Hindu pilgrimage sites

In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a very long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred area or shrine of importance to innate faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.

Unlike some other religions, Hindus are not required to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime. However, most Hindus go on such journeys to numerous iconic sites including those below:

India


Char Dham (Famous Four Pilgrimage sites): The four holy sites Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Badrinath (or alternatively the Himalayan towns of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri) compose the Chota Char Dham (four small abodes) pilgrimage circuit.

Kumbh Mela: The Kumbh Mela (the "pitcher festival") is one of the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages that is held every three years; the location is rotated among Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain.

Old Holy cities as per Puranic Texts: Varanasi formerly known as Kashi, Prayagraj also known as Prayag, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, Kurukshetra, the Land of Bhagavad Gita in Haryana and Ayodhya.

Old Temple cities: Puri, which hosts a major Vaishnava Jagannath temple and Rath Yatra celebration; Katra, home to the Vaishno Devi temple; Tirumala - Tirupati, home to the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple; Madurai Meenakshi and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Sri Rangam; Dwarkadhish Temple - Dwarka, home to Dwarkadhish form of Sri Krishna; Radharani Temple - Barsana, dedicated to Sri Radha, Sabarimala, where Swami Ayyappan is worshipped; Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala; Guruvayur temple at Guruvayur. The oldest of these temple pilgrimages is the Pandharpur Wari which is said to be in tradition from the past 800 years.

New Pilgrimage Centres: Three comparatively recent temples of fame and huge pilgrimage are Belur Math, the hub of the worldwide Ramakrishna Movement in West Bengal, Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata; Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari; Sri Ramana Ashram at Tiruvannamalai; and ISKCON temples in Ujjain, Bangalore, Patna, Tirumala, Vishakapatnam, Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai. Ramakrishna Mission Swami Vivekananda's Ancestral House and Cultural Centre, the birthplace of Swami Vivekananda is also another popular destination.

Shakti Pitha: An important set of pilgrimages are the Shakti Pitha, where the Mother Goddess is worshipped, the two principal ones being Kalighat and Kamakhya.

Jyotirlingas: Other set of important pilgrimages are the Jyotirlingas, where lord Shiva is worshipped in the form of Shiva Lingas. There are twelve Jyotirlingas in India. The twelve Jyotirlingas are:
 * Bhimashankar Temple, near Pune
 * Somnath at Veraval in Gujarat
 * Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh
 * Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh
 * Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh
 * Kedarnath in Uttarakhand
 * Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh
 * Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple at Nashik in Maharashtra
 * Vaidyanath Jyotirlinga
 * Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli, Maharashtra or Nageshvara Jyotirlinga at Dwarka
 * Rameshwar at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu
 * Grishneshwar at Verul near Ellora Aurangabad

Sri Lanka

 * Pancha Ishwarams - the 5 ancient Shiva temples of the island from classical antiquity.
 * The Arunagirinathar-traversed ancient Murugan pilgrimage route of Sri Lanka including
 * Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple, Maviddapuram, Kankesanthurai
 * Nallur Kandaswamy temple, Jaffna,
 * Koneswaram temple, Trincomalee,
 * Verugal Murugan Kovil, Verugal Aru, Verugal, Trincomalee District
 * Thirukkovil Sithira Velayutha Swami Kovil, in Thirukkovil, Batticaloa,
 * Arugam Bay, Amparai
 * Panamai, Amparai
 * Ukanthamalai Murugan Kovil, in Okanda, Kumana National Park
 * Kataragama temple, Katirkamam in the South.

Mauritius

 * Ganga Talao
 * Sagar Shiv Mandir

Trinidad and Tobago

 * Temple in the Sea, Waterloo Road, Waterloo, Carapichaima, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Dattatreya Mandir and 85-foot Karyasiddhi Hanuman Murti, Datta Drive, Orangefield, Carapichaima, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Shiva Lingam Mandir, Patiram Trace, Penal, Penal-Debe, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Ganga Dhara festival at the Trinnaadeeshwar Mahadeo Ghat, Kailash Ghat, Hanuman Ghat, Tulsidas Ghat, Ardha Naareshvar Ghat, and Mundan Sanskaar Ghat at Marianne River Blanchisseuse, Tunapuna-Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Siapria Mai (La Divina Pastora) Church, La Pastora Street, Siparia, Siparia region, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Exchange Village Shiv Mandir, Brickfield Road Exchange Village, Couva, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Moose Bhagat Mandir, Naparima Mayaro Road Mairad Village, Tableland, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Shiva Mandir, 1 Railway Road Reform Village, Gasparillo, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Balka Devi Mandir (Mud Volcano Temple), St. Marie Road, Cedros, Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Shree Pavan Putra Hanuman Shiv Shakti Mandir Cunjal Road, Cunjal, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Triveni Mandir, Sisters Road, Hardbargain Village, Williamsville, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago

Suriname

 * Arya Diwaker Mandir

Pakistan

 * Hinglaj Mata - A Shakthi Peeth in Pakistan's Balochistan province
 * Katasraj temple - Site of a famous temple which has a lake that is said to have been created from the teardrops of Shiva. Also known for being home of the Pandava brothers during part of their exile.
 * Sharada Peeth -An abandoned Shakti Peeth
 * Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar - Sufi shrine that is important to Sindhi Hindus
 * Tilla Jogian - ancient shrine reportedly over 2,000 years old.
 * Shakti Peetha
 * Chandragup
 * Amb Temples
 * Umarkot Shiv Mandir
 * Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple
 * Kalat Kali Temple
 * Goraknath Temple
 * Kalibari Mandir, Peshawar

Nepal



 * Barahachhetra
 * Janakpurdham
 * Muktinath
 * Pashupatinath Temple
 * Changu Narayan Temple
 * Buddhanilkantha
 * Krishna Temple of Patan Durbar Square
 * Rishikesh Complex of Ruru Kshetra
 * Vyas cave
 * Doleshwor Mahadev (considered the head part of Kedarnath temple of India)
 * Dolakha Bhimsen temple
 * Pathibhara Devi temple
 * Halesi Mahadev Temple and Halesi-Maratika Caves
 * Halesi Mahadev Temple and Halesi-Maratika Caves

China

 * Mount Kailash
 * Lake Manasarovar

Indonesia

 * Mother Temple of Besakih
 * Prambanan
 * Mount Bromo

Cambodia

 * Preah Vihear Temple
 * Angkor Wat

Malaysia

 * Batu Caves
 * Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang

United States

 * Vivekananda Cottage, Thousand Island Park, Jefferson County, New York