Best spiritual destinations in India
165 curated spiritual destinations across 27 states, each with the months it is worth going and the months it is not.
Best of spiritual India
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Nanded (Hazur Sahib)
Maharashtra
Takht Sachkhand Hazur Sahib, a Sikh takht on the Godavari
Peak: Nov to Feb
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Prayagraj (Triveni Sangam)
Uttar Pradesh
Ganga-Yamuna Sangam, Magh Mela sands and Anand Bhavan
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Gokarna
Karnataka
Temple town turned backpacker beach-hopping strip
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Rishikesh
Uttarakhand
Yoga capital and rafting hub on the Ganges
Peak: Feb to Mar and Oct to Nov
-
McLeod Ganj
Himachal Pradesh
Dalai Lama's home-in-exile - Tibetan culture hub
Peak: Mar to May and Oct to Nov
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Kanchipuram
Tamil Nadu
Pallava sandstone temples and silk looms on the same street
Peak: Dec to Feb
-
Pushkar
Rajasthan
Holy lake town, Rajasthan's backpacker capital
Peak: Oct to Feb
-
Champaner-Pavagadh
Gujarat
UNESCO ghost capital below the 800 m Pavagadh hill
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Omkareshwar
Madhya Pradesh
Om-shaped Narmada island with a Jyotirlinga and hostel vibe
Peak: Oct to Feb
-
Bhubaneswar
Odisha
Temple city of 700 shrines plus the Khandagiri Jain caves
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Katra (Vaishno Devi)
Jammu and Kashmir
Base town for the year-round Vaishno Devi pilgrimage climb
Peak: Mar to Apr and Sep to Oct
-
Amritsar
Punjab
The Golden Temple and its free kitchen for all
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Srisailam
Andhra Pradesh
Jyotirlinga above the Krishna gorge inside Nallamala forest
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Bodh Gaya
Bihar
Where the Buddha attained enlightenment - Mahabodhi Temple
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Dirang
Arunachal Pradesh
Monpa valley with hot springs, en route to Tawang
Peak: Mar to May and Oct to Nov
-
Varkala
Kerala
Cliffside beach town with yoga shalas and sunset cafes
Peak: Dec to Feb
-
Rajim
Chhattisgarh
Three-river sangam with an 8th-century temple in the riverbed
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Alchi (Sham Valley)
Ladakh
11th-century Kashmiri murals in a low Indus orchard village
Peak: May to Sep
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Deoghar (Baidyanath Dham)
Jharkhand
Jyotirlinga at the end of the 105 km Sultanganj kanwar walk
Peak: Nov to Feb
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Alampur (Jogulamba)
Telangana
Nine Badami Chalukya shrines and a Shakti Peetha by the Tungabhadra
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Guwahati
Assam
Northeast's gateway city: Kamakhya Temple, river cruises
Peak: Nov to Feb
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Dhosi Hill (Narnaul)
Haryana
Extinct volcano in the Aravallis, a stone stairway up to the crater temples
Peak: Oct to Feb
-
Namchi
Sikkim
South Sikkim pilgrim town with a 108-ft Shiva and Char Dham
Peak: Mar to Apr and Oct to Dec
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Mayapur (Nabadwip)
West Bengal
Chaitanya's river country: Nabadwip's old lanes and Mayapur's temples
Peak: Nov to Feb
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Mawphlang Sacred Forest
Meghalaya
Khasi sacred grove where you may not carry a single leaf out
Peak: Mar to Apr and Oct to Nov
-
Pondicherry (incl. Auroville)
Puducherry
French Quarter beach town next to the Auroville commune
Peak: Dec to Feb
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Pilak (Jolaibari)
Tripura
Buddhist and Hindu ruins from the 8th century scattered in paddy fields
Peak: Nov to Feb
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Shirdi
Maharashtra
Sai Baba's samadhi town with darshan running around the clock
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh
Ancient Ganges ghats, India's chaotic spiritual heart
Peak: Oct to Feb
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Kukke Subramanya (Kumara Parvatha)
Karnataka
Serpent temple at the foot of the Kumara Parvatha climb
Peak: Oct to Feb
-
Haridwar
Uttarakhand
Har Ki Pauri, the ghat where the Ganga leaves the hills
Peak: Feb to Mar and Oct to Nov
-
Bir
Himachal Pradesh
India's paragliding capital amid Tibetan monasteries
Peak: Mar to May and Oct to Nov
-
Tiruchirappalli (Trichy)
Tamil Nadu
Rockfort stairway and the 156-acre Srirangam temple city
Peak: Dec to Feb
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Ajmer
Rajasthan
Dargah of Moinuddin Chishti, qawwali nights and Ana Sagar
Peak: Nov to Feb
-
Gopnath (Talaja)
Gujarat
Low limestone cliffs and a Shiva temple on the Gulf of Khambhat
Peak: Nov to Feb
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Amarkantak
Madhya Pradesh
Source of the Narmada on a 1,000 m Maikal plateau
Peak: Oct to Mar
Every spiritual destination in the catalogue
- Ahobilam Andhra Pradesh
- Anandpur Sahib Punjab
- Ayodhya Uttar Pradesh
- Badrinath & Mana Uttarakhand
- Bageshwar Uttarakhand
- Bani (Sarthal Devi) Jammu and Kashmir
- Barsana & Nandgaon Uttar Pradesh
- Bawangaja (Barwani) Madhya Pradesh
- Bhadrachalam Telangana
- Bhairavakona Andhra Pradesh
- Bharmour (Manimahesh) Himachal Pradesh
- Bhimashankar Maharashtra
- Bithoor Uttar Pradesh
- BR Hills (Biligiri Ranganatha) Karnataka
- Chandragiri (Jirang Tibetan Settlement) Odisha
- Chidambaram & Pichavaram Tamil Nadu
- Chitrakoot (Ramghat) Uttar Pradesh
- Churdhar (via Nohradhar) Himachal Pradesh
- Dera Baba Nanak (Kartarpur Corridor) Punjab
- Deshnoke (Karni Mata Temple) Rajasthan
- Devprayag Uttarakhand
- Dwarahat (Dunagiri) Uttarakhand
- Dwarka Gujarat
- Fatehgarh Sahib (Sirhind) Punjab
- Gangasagar (Sagar Island) West Bengal
- Ganpatipule Maharashtra
- Garadia Mahadev (Chambal Gorge) Rajasthan
- Goindwal Sahib (Baoli Sahib) Punjab
- Guhagar Maharashtra
- Gupteswar Caves (Koraput) Odisha
- Guruvayur Kerala
- Hajo & Sualkuchi Assam
- Hanol (Mahasu Devta) Uttarakhand
- Hastinapur Uttar Pradesh
- Igatpuri Maharashtra
- Jageshwar Uttarakhand
- Junagadh (Girnar) Gujarat
- Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) Karnataka
- Kaleshwaram Telangana
- Kalpathy (Palakkad) Kerala
- Kanyakumari Tamil Nadu
- Karauli Rajasthan
- Karkala (Gomateshwara) Karnataka
- Kartik Swami (Kanakchauri) Uttarakhand
- Kedarnath Uttarakhand
- Kodachadri (Kollur base) Karnataka
- Kolayat Rajasthan
- Kumbakonam (with Darasuram) Tamil Nadu
- Kunkeshwar (Devgad) Maharashtra
- Kurukshetra Haryana
- Kushinagar Uttar Pradesh
- Lamayuru Ladakh
- Machail (Paddar) Jammu and Kashmir
- Madhavpur Ghed Gujarat
- Madhyamaheshwar (Ransi) Uttarakhand
- Madurai Tamil Nadu
- Mahanandi (Nava Nandi) Andhra Pradesh
- Maheshwar Madhya Pradesh
- Mahur (Mahurgad) Maharashtra
- Maluti Jharkhand
- Mandar Hill (Bounsi) Bihar
- Mandi Himachal Pradesh
- Mandla Madhya Pradesh
- Mansar Lake Jammu and Kashmir
- Martand Sun Temple (Mattan) Jammu and Kashmir
- Melukote Karnataka
- Merta City Rajasthan
- Mitaoli, Padavali & Bateshwar Madhya Pradesh
- Mundeshwari Hill (Kaimur) Bihar
- Munger Bihar
- Murudeshwar Karnataka
- Naimisharanya (Nimsar) Uttar Pradesh
- Nashik Maharashtra
- Nirmand (Srikhand Mahadev) Himachal Pradesh
- Nrusinghanath (Gandhamardan Hills) Odisha
- Pahalgam Jammu and Kashmir
- Palitana (Shatrunjaya) Gujarat
- Pandharpur Maharashtra
- Parasnath Hill (Shikharji) Jharkhand
- Patal Bhuvaneshwar Uttarakhand
- Piprahwa (Kapilavastu) Uttar Pradesh
- Puri Odisha
- Purne (Phugtal Gompa) Ladakh
- Rajgir (with Nalanda) Bihar
- Rameswaram Tamil Nadu
- Ramgarh Crater (Bhand Deva) Rajasthan
- Ramtek Maharashtra
- Ranakpur Rajasthan
- Rangdum Ladakh
- Ranipur-Jharial (Soma Tirtha) Odisha
- Ratanpur (Mahamaya) Chhattisgarh
- Ratnagiri-Udayagiri-Lalitgiri (Diamond Triangle) Odisha
- Ravangla Sikkim
- Renuka Lake (Renuka Ji) Himachal Pradesh
- Rewalsar (Tso Pema) Himachal Pradesh
- Sannati & Kanaganahalli Karnataka
- Sarahan (Bhimakali) Himachal Pradesh
- Shakumbhari Devi (Behat) Uttar Pradesh
- Shravasti (Sahet-Mahet) Uttar Pradesh
- Sirpur Chhattisgarh
- Somnath Gujarat
- Sonagiri (Jain temple hill) Madhya Pradesh
- Sringeri Karnataka
- Sultanpur Lodhi Punjab
- Tabo Himachal Pradesh
- Talwandi Sabo (Takht Damdama Sahib) Punjab
- Taptapani Odisha
- Tarnetar Gujarat
- Tatapani (Balrampur) Chhattisgarh
- Tawang Arunachal Pradesh
- Teetwal (Tithwal) Jammu and Kashmir
- Thirunelli (Brahmagiri) Kerala
- Thrissur Kerala
- Tirupati Andhra Pradesh
- Tiruvannamalai Tamil Nadu
- Trilokinath (Udaipur, Lahaul) Himachal Pradesh
- Trimbakeshwar Maharashtra
- Tuljapur Maharashtra
- Tuting (Pemako) Arunachal Pradesh
- Udupi-Malpe & St Marys Island Karnataka
- Ujjain Madhya Pradesh
- Uthirakosamangai Tamil Nadu
- Vaishali Bihar
- Vellore Tamil Nadu
- Vrindavan-Mathura Uttar Pradesh
- Wakro (Parshuram Kund & Glao Lake) Arunachal Pradesh
- Yaganti Andhra Pradesh
- Yana Rocks Karnataka
- Zemithang (Gorsam Chorten) Arunachal Pradesh
When to go
February, November and December are the months with the most spiritual places in peak season.
By state
Uttar Pradesh (13)Maharashtra (13)Uttarakhand (12)Karnataka (12)Himachal Pradesh (11)Tamil Nadu (10)Rajasthan (9)Madhya Pradesh (8)Odisha (8)Gujarat (8)
Common questions
How many spiritual destinations are there in India?
This catalogue lists 165 tagged spiritual, across 27 states and union territories. It is a curated list, not an exhaustive one: places earn a spot on the strength of the landscape or the heritage.
When is the best time for a spiritual trip in India?
February, November and December put the most of them in peak season. Each place carries its own window, though, so check the one you are aiming at.
Which states have the most spiritual destinations?
Uttar Pradesh (13), Maharashtra (13), Uttarakhand (12), Karnataka (12) and Himachal Pradesh (11).
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