Editing Pilgrimage (section)

==Hinduism==<!-- This section is linked from [[Trail]] -->
{{See also|Tirtha (Hinduism)|Hindu pilgrimage sites|Hinduism#Pilgrimage|Yatra}}
[[File:Darshan_at_badrinath_temple.jpg|thumb|Pilgrims enter the [[Badrinath Temple]] in Uttarakhand, India for a [[darśana]]]]
[[File:Kumbh_Mela_2013_Sangam,_Allahabd.jpg|thumb|right|Pilgrims along the [[Ganges]] during [[Prayag Kumbh Mela]]]]
According to Karel Werner's ''Popular Dictionary of Hinduism'', "most [[Hinduism|Hindu]] places of pilgrimage are associated with legendary events from the lives of various gods.... Almost any place can become a focus for pilgrimage, but in most cases they are sacred cities, rivers, lakes, and mountains."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Werner|first1=Karel|title=A popular dictionary of Hinduism|date=1994|publisher=Curzon|location=Richmond, Surrey|isbn=0700702792|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ohUZAQAAIAAJ|access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref> Hindus are encouraged to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime, though this practice is not considered absolutely mandatory. Most Hindus visit sites within their region or locale. 
* '''Kumbh Mela:''' [[Kumbh Mela]] is one of the largest gatherings of humans in the world where pilgrims gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/84149 |title=Photo from Space of the Largest Human Gathering in India |first=Chris V. |last=Thangham |work=Digital Journal |date=3 January 2007 |access-date=22 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/15/AR2007011500041.html |title=Millions of Hindus Wash Away Their Sins |first=Biswajeet |last=Banerjee |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 January 2007 |access-date=22 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6226895.stm |title=Millions bathe at Hindu festival |work=BBC News |date=3 January 2007 |access-date=22 March 2014}}</ref> The location is rotated among [[Allahabad]], [[Haridwar]], [[Nashik]], and [[Ujjain]].
* '''[[Char Dham]] (Four Holy pilgrimage sites):''' The famous four holy sites [[Puri]], [[Rameswaram]], [[Dwarka]], and [[Badrinath]] (or alternatively the [[Himalaya]]n towns of [[Badrinath]], [[Kedarnath]], [[Gangotri]], and [[Yamunotri]]) compose the ''[[Char Dham]]'' (''four abodes'') pilgrimage circuit.
* '''[[Kanwar Yatra|Kanwar Pilgrimage]]:''' The Kanwar is India's largest annual religious pilgrimage. As part of this phenomenon, millions of participants gather [[Sacred waters|sacred water]] from the [[Ganga]] (usually in [[Haridwar]], [[Gangotri]], [[Gaumukh]], or [[Sultanganj]]) and carry it across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in [[Śiva|Shiva]] shrines.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Uprising of the Fools: Pilgrimage as Moral Protest in Contemporary India|last=Singh|first=Vikas|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2017}}</ref>
* '''Old Holy cities per Puranic Texts:''' [[Varanasi]] also known as Kashi (Shiva), [[Prayagraj]], [[Haridwar]]-[[Rishikesh]] (Vishnu), [[Mathura]]-[[Vrindavan]] (Krishna), [[Pandharpur]] ([[Vithoba]]), [[Paithan]], [[Kanchipuram]] (Parvati), [[Dwarka]] (Krishna) and [[Ayodhya]] (Rama).
* '''Major Temple cities:''' [[Puri]], which hosts a major [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] [[Jagannath]] temple and [[Ratha Yatra]] celebration; [[Katra, Jammu and Kashmir|Katra]], home to the [[Vaishno Devi Temple]]; Three comparatively recent temples of fame and huge pilgrimage are [[Shirdi]], home to [[Sai Baba of Shirdi]], [[Tirumala - Tirupati]], home to the [[Tirumala Venkateswara Temple]]; and [[Sabarimala]], where [[Ayyappan]] is worshipped.
* '''Shakti Pithas:''' Another important set of pilgrimages are the ''[[Shakti Peethas|Shakti Pithas]]'', where [[Shakti|the Mother Goddess]] is worshipped, the two principal ones being ''[[Kalighat]]'' and ''[[Kamakhya]]''.
* '''[[Pancha Ishwarams]]''' - the five ancient Shiva temples of Sri Lanka from classical antiquity.
* The '''[[Murugan]] pilgrimage route of Sri Lanka''', an ancient [[Arunagirinathar]]-traversed Pada Yatra route of Tiruppadai temples includes the [[Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple]] in [[Kankesanturai]], the [[Nallur Kandaswamy temple]] in [[Jaffna]], the Pancha Ishwaram [[Koneswaram temple]] in [[Trincomalee]], the [[Verugal]] Murugan Kovil on the banks of the river [[Verugal Aru]], in [[Verugal]], Trincomalee District, the Mandur Kandaswamy temple of [[Mandur (Sri Lanka)]], [[Thirukkovil Sithira Velayutha Swami Kovil]], in [[Thirukkovil]], [[Batticaloa]], the [[Arugam Bay]] and [[Panama (Sri Lanka)|Panamai]] in Amparai district, the [[Ukanthamalai Murugan Kovil]], in [[Okanda]], [[Kumana National Park]] and then through the park and [[Tissamaharama]] to the deity's holiest site, [[Kataragama temple]], [[Katirkamam]] in the South.
[[Hindu]] pilgrimage destinations may be holy cities ([[Varanasi]], [[Badrinath]]); rivers (the [[Ganges]], the [[Yamuna]]); mountains (several [[Himalaya]]n peaks are sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists); caves (such as the [[Batu Caves]] near [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Malaysia]]); temples; festivals, such as the peripatetic [[Kumbh Mela]], in 2001 the biggest public gathering in history;<ref>{{cite web |title=Heart of Hinduism: Four Main Paths |url=http://hinduism.iskcon.org/practice/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115213205/http://hinduism.iskcon.org/practice/ |archive-date=2015-11-15 |access-date=2014-10-26 |work=iskcon.org}}</ref> or the tombs and dwelling places of saints ([[Alandi]], [[Shirdi]]).