Largest pilgrimage events and most visited pilgrimage sites in the world
There are many sites for religious pilgrimage around the world that receive large numbers of visitors, sometimes into the several million annually. Can you name some of these largest religious events and most visited sacred locations or the cities they are located in?
Bear in mind that discerning numbers of pilgrims from raw number of tourists to these places is difficult.
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
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Considered the largest religious gathering in the world, held rotationally every third year in different regions on the banks of the Ganges River, approximately 120 million people have gathered there before
Kumbh Mela
The Arba'een Pilgrimage in this Iraqi city is considered to be the largest single pilgrimage event that is held every year, nearly 20 million people visit on average annually
Karbala
This city sees the most annual pilgrims in the world, on average 15 million, with up to 2 million during the 'Hajj'
Mecca
On average 7 million pilgrims pass the through the grotto and visit the baths at this site in France, the biggest pilgrimage site in the world for disabled people
Lourdes
The Golden Temple, central religious cite for Sikhs, sees several thousand pilgrims of many faiths every day, found in this city
Amritsar
The most visited Catholic church in the world is found in this country
Vatican City
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The 'Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica' is the most visited Marian shrine in the world, receiving 10 million pilgrims annually, found in this city
Mexico City
8 million people visit this temple in India, one of the most visited Hindu religious sites in all India
Vaishno Devi Mandir
The tree in Bodh Gaya that the Buddha himself supposedly meditated under sees an average of 1 million visitors
Bodhi Tree
1 million Orthodox Christians are said to queue throughout the year to touch the relics of Saint Parascheva in this Romanian city
Iași
Thousands visit this most famous Druidic Gorsedd in Brtain for the Solstice event, ironically at the wrong end of the year