Holy Sites 101–150

Sri Lanka's most sacred Buddhist temple, housing a tooth relic of the Buddha.

The ancient capital of the Aksumite Empire, believed to house the Ark of the Covenant.

The holiest and largest Hindu temple complex in Bali, on the slopes of Mount Agung.

The ruins of the great Phoenician city with the Tophet sanctuary and Roman temples, a UNESCO site.

The mother church of Anglicanism and England's premier pilgrimage destination since the murder of Thomas Becket.

A colossal Roman temple complex in the Bekaa Valley, among the largest in the ancient world.

A vast sandstone plateau with thousands of ancient rock art panels in the Sahara.

An iconic medieval church perched on a cliff above Lake Ohrid, one of the most photographed sites in the Balkans.

The largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia, with towering spires dedicated to the Trimurti.

Germany's oldest cathedral, housing the Holy Robe said to be Christ's seamless garment.

The tomb of Imam Ali, the first Shia Imam and fourth Caliph, in Najaf.

A magnificent temple in the heart of Luxor dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship.

A stunning Maya city in the Chiapas jungle, famous for the tomb of King Pakal.

The ruins of Thailand's ancient capital, with hundreds of Buddhist temple remains.

Tokyo's oldest and most visited temple, entered through the iconic Thunder Gate.

One of the oldest stone settlements in West Africa with ancient Islamic heritage.

The world's largest pyramid by volume, topped by a Spanish colonial church.

The biblical mountain where Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death.

The oldest Hindu temple in the Kathmandu Valley, a masterpiece of Newari art.

A chapel within one of the largest castle complexes in Central Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel, where Holy Roman Emperors were crowned for 600 years.

One of Iran's oldest mosques, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture on Isfahan's grand square.

The ancient 'navel of the world,' where the Oracle of Apollo guided Greek civilization for centuries.

A UNESCO Silk Road oasis city that was once the largest in the world, with diverse religious heritage.

The sacred mountaintop where St Marinus founded the world's oldest republic as a refuge from persecution.

Nepal's holiest Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva on the banks of the Bagmati River.

The fourth holiest city of Islam, with 82 mosques within ancient walls in eastern Ethiopia.

The ruined and restored churches of Antigua, Guatemala's former colonial capital, set against a volcanic backdrop.

The birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Shaolin kung fu in the Song Mountains.

An island temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, rescued from the rising Nile waters.

Korea's most celebrated Buddhist temple, a UNESCO masterpiece of Silla-dynasty architecture.

A clifftop fortress where Jewish zealots made their last stand against Rome in 73 CE.

A hillside temple famous for its wooden stage and sacred Otowa waterfall.

The shrine of Imam Husayn in Karbala, site of the pivotal Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.

A UNESCO-listed Confucian royal ancestral shrine, the oldest and most authentic of its kind in the world.

The second ancient capital of Sri Lanka with stunning stone-carved Buddha figures.

Famous for its floating torii gate rising from the sea on Miyajima Island.

One of the oldest mosques in the world, said to have been built during Prophet Muhammad's lifetime.

The most sacred place in Georgia, believed to house Christ's robe and a pillar of faith.

Enormous ancient geoglyphs etched into the desert, visible only from the air.

Pre-Angkorian temple ruins that served as the capital of the Chenla Empire.

The best-preserved medieval church town in Sweden, with 424 wooden cottages surrounding a 15th-century church.

A medieval Benedictine abbey perched on a tidal island off the coast of Normandy.

A sacred Char Dham site where Lord Rama is believed to have prayed before crossing to Lanka.

A hauntingly beautiful medieval Islamic necropolis built atop the ruins of a Roman city.

A sacred Andean valley in northwestern Argentina where pre-Inca, Inca, and colonial sacred traditions converge.

The greatest concentration of Indigenous rock art on the Great Plains, sacred to the Blackfoot.

A UNESCO-listed medieval monastery partially carved into a cliff, with remarkable acoustics.

The largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico, with massive ceremonial earth mounds.

The reputed last home of the Virgin Mary near the ancient city of Ephesus.