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Guided map tour · Religion
Varanasi (Kashi/Benares), on the Ganges, northern India. Hindus revere Varanasi as one of the holiest cities and among the oldest continuously inhabited…
Open this tour on the live map →Varanasi (Kashi/Benares), on the Ganges, northern India. Hindus revere Varanasi as one of the holiest cities and among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth. Along its riverfront ghats, pilgrims bathe in the Ganges, believed to purify and to release the soul from the cycle of rebirth (moksha). At the Manikarnika and…
Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India — the Mahabodhi Temple Complex. Buddhists venerate this as the spot where Siddhartha Gautama is said to have attained enlightenment (bodhi) beneath a Bodhi tree around the 5th century BCE, becoming the Buddha, "the awakened one." A descendant of that tree still grows beside the temple. The Mahabodhi Temple is a…
Lumbini, Rupandehi District, Nepal — near the Indian border. Buddhist tradition holds that Siddhartha Gautama was born here in a garden, to Queen Maya Devi. A stone pillar erected by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE marks the site and records his pilgrimage. Lumbini is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1997) and…
The Western Wall (Kotel), Old City of Jerusalem. For Jews, this is the holiest place of prayer — a surviving retaining wall of the Second Temple compound, expanded under Herod and destroyed by Rome in 70 CE. Worshippers place written prayers between its stones. Judaism is the oldest of the three Abrahamic traditions. The wall borders the…
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Christian Quarter, Old City of Jerusalem. Most Christian traditions venerate this church as the site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It has been a pilgrimage destination since the 4th century CE. Six Christian denominations share the church under a long-standing arrangement…
The Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif ("Noble Sanctuary"), Old City of Jerusalem. For Muslims this compound — home to the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque — is the third-holiest site in Islam, associated with the Prophet Muhammad's Night Journey. The same plateau is the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. One place, three faiths:…
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, West Bank. Christians revere this basilica as marking the birthplace of Jesus. A silver star in the grotto beneath the altar marks the traditional spot. The original church was founded in the 4th century, making it one of the oldest churches still in continuous use. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site…
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. The Vatican is the spiritual and administrative centre of the Roman Catholic Church, the largest single Christian communion, with roughly 1.3–1.4 billion baptised members. St. Peter's is built over the traditional tomb of the Apostle Peter. Vatican City is the world's smallest sovereign state — about…
The Kaaba, Masjid al-Haram, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba is the holiest site in Islam and the qibla — the direction Muslims worldwide face in prayer. Once in a lifetime, every able Muslim who can afford it is expected to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. The Hajj is one of the largest annual gatherings of people on Earth: about 1.83 million…
Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (the Prophet's Mosque), Medina, Saudi Arabia. Medina is Islam's second-holiest city. The Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina — the Hijra in 622 CE — marks the start of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar. He is buried within the mosque. The mosque's Green Dome, above the Prophet's tomb, is among Islam's most…
Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple), Amritsar, Punjab, India. The Golden Temple is the holiest gurdwara of Sikhism, a faith founded in the Punjab in the 15th century by Guru Nanak. Its four doors, open on all sides, symbolise openness to people of every background. Its community kitchen (langar) serves free vegetarian meals to all…
Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China — the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple. Lhasa is the historic heart of Tibetan Buddhism. The Jokhang, founded in the 7th century, is its most sacred temple; the towering Potala Palace was the traditional residence of the Dalai Lamas, who held both religious and political authority in old Tibet. ℹ…
Ise Grand Shrine (Ise Jingū), Mie Prefecture, Japan. Ise is the most sacred site of Shintō, the indigenous belief system of Japan, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Shintō centres on kami — spirits present in nature and ancestors — and on ritual purity rather than scripture or founder. Every 20 years the inner shrines are ritually…
Uluru (Ayers Rock), Northern Territory, Australia. For the Anangu, the traditional custodians, Uluru is a sacred landscape woven into Tjukurpa — the ancestral law and creation knowledge passed down orally. It is an example of a spiritual tradition carried through story, song and place rather than written scripture. Out of respect for the…
Write down two facts you learned about this place.
Why does this place matter? Explain in one or two sentences.
Find this place on a blank map: which country and continent is it in?
Write down two facts you learned about this place.
Why does this place matter? Explain in one or two sentences.
Find this place on a blank map: which country and continent is it in?
Write down two facts you learned about this place.
Why does this place matter? Explain in one or two sentences.
Find this place on a blank map: which country and continent is it in?
Write down two facts you learned about this place.
Why does this place matter? Explain in one or two sentences.
Find this place on a blank map: which country and continent is it in?
Write down two facts you learned about this place.
Why does this place matter? Explain in one or two sentences.
Reflection: Which station surprised you most, and why?