in South India — site of the magnificent Golden Temple monastery
Tibetan Buddhism
Asia
"Ajanta of the Himalayas" — 1,000-year-old monastery with original 10th-century murals intact
Tibetan Buddhism
Asia
Spiti's thousand-year-old fortress monastery cascading down a 4,166m hilltop
Tibetan Buddhism
Asia
Capital of Ladakh — gateway to Hemis, Thiksey, and Diskit monasteries in the trans-Himalayan desert
Hinduism / Pushtimarg
Asia
Pichhwai-painted shrine of Shrinathji — Krishna as a 7-year-old lifting Govardhan
Jainism / Hinduism
Asia
Rajasthan's only hill station — home to the white-marble Dilwara Jain temples (11th–13th c)
Jainism
Asia
Holy hill of Shatrunjaya — 863 marble temples climbed by 3,950 steps
Buddhism
Asia
Emperor Ashoka's 3rd-century BCE stupa complex — UNESCO site, oldest Buddhist sanctuary in India
Hinduism
Asia
One of seven Moksha-Puris, called the "City of a Thousand Temples" with 108 surviving today
Hinduism / Shaivism
Asia
Where Shiva performs his cosmic dance as Nataraja — one of the Pancha Bhuta sthalas (akasha/space)
Hinduism / Shaivism
Asia
Chola dynasty capital — UNESCO Brihadeeswarar Temple with a 216ft tower, no shadow at noon
Hinduism / Shaivism
Asia
First of the 12 Jyotirlingas — temple destroyed and rebuilt 17 times, last in 1951
Hinduism
Asia
Source of the holy Yamuna river at 3,293m — first stop on the Char Dham Yatra
Hinduism
Asia
Origin of the holy Ganges at 3,100m — where Bhagiratha's tapasya brought the river to earth
Hinduism
Asia
Temple city of Odisha with 700+ ancient shrines including the towering Lingaraj Temple
Hinduism
Asia
Sacred city on the Godavari, site of Kumbh Mela every 12 years; Rama lived here in exile
Hinduism / Shaivism
Asia
Island shaped like Om in the Narmada — holds two of the 12 Jyotirlingas
Hinduism / Shaktism
Asia
Ramakrishna Paramahansa's spiritual home — Kali worship at its most ecstatic
Hinduism
Asia
7th-century Pallava UNESCO site — Shore Temple and rock-cut sanctuaries by the sea
Islam
Asia
Holiest city in Islam — birthplace of Prophet Muhammad and direction of all Muslim prayer
Islam
Asia
Second holiest city in Islam — home to Prophet Muhammad's mosque and tomb
Abrahamic (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
Asia
Holy to all three Abrahamic faiths — Western Wall, Holy Sepulchre, Al-Aqsa within steps of each othe
Catholicism
Europe
Capital of the Catholic Church — Pope's residence, St
Catholicism
Europe
Marian apparition site (1858) where Mary appeared to Bernadette — 6 million pilgrims annually
Catholicism
Europe
End point of the Camino — pilgrimage to St
Catholicism
Europe
Marian apparition site (1917) where Mary appeared to three shepherd children
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Europe
Monastic peninsula with 20 active monasteries — autonomous Orthodox community since 9th century
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Europe
Monasteries balanced on towering 400m sandstone pillars — 6 of 24 medieval monasteries still active
Celtic Christianity
Europe
Tiny Hebridean island where St
Christian / Earth-spirituality
Europe
Mythical Avalon — Joseph of Arimathea brought the Holy Grail here; modern Earth-spirituality hub
New Age / Native American
North America
Red-rock vortex sites — Native American sacred land, modern New Age pilgrimage center
Native American / New Age
North America
14,179ft sacred mountain to Wintu people, also a major hub for I AM, Lemurian and ascended-master tr
Andean / Inca
South America
Lost Inca citadel at 2,430m — astronomical alignments make it a "city of the sun"
Andean / Inca shamanism
South America
Inca heartland between Cusco and Machu Picchu — Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Moray ruins
Andean / Aymara
South America
Highest navigable lake (3,812m) — Aymara cosmology says the sun was born here
Buddhism
Asia
World's largest Buddhist monument — 9th-century mandala stupa with 504 Buddha statues
Theravada Buddhism
Asia
4,000 Buddhist temples on the plains of central Myanmar — built between 11th–13th c
Hinduism / Buddhism
Asia
Largest religious monument on earth — 12th-century Hindu-then-Buddhist temple complex
Shingon Buddhism
Asia
Mountaintop monastic complex — 117 temples, headquarters of Shingon esoteric Buddhism
Shinto
Asia
Shinto's holiest shrine — dedicated to sun goddess Amaterasu, completely rebuilt every 20 years
Shinto / Buddhism
Asia
Sacred volcanic peak (3,776m) — climbed as religious pilgrimage since the 7th century
Theravada Buddhism
Asia
Hill capital home to the Temple of the Tooth — Buddha's tooth relic
Buddhism / Hinduism / Christianity / Islam
Asia
2,243m holy mountain sacred to four religions — said to bear footprint of Buddha (or Adam, or Shiva)
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
Africa
11 monolithic rock-hewn churches carved downward into the bedrock in 12th century
Abrahamic (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
Africa
Mountain (2,285m) where Moses received the Ten Commandments — sacred to all Abrahamic faiths
Christianity / Hermitic
Asia
Underground monasteries and rock-cut churches — early Christians fled persecution here
Sufism (Islam)
Asia
Home of Rumi — site of his tomb and the whirling dervish tradition he inspired
Hinduism / Buddhism / Jainism / Bon
Asia
Sacred 6,638m peak — Shiva's abode, Buddhist Mount Meru, holiest mountain on earth
Ancient Egyptian / Esoteric
Africa
Largest religious complex of the ancient world — Amun-Ra worship for 2,000 years
Earth-spirituality / Neopagan
Europe
Neolithic stone circles (~3000 BCE) — solstice gatherings, lunar standstill alignments
Klamath Native American
North America
Sacred lake to Klamath people — only those prepared by vision quests dared to gaze upon it
Hawaiian / Pele worship
Oceania
Pele's home — active Kilauea volcano, ancient heiau temples, sacred waters
Christianity → Islam
Europe
Hagia Sophia — built as Christian basilica 537 CE, became mosque 1453, museum, now mosque again
Lakota / Cheyenne
North America
Sacred mountain to Lakota and Cheyenne — Sweet Medicine received four sacred arrows here
Buryat shamanism
Asia
World's deepest lake — Olkhon Island is among the strongest shamanic centers in Asia
Theravada Buddhism
Asia
Royal Temple of Emerald Buddha — most sacred Buddhist site in Thailand
Catholicism / Pilgrimage
Europe
800km Way of St
Islam
Asia
Umayyad Mosque holds the head of John the Baptist — both Christian and Muslim sacred site
Ancient Greek / Hellenic
Europe
Mt
Mayan
North America
UNESCO Mayan city — Kukulkan pyramid casts serpent shadow on equinoxes
Ancient Egyptian / Esoteric
Africa
Last remaining Wonder of the Ancient World — esoteric and astronomical alignments
Eastern Orthodox
Europe
Patmos — where John of the Apocalypse received the Book of Revelation in a cave
Shia Islam
Asia
Where Imam Husayn was martyred in 680 CE — most sacred Shia pilgrimage after Mecca
Eastern Orthodox
Europe
Aegean monastic pilgrimage from Mt
Catholicism / Pre-Christian Celtic
Europe
Sacred 764m mountain — St
Bedouin / Multi-faith
Asia
Petra — Nabataean rose-red city carved into cliffs
Earth-spirituality / Celtic
Europe
St
Multi-faith Abrahamic
Africa
Mount Sinai (Jabal Musa) plus 6th-century St
Buddhism / Hinduism
Asia
Boudhanath, Swayambhu, Pashupatinath — Buddhism and Hinduism's converging holy sites
100+
Spiritual Tours
5
Continents
50+
Countries
25+
Traditions