The World’s Sacred Places

Sacred Places

Discover a curated guide to significant sacred places, pilgrimage traditions, architecture, documented history and practical visitor information across cultures and faith traditions.

CuratedSource-awareMulti-faithVisitor-ready where known

Sacred Place City / locality

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Place Type Religious Tradition Tradition / Denomination Sacred Association Country State / Province / Region District / Subregion Architecture Heritage Facilities

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Sacred Places

Browse Sacred Places selected for Templestan’s public collection.

Kumano Hongu Taisha

Hongu-cho, Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Shinto

One of the three Kumano Sanzan grand shrines and a central destination of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage.

Kumano deities

Okunoin

Koyasan, Koya, Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

One of Japan’s most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites, centered on the mausoleum of Kukai at Mount Koya.

Kukai (Kobo Daishi)

Kongobu-ji

Koyasan, Koya, Ito District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

Head temple of Shingon Buddhism at Mount Koya, the institutional heart of the Koyasan sacred complex.

Kukai (Kobo Daishi)

Seiganto-ji

Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Buddhism

Historic Buddhist temple beside Kumano Nachi Taisha, famous for its pagoda view with Nachi Falls.

Nyoirin Kannon tradition

Kumano Nachi Taisha

Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan Shinto

Kumano grand shrine above Nachi Falls, joining waterfall worship, pilgrimage and a rare surviving Shinto-Buddhist sacred landscape.

Nachi Falls and Kumano deities