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Questions tagged [pilgrimages]

Journeys undertaken with the intent of achieving spiritual objectives. Commonly associated with sites deemed sacred in a religion but the scope of this tag includes journeys undertaken as part of literary or historical or artistic enlightenment.

Pilgrimage.

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What are the options to travel to Mecca or Jabal al-Nour as a non-Muslim?

I'm not a Muslim (I consider myself as Jain/Hindu, etc) but I wish to travel around Mecca. There is a common belief around the world that only Muslims are allowed inside Mecca. Is that true? Can I travel to Mecca for a tour? Is there any…
BlueBerry - Vignesh4303
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Do's and Dont's of doing a pilgrimage as an atheist?

I plan on doing the St-Jacques-de-Compostelle pilgrimage, but I am also unequivocally atheist. My motivation for undergoing a (mostly) religious pilgrimage is pushing the limits of what I believe I can do, aka a "self-improvement" trip. If possible,…
JS Lavertu
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Walking 14 km on a pilgrimage road where footwear may be considered disrespectful

There's this 14 km long road that's one of the main attractions in Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. The road goes all the way around a small mountain called Arunachala. The mountain is considered holy. The road is a road for pilgrims. They walk…
Fiksdal
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How safe is it for "Western" Muslims to participlate in the Hajj and visit Mecca?

So as I hope you all know, the Hajj is a religious pilgrimage that Islam requests all its believers to participate in at least once in their lifetime if possible. Now I know that there have been many incidents such as stampedes where lots of people…
hippietrail
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Are there any formal religious pilgrimage journeys to take in the USA or Canada?

In Europe, there are specific formalized paths to take when going on many religious, especially Roman Catholic, pilgrimages. In at least some cases, traveling along a specific route is a specific requirement to be considered to have really completed…
Robert Columbia
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Are "Albergues de peregrinos" typically restricted to pilgrims?

While planning a trek through the Spanish province of Almería, I came across an accommodation option called albergue de peregrinos, which apparently means a pilgrims' hostel. Cheap and basic, but good enough for me (and there's nothing else in that…
gerrit
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Can I perform Umrah while on a Saudi Arabian visit e-visa?

For those who don't know, just a few days ago Saudi Arabia, known for being inaccessible, introduced a new e-visa system for a handful of countries, which include the whole Schengen area, the U.S and Australia, so whoever wants to visit it can do so…
abdul
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Can a non-Orthodox man visit Mt. Athos?

I am very curious about visiting the monasteries of Mt. Athos. However, most of the information I see about visiting seems to be directed towards Orthodox pilgrims (and even that seems relatively scant); though I have a great respect for and…
user65735
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Recreating Hemingway's Trip to Pamplona (Part 1)

In about three weeks one of Europe's most widely known events will take place: the legendary running of the bulls in Pamlona, or known locally as the "Fiesta de San Fermín". The city is famous worldwide for the running of the bulls during the San…
Gayot Fow
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Differences between the Routes of the Camino de Santiago

I will be a first time "pilgrim" in July of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St James) and am deciding on the various routes. Can someone explain what differences are encountered on the routes - how strenuous, distances between places, popularity, for…
tmonreal
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Following in the Footsteps of Hemingway in Italy

History tells us that the author Ernest Hemingway was stationed in Italy during World War I. He was billeted in the town of Villa Ca Erizzo Luca where he drove an ambulance collecting human remains. In 1918 he was seriously injured and sent to the…
Gayot Fow
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How to get a direct darshan, avoiding all the queues, in Tirupati Balaji Temple?

This is specific to India and Indian people. My wife and I visit Tirupati Balaji Temple regularly and take darshan after going through long queues. Even for a Rs 300/- ticket queue there is significant crowd. This year we have our one year old son…
Jay
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Can any of the Game of Thrones Castles in Ireland be Visited?

Westeros is a fictional locale in the popular 'Game of Thrones' series. Its stock footage for some castles is filmed in the Republic of Ireland. I would like to travel to Westeros for my next vacation, and I am wondering if any of the historically…
imarontar
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Are all parts of the 'Jesus trail' in Israel open and safe to hike solo?

The Jesus Trail in Israel is a 65km hiking and pilgrimage trail in Israel that traces the route Jesus is meant to have walked. I'm not that knowledgable about the different areas of Israel / Palestine / West Bank etc and am wondering if it's all…
Mark Mayo
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Following in the footsteps of Jason Bourne

I'm not as traditional a pilgrim as many of Travel SE's distinguished members. I've visited a couple of film studios, however I thought it might be interesting to plan a trip following the shooting locations of some movie or other. Naturally, for…
Berwyn
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