Pilgrimages are considered quite important in the ritualistic follower of sanAthana dharma. There are a few centers of sacredness which are held at high esteem by the ardent devotees, irrespective of which part of land they belong to. The devotees dream to travel and worship the God in these holy places. This brings in as a by-product integration among people of different land and exposure to different cultures and ways of worship. Most importantly crossing all the hurdles on the way when one moves ahead with the only focus of worshipping the God at these sacred abodes, this becomes a form of yoga and the benefit got is quite marvelous.

These sacred places have been talked highly in our purANas and they stand showering grace for multiple millenniums. They stand at the crowns of natural breathtaking beauty - on the high Himalayas, Gangetic plains and the shores and hills of various other parts. With the advent of modern transport facilities the travel to these places has become quite easy. Once the pilgrimages that took even years can be completed in a few days. But the very important thing one should keep in mind while taking up a pilgrimage should be that the pilgrimage is taken up in the fullness of devotion and not as a picnic. Only then the complete benefit of the pilgrimage could be utilized. Imagine the devotion of the people who used to take up these pilgrimages in those ages with quite high risk factors and hurdles on the way. It was a high devotion that propelled these journeys against the odds of hurdles on the way. Now in spite of the modern facilities if we could still retain that high devotion, the highly Merciful God will certainly bless us to our bliss.