Pilgrimages

Roman Catholic Christianity · Belém, Pará · Brazil

Círio de Nazaré

Círio de Nossa Senhora de Nazaré

Belém walks with Our Lady of Nazaré from the old cathedral to Sanctuary Square in one of the world's great living Marian processions.

2 of 2 stations published

Chinese sacred mountain traditions · Shandong, Shaanxi, Hunan, Shanxi, and Henan · China

Five Great Mountains of China

五岳

Five mountains ordering sacred geography as east, west, south, north, and center—an inherited system, not a single trail.

5 of 5 stations published

Buddhism · Shanxi, Sichuan, Anhui, Zhejiang · China

Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China

中国佛教四大名山

Four mountains across China, each held as the earthly abode of a different bodhisattva, visited in any order pilgrims choose.

4 of 4 stations published

Christianity · Nile Delta, Wadi El Natrun, and Assiut · Egypt

Holy Family Trail in Egypt

طريق العائلة المقدسة

Five key stations, out of the roughly twenty-five that make up Egypt's full Holy Family Trail, from Old Cairo to Assiut.

5 of 5 stations published

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christianity · Amhara · Ethiopia

Lalibela New Jerusalem

የላሊበላ አዲሲቱ ኢየሩሳሌም

Eleven living churches hewn from rock and joined through trenches, passages, worship, and the sacred geography of a New Jerusalem.

11 of 11 stations published

Christianity · Southwest Finland archipelago · Finland

St Olav Waterway — Turku to Korpo

Pyhän Olavin merireitti — Turku–Korppoo

A northern pilgrimage leaves Turku Cathedral and crosses islands and ferries through medieval churches toward the wider St Olav Ways to Nidaros.

4 of 4 stations published

Christianity · Auvergne to the Pyrenees · France

Camino de Santiago — Via Podiensis

Voie du Puy / GR 65

The Le Puy road to Santiago — France's great pilgrim way over the Aubrac to the Pyrenees.

38 of 38 stations published

Christianity · Provence · France

Chemin de Marie-Madeleine

Chemin de Marie-Madeleine

A Mary Magdalene pilgrimage through Provence, from Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer through Sainte-Baume to Saint-Maximin and its basilica.

5 of 5 stations published

Christianity · Thessaly · Greece

Meteora Monasteries

Μετέωρα

Six living monasteries held above the Thessalian plain within one of Orthodox Christianity's great monastic landscapes.

6 of 6 stations published

Christianity · Mount Athos, Chalkidiki · Greece

Monastic Community of Mount Athos

Άγιον Όρος

All twenty sovereign monasteries of the Holy Mountain, presented as a living monastic community rather than a single prescribed circuit.

20 of 20 stations published

Christianity · Western Hungary to the Loire Valley · Hungary, France

Via Sancti Martini

Chemin de Saint-Martin / Szent Márton útja

From Martin of Tours's birthplace in Roman Pannonia to his tomb on the Loire, a modern route strung across six of his stations.

6 of 6 stations published

Hinduism · Maharashtra · India

Ashtavinayak Yatra

अष्टविनायक यात्रा

A complete eight-temple circuit through Maharashtra that begins at Morgaon, honors distinct forms of Ganesha, and traditionally returns to Morgaon to close the journey.

8 of 8 stations published

Hinduism · Uttarakhand (Garhwal Himalaya) · India

Char Dham Yatra (Uttarakhand)

छोटा चार धाम / उत्तराखंड चार धाम यात्रा

Four Himalayan shrines to two river-goddesses, Shiva, and Vishnu, opened only when the mountains allow it.

4 of 4 stations published

Sikhism · Punjab, Bihar, and Maharashtra · India

Five Takhts of Sikhism

ਪੰਜ ਤਖ਼ਤ ਸਾਹਿਬਾਨ

Five living seats of Sikh authority connected by devotion and history rather than by one prescribed road.

5 of 5 stations published

Hinduism · Uttarakhand (Garhwal Himalayas) · India

Panch Kedar

पञ्च केदार

Five Himalayan temples to Shiva, each holding one part of a scattered, reassembled god.

5 of 5 stations published

Hinduism · Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu · India

Twelve Jyotirlingas

द्वादश ज्योतिर्लिंग (Dwadasha Jyotirlinga)

Twelve self-manifested lingams of light, scattered the length of India, each a complete pilgrimage in itself.

12 of 12 stations published

Islam · Najaf to Karbala · Iraq

Arbaeen Pilgrimage — Najaf to Karbala

زيارة الأربعين — النجف إلى كربلاء

A vast living visitation shaped by remembrance of Imam Husayn, shared walking, and extraordinary traditions of voluntary hospitality.

3 of 3 stations published

Christianity · County Wicklow · Ireland

St Kevin's Way

Slí Chaoimhín

A 30-kilometer waymarked trail over the Wicklow Gap to the monastic valley St Kevin founded.

3 of 3 stations published

Christianity · Umbria/Lazio · Italy

Cammino di San Benedetto

Cammino di San Benedetto

A modern trail linking the birthplace, hermit cave, and mother abbey of the founder of Western monasticism.

7 of 7 stations published

Christianity · Piedmont and Lombardy · Italy

Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy

Sacri Monti

Nine sacred mountains of chapels built as an alternative Holy Land when the real one grew hard to reach.

9 of 9 stations published

Christianity · Aosta Valley to Lazio · Italy

Via Francigena — Italian Section

Via Francigena in Italia

A curated sacred-site spine along the Italian Via Francigena, descending from the Alps through the Po Valley and Tuscany toward Rome.

12 of 12 stations published

Buddhism · Kantō · Japan

Bandō Sanjūsankasho Pilgrimage

坂東三十三観音霊場

Thirty-three temples to Kannon across the eastern plain, a circuit of compassion shaped by twelfth-century warriors and walked still.

33 of 33 stations published

Buddhism · Kantō · Japan

Chichibu 34 Kannon Pilgrimage

秩父三十四観音霊場

Thirty-four temples in a single Saitama valley — the third leg that makes the Hyakkasho complete.

34 of 34 stations published

Buddhism · Chūgoku · Japan

Chūgoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage

中国三十三観音霊場

A modern Kannon circuit across western Honshu, established in 1981 to honor temples that lay outside the great medieval routes.

29 of 33 stations published

Shugendō and Shinto-Buddhist mountain worship · Yamagata Prefecture · Japan

Dewa Sanzan Pilgrimage

出羽三山

Three sacred mountains encountered as present, past, and future in a living pilgrimage of symbolic death and rebirth.

3 of 3 stations published

Shingon Buddhism and the Kii sacred landscape · Kudoyama and Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture · Japan

Koyasan Choishi-michi

高野山町石道

Stone choishi lead from Jison-in through a shrine-linked mountain landscape to Daimon and Koyasan's great precincts.

7 of 7 stations published

Shinto and Buddhism · Wakayama Prefecture, Kii Peninsula · Japan

Kumano Kodo — Nakahechi and Kumano Sanzan

熊野古道・中辺路と熊野三山

Sacred oji thresholds lead through the Kii mountains toward Kumano's three grand shrines, river, waterfall, and layered traditions of death, rebirth, and renewal.

8 of 8 stations published

Shinto, Buddhism, Shugendo, and Fuji-ko devotion · Fujiyoshida and Mount Fuji, Yamanashi Prefecture · Japan

Mount Fuji Sacred Ascent — Yoshida Worship Route

富士山・吉田口登拝道

Oshi lodging, the northern Sengen shrine, the mountain, and a summit sanctuary reveal Mount Fuji as a living ascent of worship rather than only a climb.

4 of 4 stations published

Buddhism · Kansai · Japan

New Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage

新西国三十三所

A modern Kansai Kannon circuit organized in 1932 to make the old route walkable for working pilgrims.

38 of 33 stations published

Buddhism · Kansai · Japan

Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage

西国三十三所

The oldest Kannon circuit in Japan — thirty-three temples across western Honshu, walked since the eighth century.

36 of 33 stations published

Buddhism · Shikoku · Japan

Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage

四国八十八ヶ所霊場

Eighty-eight temples around an island, a circuit walked beside Kūkai across thirteen centuries.

88 of 88 stations published

Christianity · Kosovo and Metohija · Kosovo

Serbian Orthodox Monasteries of Kosovo

Српски православни манастири на Косову и Метохији

Four frescoed medieval Serbian Orthodox monuments under UNESCO protection in the contested heart of the Balkans.

4 of 4 stations published

Christianity · Yucatán · Mexico

Ruta de los Conventos de Yucatán

Ruta de los Conventos

Three Franciscan convents on a colonial route where evangelization was built, literally, on top of Maya ceremonial ground.

3 of 3 stations published

Christianity and Norwegian pilgrimage to St. Olav · Oslo, Innlandet, Dovrefjell, Trondelag, and Trondheim · Norway

Gudbrandsdalsleden — Oslo to Nidaros

Gudbrandsdalsleden

Two paths leave Oslo, rejoin beyond lake and valley churches, cross Dovrefjell, and arrive at St. Olav's shrine in Nidaros Cathedral.

8 of 8 stations published

Inca · Cusco · Peru

Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

Qhapaq Ñan

A permit-regulated multi-day trek along Inca stonework, past waystations of contested purpose, to the Sun Gate above Machu Picchu.

7 of 6 stations published

Andean Catholic pilgrimage with pre-Hispanic sacred traditions · Cusco · Peru

Qoyllur Rit'i Pilgrimage

Peregrinación del Señor de Qoyllurit’i

Eight pilgrim nations gather in the Sinakara hollow through prayer, crosses, dance, music, and community-governed procession.

1 of 1 stations published

Christianity · spans into Spain (Galicia) · Portugal

Caminho Português (Coastal Route)

Caminho Português de Santiago — Caminho da Costa

The seaward branch of the Portuguese Camino, tracing the Atlantic coast north from Porto toward the Galician crossing.

4 of 4 stations published

Christianity · Northern Portugal to Galicia · Portugal, Spain

Caminho Português (Central Route)

Caminho Português de Santiago — Caminho Central

The inland branch of the Portuguese Camino, running from Porto's granite cathedral north into Galicia.

7 of 7 stations published

Christianity · Great Moravian heritage network · Slovakia

Cyril and Methodius Route — Great Moravian Sites

Cyrilometodějská stezka

Two Slovak heritage sites within a much larger European network devoted to Cyril, Methodius, their disciples, and the legacy of Slavic literacy.

7 of 2 stations published

Buddhism · Gyeongsangnam-do and Jeollanam-do · South Korea

Three Jewel Temples of Korea

삼보사찰 (Sambosachal)

Three temples, each keeping one Jewel of Buddhism — Buddha, Dharma, Sangha — still living centers of Korean practice.

3 of 3 stations published

Christianity · Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia · Spain

Camino del Norte

Camino del Norte / Camino de la Costa

A six-church coastal spine from Irún through Asturias, with the official route continuing across Galicia to Santiago.

6 of 6 stations published

Christianity · Navarre, La Rioja, Castile and León, Galicia · Spain

Camino Francés

Camino Francés

Eleven mapped churches along the best-known Spanish approach to Santiago, presented as a partial sacred-site spine rather than a complete stage guide.

11 of 11 stations published

Christianity · Iberian Camino network · Spain, Portugal

Camino de Santiago — Selected Sacred Sites

Caminos de Santiago

A cross-route collection of sacred places within the wider network of roads converging on Santiago de Compostela.

11 of 11 stations published

Buddhism · Island-wide · Sri Lanka

Solosmasthana

සොළොස්මස්ථාන

The sixteen (or seventeen) places tradition holds the Buddha himself visited or blessed across Sri Lanka.

7 of 7 stations published

Buddhism and shared multi-religious sacred traditions · Sabaragamuwa Province · Sri Lanka

Sri Pada Pilgrimage

ශ්‍රී පාද / சிவனொளிபாத மலை

A night ascent toward a footprint shrine held sacred through Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian traditions.

1 of 1 stations published

Chinese folk religion · Miaoli to Yunlin and return · Taiwan

Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage

白沙屯媽祖進香

A vast annual Mazu procession whose endpoints are fixed but whose road, stops, and pace unfold through divination.

2 of 2 stations published

Ancient Greek religion · Aegean (Ege Bölgesi), near modern Didim · Turkey

Sacred Way of Didyma

Ἱερὰ Ὁδός (Hiera Hodos) / Kutsal Yol

A defunct processional road linking a Greek city to the oracle sanctuary second only to Delphi.

2 of 2 stations published

Christianity · Aegean and western Anatolia (ancient Roman Asia) · Turkey

Seven Churches of Revelation

Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰωάννου — αἱ ἑπτὰ ἐκκλησίαι

Seven first-century congregations addressed by name in the Book of Revelation, each given a specific commendation or rebuke.

7 of 7 stations published

Christianity · Antalya & Isparta Provinces (ancient Pamphylia and Pisidia) · Turkey

St Paul Trail

Aziz Paul Yolu

A modern waymarked trail through the Taurus Mountains, following where Paul's first mission is believed to have passed.

7 of 7 stations published

Christianity · Hampshire/Surrey/Kent · United Kingdom

Pilgrims' Way (Winchester to Canterbury)

Pilgrims' Way

A North Downs road to Becket's shrine, walked for centuries and named, in part, by Victorian imagination.

58 of 58 stations published

Christianity · Scottish Borders and Northumberland · United Kingdom

St Cuthbert's Way

St Cuthbert's Way

A 100-kilometer cross-border path from the country of Cuthbert's early monastic life toward Holy Island.

3 of 3 stations published

Christianity · California · United States

California Mission Trail

California Missions Trail / El Camino Real

Twenty-one surviving mission sites from San Diego to Sonoma, approached as living churches, Indigenous homelands, and places shaped by colonization.

21 of 21 stations published

Christianity · El Paso County, Texas · United States

El Paso Mission Trail

A complete three-church trail along nine miles of the historic Camino Real, linking Ysleta, Socorro, and San Elizario while keeping the region's living Indigenous and borderlands history in view.

3 of 3 stations published