Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Hinduism
Buddhism
Pilgrimage & Sacred Journeys
The journey to a holy place — Jerusalem, Mecca, the Ganges, Bodh Gaya — is among the most ancient expressions of religious devotion. Pilgrimage enacts the spiritual life as a physical journey: leaving the ordinary world behind, passing through hardship and transformation, arriving at a sacred center where heaven and earth draw close.
Across the World's Religions
Christianity
- Practice
- Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela
- Key Text
- Luke 2:41-42; Psalm 84:5-7
Islam
- Practice
- Hajj (5th Pillar) — annual pilgrimage to Mecca
- Key Text
- Quran 3:97, 22:27
Judaism
- Practice
- Aliyah la-regel — 3 annual Temple pilgrimages
- Key Text
- Deuteronomy 16:16; Psalm 122
Hinduism
- Practice
- Tirtha-yatra — pilgrimage to Varanasi, Prayag, Vrindavan
- Key Text
- Mahabharata 3.80-88; Bhagavata Purana
Buddhism
- Practice
- Pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya, Lumbini, Sarnath, Kushinagar
- Key Text
- DN 16 (Mahaparinibbana Sutta)