It's little wonder that Crater Lake – a vast water body formed by the cataclysmic eruption of Mount Mazama some 7,700 years ago – is so highly revered. The violent volcanic eruption, which caused the collapse of a tall peak, was witnessed by indigenous Americans and the story of the lake's creation has been passed down by the Klamath peoples, among others, in their oral legends. It became a sacred place to many who went to its waters to pray, mourn and seek understanding, as well as to hunt and forage. The deepest lake in the US, its startling clear blue waters still provoke feelings of awe.
Steeped in spirituality, this prehistoric stone circle on the Salisbury Plain has long been a place of pilgrimage. While the monument’s mysteries endure, it’s generally accepted that the stones served as sacred places of ceremony and ritual. Carefully placed to line up with the movements of the sun, the stones are the focal point of neo-Pagan celebrations for the summer and winter solstice. The whole landscape is riddled with mystical prehistoric sites, including the arguably more awe-inspiring Avebury Stone Circle.
This striking rock rising from Wyoming's grasslands is the country's first national monument and it has a deep, spiritual significance to several indigenous American tribes, whose ancestors lived around it for thousands of years. The Cheyenne camped and hunted at what they called Bear's Lodge in the winter and consider it a holy place. It's also of great importance to the Lakota people, who see the wider Black Hills region as the place of creation: they traditionally held a sacred Sun Dance at the rock around the summer solstice. Climbing the steep butte is seen as disrespectful by many and there's a June Voluntary Climbing Closure to respect a culturally significant time when many ceremonies take place.
The perfect snow-capped cone of Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan, is a defining symbol of the nation, interwoven in its culture and religion. Revered over the centuries, thousands of religions have sprung up around the flanks of the awe-inspiring volcano. It’s seen as many things, including a living being and the home of spirits and deities, as well as the spirits of ancestors. Today climbing the peak is seen as a path to transcendence by Japan’s two major religions, Shinto and Buddhism. Their shrines line its sacred slopes and torii gates mark the transition from the profane to the holy.
High up in the Andes and lapping both Bolivia and Peru, the ethereal waters of this highly sacred lake brim with ancient myths and legends. Many believe that a lost city lies beneath Titicaca's waters and the ancient Incas believed it was where their god Viracocha arose to create the world and where their spirits returned in death. Its islands were sacred too: the largest, Isla del Sol, was home to the god Inti and Isla del Luna to the goddess Mama Quilla. Many ancient ceremonial sites have been found on and around its shores, including the remains of a temple discovered in its depths in 2000.
The sacred heart of Australia, Uluru is a powerfully spiritual site to the Anangu people, who believe it was formed by ancestral beings during the Dreaming. They regard the majestic rock as a resting place for ancient spirits. After decades of controversy around visitors climbing the massive sandstone monolith, the Anangu’s wishes were respected in 2019, when climbing was forbidden. It’s not just the rock that is revered, however: the entire landscape of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is scattered with highly significant sites, some of which are off-limits.
Deep in an ancient forest lies a sacred pool and magical realm of piskies and fairies, or so local legend has it. St Nectan’s Glen, an ethereal nature reserve in north Cornwall, certainly feeds the imagination. Seen as a sacred site to both Christians and pagans, a riverside path leads through the woods to a series of waterfalls. Above St Nectan's Kieve, the plunge pool of the main waterfall, is a hermitage, which was built where medieval hermit St Nectan is supposed to have lived. It’s also said to be where Arthur and his knights came to cleanse before going in search of the Holy Grail.
With their wind-whipped cliffs and ancient stone circles, the rugged and remote Orkney islands have plenty of mystical appeal. They were a stronghold of ancient pagan traditions, which you can still get a deep sense of at the ceremonial Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar (pictured). These age-old sacred sites form part of a group of pre-historic monuments that make up the UNESCO-listed Heart of Neolithic Orkney site. The intriguing stones still lure people today for both seasonal rituals and as a spiritual setting for alternative life event ceremonies.
All of Bali’s mountains are revered as sacred dwellings of the gods, but none more so than Mount Agung, an active volcano and the island’s highest peak. It's said to be the home of Mahadewa, the supreme manifestation of Lord Shiva, and is the site of the largest and most sacred of Bali’s Hindu temple complexes, Besakih. The compound consists of many temples strewn over a vast area up to and near the holy peak’s summit.
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One of the world’s holiest peaks, Mount Kailash, in remote western Tibet, is hugely sacred to a number of religions (Buddhist, Hindu, Bon and Jain) and an ancient pilgrimage site. While pilgrims trek the circuit around its dramatic black-stone facade, climbing up to the sanctity of its summit, thought by many to be the gateway to heaven, is forbidden. Hindus believe the mountain is the home of Lord Shiva and, along with Buddhists, that it's the central axis of the universe, or the axis mundi, where heaven and earth are connected.
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Another of Asia's mystical mountains is Adam’s Peak, which rises majestically in Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands. As the country’s holiest natural landmark, it attracts thousands of pilgrims, as well as tourists looking to hike up its flanks. The peak is also known as Sri Pada, or sacred footprint, as its summit is thought to be the footstep of Shiva by Sri Lanka’s Hindus and Buddha by Buddhists. Christians and Muslims, meanwhile, believe it was where Adam first set foot on Earth after he was exiled from the Garden of Eden. Most climbers ascend after dark to get to the summit before sunrise – the pathway is illuminated during the pilgrimage season (December to May).
Tucked in the lush foliage of Daintree Rainforest in far north Queensland, the bright blue waters of this natural waterhole are deeply special to the traditional custodians of the land, the Kuku Yalanji people. It is revered as an ancient women’s place, linked to healing and birthing, and men are strictly forbidden. The Kuku Yalanji people also share a special relationship with the world's oldest living rainforest, which is home to many more spiritually significant sites.
As the mythical birthplace of gods Apollo and Artemis, the island of Delos in the Cyclades was one of the most sacred places in ancient Greece. At the heart of the busy little port town that grew up on the rocky island was the Sanctuary of Apollo, which drew sailors and pilgrims across the Aegean as they sought to pay their respect to the revered deity. There was also a temple to Artemis and the Sacred Lake, where Leto was said to give birth to her twins by Zeus. The now uninhabited island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the country’s finest archaeological sites.
Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove in south-west Nigeria is deeply significant to the Yoruba: the largest ethnic group in the region, they practice the traditional Ifa religion. This is the last of the region's sacred groves, traditionally built in forests close to most Yoruba settlements to honour their many orisha (gods). Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is set within dense primary high forest near the city of Osogbo. It is dedicated to Osun, the goddess of fertility, and has over 40 shrines that draw Osun worshippers. Healers come here to gather medicinal plants in the hallowed forest too.
Rising out of the flat Somerset Levels, the steep-sided hill (or tor) of Glastonbury emanates mystical vibes with myths and legends swirling all around it. From the mysteries of its prehistoric past to its links to the legends of King Arthur and connection to the Holy Grail, the tor has bewitched visitors for centuries. It's also believed to lie on ley lines (straight lines joining up significant ancient sites). On top of the hill looms the striking turret of St Michael’s, all that remains of a 14th-century church, and where people gather to watch the summer solstice over the sacred landscape.
The transcendent beauty of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula is startling and deeply moving. Its most arresting landmark is Mount Sinai, a hulking presence that Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions all have deep-rooted connections with. Also known as Jebel Musa, it’s here that Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. The barren mountain has long been a site of pilgrimage and today also draws tourists up to its summit, many in the dark to watch the sunrise over the ancient land. At its foot lies St Catherine’s Monastery: built in the 6th century, it's thought to be one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited Christian monasteries.
Mount Nebo in Jordan is an important biblical site. According to the Old Testament, it's the place where Moses saw the Promised Land and lived out his last days after leading his people from Mount Sinai. It’s believed Moses was buried on the mountain, which has been a pilgrimage site since the 4th century AD, when a church and sanctuary were built on the rocky outcrop of Siyagha to honour the prophet. Today, the Moses Memorial Church sits on the site and surveys the stunning landscape across to the Dead Sea.
There is an ancient tradition of mountain spirit worship in Korea and Jirisan is the holiest of South Korea's sacred mountains. Translating as “exquisite wisdom mountain”, it's seen as a deity and has many legends attached to it. The vast mountain has three sacred summits – Cheonhwang-bong (Heavenly King Peak), Banya-bong (Enlightening-Wisdom Peak) and Nogo-dan (Crone-Altar Peak) – and several temples built around it. Hiking up its hallowed slopes is considered a must-do spiritual journey.
The most venerated of China’s Five Great Mountains, Mount Tai in the Shandong Province has been worshipped continuously throughout the last three millennia. There is evidence of Neolithic settlements nearby and Quin emperors came to its slopes to pay homage to heaven and earth in Fengshan sacrifices. Since the Han Dynasty, Taishan has been one of the five mountains believed to symbolise the celestial kingdom. A flight of 6,660 steps leads up its slope, lined with gates, archways, kiosks and pavilions, while two of China’s most important temples can be found on its summit.
The force of nature certainly makes its presence known at dramatic and blustery Cape Reinga on the northernmost tip of New Zealand's North Island, where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. The Aupouri Peninsula, also known as Te Rerenga Wairua, is a deeply spiritual place for the Māori people. The hallowed headland is where spirits are believed to leap off on their final journey and travel to Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland. Nearby is a spring, Te Waiora-a-Tāne (the Living waters of Tāne), which was an important area for Māori ceremonial burials.
Translating as White Mountain, this sleeping, often snow-strewn, giant on Hawaii’s Big Island is swathed in legends and a mystical atmosphere. Mauna Kea is the highest volcano in Hawaii and revered by Hawaiians not only as the home of Poliahu, the goddess of snow, but as the burial place of their ancestors. It's part of the spectacular Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is also said to be the home of Pele, the volcano goddess.
Strewn off the British Colombia coast, remote archipelago Haida Gwaii has been home to the Haida First Nations for millennia. With one of the oldest traceable populations in the world, the islands continue to provide a strong connection for the Haida to the natural world and their ancestors. Only accessible by sea or air, the sacred isles are now protected and home to many ancient sites including SGang Gwaay. Also known as Ninstints, the UNESCO World Heritage site has an awe-inspiring collection of centuries-old standing totem poles and remnants of cedar longhouses.
The spectacular red sandstone rocks and lush forests of Sedona are entrancing and have become a hub for hippies, healers and New Age spirituality. Away from the endless crystal shops, wellness centres, yoga retreats and organic cafés of the town, the ancient landscape has deep roots in mysticism with many people believing it has energy vortexes. It’s easy to see why as you hike around the thrilling wilderness and feel dwarfed by nature under the soaring red rock monoliths.
Scattered with mesmerising giant stone statues known as moai and their platforms (ahu), Easter Island is far more than an incredible archaeological site. The monoliths are linked to ancient ancestor worship and the Rapa Nui people – inhabitants of the remote speck of a volcanic South Pacific island – retain a strong spiritual connection to their predecessors through the figures. The statues also endlessly fascinate visitors, offering clues to the islanders’ mystery-shrouded past.
Read on for the world's greatest travel mysteries that might never be solved