Shrines & Sacred Groves

Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib)

📍 Amritsar, India · 🕐 1574–1604

The holiest gurdwara in Sikhism, its upper floors clad in 750 kg of pure gold. The free kitchen (langar) feeds 100,000+ visitors daily.

Shrine of the Báb

📍 Haifa, Israel · 🕐 1899–1953

A golden-domed shrine on Mount Carmel, the resting place of the Báb, founder of the Bábí Faith. Surrounded by the UNESCO-listed Bahá'í Gardens.

Meiji Shrine

📍 Tokyo, Japan · 🕐 1920

A Shinto shrine in a 170-acre forest of 120,000 trees in the heart of Tokyo, dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken.

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

📍 Mexico City, Mexico · 🕐 1974–1976 (modern)

The most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world with 10–12 million visitors annually. Houses the miraculous tilma image of the Virgin.

Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes

📍 Lourdes, France · 🕐 1858

A Catholic pilgrimage site where Bernadette Soubirous reported 18 Marian apparitions in 1858. Famous for its healing spring water.

Shrine of Fatima

📍 Fátima, Portugal · 🕐 1928–1953

Built where three shepherd children reported Marian apparitions in 1917, including the 'Miracle of the Sun' witnessed by 70,000 people.

Imam Husayn Shrine

📍 Karbala, Iraq · 🕐 680 CE (original)

The burial place of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Prophet Muhammad. Draws over 20 million pilgrims during Arba'een — the world's largest annual gathering.

Abu Simbel

📍 Abu Simbel, Egypt · 🕐 1264 BCE

Yasukuni Shrine

📍 Tokyo, Japan · 🕐 1869

Temple of the Tooth

📍 Kandy, Sri Lanka · 🕐 1595

Shrine of Imam Reza

📍 Mashhad, Iran · 🕐 818 CE (original)

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

📍 Kamakura, Japan · 🕐 1063

Shrine of Shah Cheragh

📍 Shiraz, Iran · 🕐 14th century

Kumano Nachi Taisha

📍 Nachikatsuura, Japan · 🕐 317 CE

Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple

📍 Thiruvananthapuram, India · 🕐 6th century

Todai-ji

📍 Nara, Japan · 🕐 752

Sanctuary of Truth

📍 Pattaya, Thailand · 🕐 1981–ongoing

Meenakshi Amman Temple

📍 Madurai, India · 🕐 6th century BCE (rebuilt 1623)

Itsukushima Shrine

📍 Miyajima, Japan · 🕐 593 CE

Basilica of Our Lady of Peace

📍 Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast · 🕐 1985–1989

Kiyomizu-dera

📍 Kyoto, Japan · 🕐 778 CE

Shrine of Hazrat Ali

📍 Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan · 🕐 15th century

Delphi Oracle

📍 Delphi, Greece · 🕐 8th century BCE

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple

📍 Tirupati, India · 🕐 300 CE

Izumo Taisha

📍 Izumo, Japan · 🕐 659 BCE (legendary)

Sabarimala Temple

📍 Kerala, India · 🕐 12th century

Dakshineswar Kali Temple

📍 Kolkata, India · 🕐 1855

Shwedagon Pagoda

📍 Yangon, Myanmar · 🕐 6th century BCE

Pashupatinath Temple

📍 Kathmandu, Nepal · 🕐 400 CE

Shrine of Our Lady of Knock

📍 Knock, Ireland · 🕐 1879

Dazaifu Tenmangu

📍 Dazaifu, Japan · 🕐 905 CE

Karni Mata Temple

📍 Deshnoke, India · 🕐 15th century

Taktsang Palphug (Tiger's Nest)

📍 Paro, Bhutan · 🕐 1692

Stonehenge

📍 Wiltshire, United Kingdom · 🕐 3000 BCE

Angkor Wat

📍 Siem Reap, Cambodia · 🕐 1113–1150

Kedarnath Temple

📍 Kedarnath, India · 🕐 8th century

Baalbek

📍 Baalbek, Lebanon · 🕐 9000 BCE (earliest)

Tōshō-gū

📍 Nikkō, Japan · 🕐 1617

Newgrange

📍 County Meath, Ireland · 🕐 3200 BCE

Cave of the Patriarchs

📍 Hebron, Israel · 🕐 2000 BCE (original)

Teotihuacan Sun Shrine

📍 Teotihuacan, Mexico · 🕐 200 CE

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

📍 Jerusalem, Israel · 🕐 335 CE

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

📍 Ajmer, India · 🕐 13th century

Mount Kailash

📍 Tibet, China · 🕐 Natural

Göbekli Tepe

📍 Şanlıurfa, Turkey · 🕐 9500 BCE

Uluru

📍 Northern Territory, Australia · 🕐 Natural / 10,000+ BCE sacred

Varanasi Ghats

📍 Varanasi, India · 🕐 3000 BCE (tradition)

Shrine of the Three Kings

📍 Cologne, Germany · 🕐 1164 (relics) / 1248 (cathedral)

Sensō-ji

📍 Tokyo, Japan · 🕐 645 CE

Borobudur

📍 Central Java, Indonesia · 🕐 750–840 CE

Bodh Gaya (Mahabodhi Temple)

📍 Bodh Gaya, India · 🕐 250 BCE

Hasedera Temple

📍 Kamakura, Japan · 🕐 736 CE

Church of the Nativity

📍 Bethlehem, Palestine · 🕐 327 CE

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

📍 Abu Dhabi, UAE · 🕐 1996–2007

Jokhang Temple

📍 Lhasa, China · 🕐 647 CE

Nikko Toshogu Shrine

📍 Nikko, Japan · 🕐 1617

Temple of Heaven

📍 Beijing, China · 🕐 1420

Badrinath Temple

📍 Badrinath, India · 🕐 8th century

Rameswaram Temple

📍 Rameswaram, India · 🕐 12th century

Hagia Sophia

📍 Istanbul, Turkey · 🕐 537 CE

Shrine of Hazrat Abbas

📍 Karbala, Iraq · 🕐 7th century

Prambanan

📍 Central Java, Indonesia · 🕐 850 CE

Konark Sun Temple

📍 Konark, India · 🕐 1255

Dilwara Temples

📍 Mount Abu, India · 🕐 1031–1233

Shrine of Imam Ali

📍 Najaf, Iraq · 🕐 7th century (rebuilt)

Atsuta Shrine

📍 Nagoya, Japan · 🕐 113 CE

Somnath Temple

📍 Somnath, India · 🕐 Rebuilt 1951 (original ancient)

Shrine of Saint James

📍 Santiago de Compostela, Spain · 🕐 1075–1211

Pha That Luang

📍 Vientiane, Laos · 🕐 1566

Erawan Shrine

📍 Bangkok, Thailand · 🕐 1956

Church of Saint George

📍 Lalibela, Ethiopia · 🕐 12th century

Dwarkadheesh Temple

📍 Dwarka, India · 🕐 400 BCE (rebuilt 16th century)

Shrine of Shah-e-Cheragh

📍 Shiraz, Iran · 🕐 12th century

Chichen Itza (El Castillo)

📍 Yucatán, Mexico · 🕐 600 CE

Brihadeeswarar Temple

📍 Thanjavur, India · 🕐 1010 CE

Shri Jagannath Temple

📍 Puri, India · 🕐 12th century

Mount Olympus Sanctuary

📍 Mount Olympus, Greece · 🕐 800 BCE (estimated)

Santuario de Las Lajas

📍 Ipiales, Colombia · 🕐 1916–1949

Ranganathaswamy Temple

📍 Srirangam, India · 🕐 10th century (expanded)

El Deir (The Monastery)

📍 Petra, Jordan · 🕐 1st century BCE

Shrine of the Virgin of Copacabana

📍 Copacabana, Bolivia · 🕐 1610

Ellora Caves

📍 Aurangabad, India · 🕐 600–1000 CE

Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa

📍 Częstochowa, Poland · 🕐 1382

Pura Besakih (Mother Temple)

📍 Bali, Indonesia · 🕐 10th century

Kashi Vishwanath Temple

📍 Varanasi, India · 🕐 1780 (current)

Shrine of Divine Mercy

📍 Kraków, Poland · 🕐 1889 (convent) / 2002 (shrine)

Kotoku-in

📍 Kamakura, Japan · 🕐 1252

Adam's Peak

📍 Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka · 🕐 Natural / ancient pilgrimage

Basilica of the Holy Blood

📍 Bruges, Belgium · 🕐 12th century

Pura Tanah Lot

📍 Bali, Indonesia · 🕐 16th century

Thirunallar Shani Temple

📍 Thirunallar, India · 🕐 Ancient

Rock of Cashel

📍 Cashel, Ireland · 🕐 1101 CE

Shrine of Padre Pio

📍 San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy · 🕐 2004

Sanjūsangen-dō

📍 Kyoto, Japan · 🕐 1164 (rebuilt 1266)

Kukke Subramanya Temple

📍 Subramanya, India · 🕐 Ancient

Mount Athos

📍 Athos Peninsula, Greece · 🕐 963 CE (first monastery)

Batu Caves Sri Subramaniam

📍 Selangor, Malaysia · 🕐 1891 (temple)