Travelling for the Truth: Pilgrimage Tours Worthy of Your Attention

India is a religious country. There is obviously no doubt about it. There are many people who are debating the rise of fundamentalists in India, but somewhere within the true spirits of this country, religion has actually played a key role in whatever development we have achieved as a nation. Many people consider religion as an obstruction in the way of development and progress but to the people of this country, religion is much more than worshipping – religion stands for belief, religion stands for righteousness, religions stands for community and religion stands for unity. This is the reason why even today in the capital of this country, you can find a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Jain derasar and a Gurudwara only a few footsteps away from each other.

If you truly want to understand India, it makes sense to understand the religions of this country. Now, you may or may not have strong religious belief, but for a moment, look at religion as a tool for the search of truth and for exploration of peace. That is what religion has been in India for centuries. This religious standing clearly resonates in the pilgrimage tour taken up by many citizens of the country. Now, you may wonder that a pilgrimage tour in India will be a simple tour consisting various temple tour accumulated into one. That is not true. Going on a pilgrimage tour in India is not a touring experience, it is indeed a spiritual one.

So, when you look for the best temples in India or the best places for pilgrim tour in India, you are actually looking at places which can give you the peace you are looking for, the truth you are searching for. Here are few of the best places for pilgrim tour in India:

1. Badrinath Kedarnath Yatra. It is also popularly called the Do Dham Yatra. Both Badrinath and Kedarnath come under two of the four dhams and have two of the twelve Jyotirlingas. In 2013, Kedarnath saw one of the most destructive natural calamities when the Kedarnath mountain which is 6 km away from the main temple started melting and the water levels in the Charbari lake started rising, resulting in mass destruction of the main temple. Although, the Government of India formed in 2014 did a splendid job of rebuilding the place and has made it up and running in no time.

The tour usually starts in Haridwar, which in itself has great religious significance. From there, one heads to the Gauri Kund and goes to Kedarnath. After having visited Kedarnath, one has to come back to Guptakashi and head to Badrinath via Joshimath. After having covered Rudraprayag in the journey, you would’ve been through some of the most important religious places for Hindus.

2. Chaar Dham Yatra. A step above the Badrinath-Kedarnath yatra is the Char Dham Yatra. Apart from the Badrinath and Kedarnath yatra, the Char Dham yatra includes Gangotri and Yamunotri. Both Yamunotri and Gangotri derive their significance because of their standing by two of the holiest rivers in Hindu belief system – Yamuna and Ganga, respectively. Yamunotri is blessed by a beautiful mountainous surrounding. It is in Uttarkashi and extravagantly surrounded by glaciers, Yamuna river and mountains. Gangotri obviously has great religious significance but also holds a unique mix of adventure sports like mountaineering and trekking. Gangotri National Park is an addition to the travel, apart from the Gangotri Glacier.

3. Baara Jyotirlinga Yatra. The pilgrimage of the Baara (twelve) Jyotirlingas is considered to be the most auspicious pilgrimage for devotees of Shiva. Each of the Jyotirlinas are located in eight states in twelve different temples spread over in North, West and South India. The Baara Jyotirlinas, also known as the Dwaadash Jyotirlinas in Sanskrit, are: Somnath and Nageshwar in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, Bhimashankar, Tryambakeshwar and Grishneshwar in Maharashtra, Vishwanath Temple in Uttar Pradesh, Baidyanath in Jharkhand and Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu.

Apart from these places, there are still many tours which you can opt for – the Vaishno Devi tour which will make you climb a mountain on stairs. There is also the Shirdi and Shingapur tour, which take you to the origins of the great saint Sai Baba and the city of Shingnapur which is famous for not having locks on the doors of its residents. India, as a country, is a giant colour-box filled with different colours representing different religious faiths. It can take a lifetime to explore all, but even then, that lifetime would be worth it.

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