As modern life and its demands get on top of us, many people are turning to spiritual travel as a way of relieving that stress. You don’t have to be religious to go on a pilgrimage. Some are simply just great adventures and challenges and certainly make more interesting and scenic holidays than a week’s all-inclusive.
So we at Bucketlistmap.com have chosen the top 5 pilgrimages from around the world that anyone can do and should be on your bucket list.
The Giant Buddha of Leshan is the tallest stone Buddha statue in the entire world. Located in the southern Szechuan province of China, it is carved out of a cliff face overlooking the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers and facing the Mount Emei.
Construction on the Giant Buddha began in 713 AD in the Tang Dynasty and was completed in 803 AD. The Giant Buddha is a seated Maitreya Buddha known as Dafo. It stands at 233 feet tall and 92 feet wide and has been carefully maintained for hundreds of years. Visitors can see Dafo either from a tourist boat or by climbing stairs built into the cliff face to a terrace which stands next to his ear. On the terrace also is a statue of Hai Tong and just behind the terrace is the Lingyun Temple Museum which gives information on the creation of Dafo.
4: Borobudur Temple, Indonesia
Borobudur Temple, located on a remote hilltop on the island of Java, is the largest Buddhist monument in the entire world.
It was built from over two million stones which were collected by builders from local rivers and streams and then fit together in the shape of a 95 foot high step pyramid. It really is a phenomenal architectural achievement, especially when you consider that it was built between the 8th and 9th centuries – over 1200 years ago! Around the temple are over 500 statues of the Buddha and, on the lower terraces, almost 3000 sculptures which illustrate the life and lessons of the Buddha.
Today a trip to Borobudur is an incredible experience and climbing it is an important pilgrimage in Buddhism. It is said that as faithful Buddhists climb from one level of Borobudur to the next they are guided by stories and wisdom of the Buddha’s learnings which will carry them from one symbolic plane of consciousness to the next on their journey to enlightenment. If you are not a follower of Buddhism we recommend climbing Borobudur with a guide as they will be able to explain to you the significance of the stories at each level.
Also known as Tiger’s Nest, Takstang Monastery is a sacred Himalayan Buddhist site and temple complex of great spiritual significance. Located at a cave in the cliff side of the upper Paro Valley in Bhutan, the temple complex was first built in 1692 but the location has been significant for far longer. Legend has it that Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche) brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th century when he flew to this site on the back of a tigress and meditated in the cave for 3 years, 3 months, 3 days and 3 hours in order to subdue evil demons within it. The cave has thus been considered sacred since the 8th century and has provided a place of meditation to many famous saints.
The cliff upon which Takstang Monastery was built is approximately 10,000 feet above sea level and it’s not an easy place to visit. For those willing to make the effort, however, the rewards are significant. It is one of the most breath taking temples in the world and is very much still a sacred place of worship rather than a tourist attraction. Regardless of your religious views you cannot help but feel affected by the overwhelming spirituality of the site.
Unless you are an Indian citizen you can only actually enter Bhutan as part of a local licensed tour agency who will apply for your visa for you. You are therefore only able to visit Takstang Monastery with your local guide. Guides will typically leave the Monastery for the latter part of your trip to Bhutan in order to give visitors time to acclimatise to the high altitude of the country. Your guide will arrange your visit for you and will take you to a parking lot at the bottom of the cliff. From here you have two options; you can either walk the entire way to the Monastery or you can travel by horseback for 2/3 of the way and walk the final part. Be warned, the climb is extremely steep; it will take between 1.5 and 3 hours and you do need to have a decent level of fitness in order to be able to complete the trek
Set in the beautiful hill country of southern Sri Lanka can be found one of the most important pilgrimages in the Buddhist religion, the pilgrimage to Adam’s Peak (Sri Pada). Atop this mountain lies a rock formation measuring 5’7” by 2’6” which is believed to be an impression of Buddha’s sacred footprint which he left to show the importance of Sri Lanka in his teachings. It has been a pilgrimage sight for over a 1,000 years and remains popular to this day.
Although it is primarily a Buddhist worship site, it actually plays a rather important role in other religions. Rather being from Buddha, Muslims believe that the impression is the Adam’s first footstep after having been cast out of heaven, whereas Hindus believe this footprint was left by Shiva.
Pilgrimages can start from a number of locations. For the quickest route and the most popular, walkers can set off from Dalhousie which is only 7km.
1: The Camino de Santiago, Spain
The Camino de Santiago is often described as a life-changing experience. It goes by many names, but it seems more appropriate to call it by its Spanish name, as although you can start in France, the final destination is the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. It is believed that here lie the remains of an important apostle, St James the Great. It was on this very pilgrimage that the famous author, Paulo Coelho, was motivated to start writing and his experience was the inspiration for one of his first novels, ‘The Pilgrimage’.
Walkers can choose from a number of starting points which vary in length and you can walk it, cycle it or even go on horseback, yet most people go on foot as it is not only a spiritual experience, but a social one as people meet up with fellow pilgrims along the way and share stories.For more information you can stay connected with us on our facebook ,twitter , and google+ pages .