10 places of pilgrimage around the world

10 places of pilgrimage around the world: discover the most spiritual destinations. Sometimes accessible at the price of a few efforts, they are all distinguished by their architectural prowess, their historical and religious reach.

Spiritual journeys to places of pilgrimage have the wind in poupes. Believers or not, many travelers are looking for trips that have meaning and nourish their spirituality. A pilgrimage is a strong and full experience. Solitaire or not, it induced a deep reconnection to oneself and often translated a need to return to sources.

Of course, if you are believers, a religious journey takes even more meaning and nourishes your faith intensely. Beyond being religious and historical sites, pilgrimage sites emeuvent and fascinate, while offering practitioners the opportunity to perform their rituals.

To find out where to carry out your indoor and outdoor journey, follow the guide. Here are 10 places of pilgrimage around the world.

1. Jerusalem - Israel

If there was only one religious journey to make in his life, it would probably be that in the Holy Land in Jerusalem. The three-time holy city is unique to the world as it is a symbol for both Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Christians gather at the church of the Holy Sepulchre, sheltering the tomb of Jesus and the Golgotha (place of crucifixion). The Jews, for their part, pray to the Wall of the Lamentations and slip their prayers into eternal stone. Finally, Muslims survey the Mosque esplanade on the Temple Mount where the Rocher dome and the al-Aqsa Mosque are erected.

2. Mecca - Saudi Arabia

For Islam, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad is the most holy of the places. Mecca, among places of pilgrimage throughout the world, is exclusively reserved for this religion. The city welcomes Hajj – meaning great pilgrimage – once a year, during the second week of the last month of the Muslim calendar.

The procession also extends to Mount Arafat and Mina, located in the vicinity of Mecca. This religious journey is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is an obligation for many practitioners. Each year, more than three million Muslims come to pray on the Ka’ba square in the compound of the Great Mosque.

3. Bénarès – India

Bénarès, and especially the banks of the Ganges, represents the most important pilgrimage sites throughout the world for Hindus. From its former name, Varanasi, this capital of Hinduism was founded in the seventh century before Jesus Christ and is one of the oldest cities in the world.

Arrived at the heart of this city dedicated to Shiva, the Hindus go to the Ghats: the famous shores where the stone marches allow believers to descend into the river and purify themselves. If this place is the most popular among Indian pilgrims, many tourists from all over the world simply visit it. It must be said that the Gange scenes offer a spectacle both unheard and upsetting for every human being.

4. Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe – Mexico

North Mexico is proudly one of the most visited Catholic monuments in the world: the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is not less than fifteen to twenty million pilgrims who rush there every year.

This great place of pilgrimage around the world is nicknamed Lupita. It has the form of the tunic of a shepherd where the image of the Virgin Mary is depicted. Its basilica is remarkable with its hundred meters in diameter and its Azurean hues. If you want to go there during the most celebrated day of the year, go on December 12. The Catholic faithful then commemorated the apparition in 1531 of the Virgin Mary.

5. Place Saint-Pierre – Vatican City

What a vein for the smallest country in the world than to shelter the largest church in the world. In addition, this is the first among pilgrimage sites throughout the world dedicated to Christians. No wonder, when we know that the Basilica of St. Peter of Rome is also the seat of the papacy.

Every year millions of believers and non-believers go to St. Peter's Square. Apart from its religious reach, this spiritual epicentre of Catholics draws for its architectural magnificence. A splendor that reaches its paroxysm with two masterpieces so coveted: the Sistine Chapel and the ceiling painted by Michelangelo.

6. Santiago de Compostela Spain

This place of pilgrimage throughout the world offers a spiritual journey between France and Spain . It has the peculiarity to take place in a few days to see in several weeks.

The route of Santiago de Compostela is a religious but also cultural route. It passes through many remarkable cities and landscapes. The goal of the pilgrimage remains to reach the supposed tomb of James the Majeur, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, in Galicia. On site, the cathedral also houses the largest censor in the world: the Botafumeiro. Pilgrims from all over Europe thus gain their way to make penance.

And often, among them, simple enthusiasts of architectural works or individuals seeking spiritual retreat.

7. Lourdes - France

Lourdes, among pilgrimage sites throughout the world, is the most important for Christians after the Vatican and Notre-Dame de Guadalupe. The city of Pyrenees-Orientales fascinates visitors and believers from all over the world. It would have been the scene of eighteen meetings between the Virgin Mary and Bernadette Soubirous, at the bottom of the caves. The Virgin would have recommended that she come to drink and wash the fountain.

Thus, since these apparitions, many sick people have been looking for miraculous healing in the waters of Lourdes. In addition to this, your eyes will delight from his basilicas and his church. The peak of attendance is held at the festivals of August 15 and October 7.

8. Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima – Portugal

Some land in this place of pilgrimage around the world... on your knees! Nestled in the small village of Fátima, in the centre of Portugal, the Sanctuary of Notre-Dame welcomes visitors from all over the world. According to legend, the Virgin had appeared there to three children and six times.

The latter would then have revealed a secret to them. A secret whispered in 1917 and which is always the subject of many rumours. Four million is the number of pilgrims or curious tourists who come to Fátima every year. Frequency reached its point of pride on 13 May.

Apart from its spiritual and religious reach, this sanctuary is also distinguished by its great architectural beauty and its immaculate whiteness.

9. Little Adam Pic – Sri Lanka

This place of pilgrimage around the world is located halfway between the sport hike and the spiritual journey. This mountain out of land in Sri Lanka sees above all the Buddhists of the country. Nevertheless, all types of believers and simple tourists are also rushing. Here we come to venerate the footprint raised at the top of the peak: that of Adam for Christians and Muslims, that of Buddha for Buddhists and that of Shiva for Hindus.

Most pilgrims begin climbing the four thousand five hundred steps in the middle of the night. They then reach the top, perched at more than two thousand two hundred meters above sea level, at sunrise. They attend an intense communion in a mystical atmosphere, as well as a natural and panoramic spectacle to breathe.

10. Mont Popa - Burma

Mont Popa is an extinct volcano from Myanmar, culminating at more than a thousand five hundred meters above sea level. Among the places of pilgrimage around the world, it is mainly trodden by Buddhists. At the top, they come to honor the thirty-seven great Nats, similar to geniuses of good and evil.

These figures, in the form of statues, are jealously preserved in the monastery Taung Kalat and grouped around the Buddha. In order to climb Mont Popa, it will only have to leave its shoes on half the way. The largest number of climbs takes place during the full moon.