Holy Sites 251–300

The world's largest waterfall, called 'The Smoke that Thunders,' sacred to the Tonga and Lozi peoples.

Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece in Barcelona, a basilica blending Gothic and Art Nouveau forms.

The cradle of Thai civilization and the birthplace of the Thai alphabet and Theravada Buddhism in Thailand.

One of the finest public squares in the Islamic world, framed by three grand madrasas.

Moscow's iconic multi-domed cathedral on Red Square, a masterwork of Russian Orthodox architecture.

A UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral on the Camino de Santiago, burial place of El Cid.

The principal cathedral of Bolivia's constitutional capital, a jewel of colonial architecture.

UNESCO-listed tomb of Goguryeo's legendary founder, revered as a sacred ancestral site.

A UNESCO-listed landscape of granite hills with rock art, rain shrines, and deep spiritual significance.

The ruins of a medieval stone city and spiritual center of the Shona people, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A UNESCO-listed Buddhist monastery in the Gandhara region, one of the best-preserved in South Asia.

The principal mosque of Kazan, rebuilt within the UNESCO-listed Kremlin as a symbol of Tatar heritage.

The largest Gothic cathedral in Italy, crowned with the golden Madonnina statue.

An ancient cave temple near Ubud with a fearsome carved entrance and bathing pools.

Medieval churches carved into cliff faces along the Rusenski Lom River with remarkable 14th-century frescoes.

A masterpiece of Norman architecture housing the shrine of St. Cuthbert and the tomb of the Venerable Bede.

A Benedictine monastery high in the serrated mountains of Catalonia, home of the Black Madonna.

The Renaissance masterpiece crowned by Brunelleschi's dome, a triumph of faith and engineering.

A UNESCO-listed 15th-century mosque city built by Khan Jahan Ali in the Sundarbans region.

Marrakech's iconic 12th-century mosque whose minaret inspired the Giralda in Seville.

Ruins of the 5th-century church built around the pillar where St. Simeon lived for 37 years.

Vienna's iconic Gothic cathedral with its mosaic roof, the spiritual heart of Austria.

The most important Serbian Orthodox monastery, founded by the Nemanjić dynasty in the 12th century.

A grand Baroque Benedictine abbey perched above the Danube in the Wachau Valley.

The largest neo-Gothic basilica in the Americas, with Ecuadorian animals as gargoyles instead of European ones.

A UNESCO World Heritage town with churches reflecting Portuguese and Spanish colonial spiritual heritage.

A seaside church in Matosinhos housing a legendary crucifix said to have been carved by Nicodemus.

A late-Romanesque cathedral housing the only papal tomb north of the Alps.

A fortress-like Romanesque cathedral overlooking Porto, witness to Portugal's birth as a nation.

One of the finest examples of Lanna temple architecture in northern Thailand.

Chile's largest religious festival, a syncretic celebration blending Catholic devotion with Andean and Afro-Chilean dance.

The most sacred Islamic cemetery, containing the graves of the Prophet's family and companions.

Taipei's most famous temple, blending Buddhist, Taoist, and folk deity worship since 1738.

The largest cathedral in Central America, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Nicaragua's cultural capital.

The largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, with the greatest expanse of medieval stained glass in Britain.

The coronation church of English monarchs and burial place of kings, poets, and scientists.

A mosque near Qom believed to have been built on the orders of the hidden Twelfth Imam.

A golden boulder perched impossibly on the edge of a cliff, balanced by a single hair of the Buddha.

A Moche pyramid temple with vivid polychrome murals depicting the fearsome god Ai Apaec.

A masterpiece of Manueline architecture in Lisbon, built with wealth from the Age of Discovery.

Bulgaria's second-largest monastery, famous for its miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary.

One of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva, perched high in the Himalayas.

The shrine of the founder of Fes, considered the most important saint's tomb in the city.

The holiest shrine of the Yazidi people, nestled in a valley in Kurdistan, Iraq.

One of the best-preserved Roman cities with temples to Jupiter, Juno, and other deities.

The oldest Swahili settlement in East Africa, a living Islamic town and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Geothermal hot springs and geysers in the central North Island considered tapu and healing by Māori.

The royal pyramids of the ancient Nubian Kingdom of Kush, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A mysterious UNESCO site of 36 carved stelae whose meaning remains largely unknown.

A UNESCO site of medieval mausoleums and the tallest pre-modern minaret in Central Asia.