Eight Sacred Sites

Journey to the extraordinary. If you’re drawn to the mysterious or the divine, check out these awe-inspiring sacred sites and ancient wonders.

Jerusalem
Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern tip of the Dead Sea, Jerusalem has a history that goes back to the 4th millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.

Jerusalem is considered holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam — making it sacred to more than a third of the world’s population. Key religious sites include the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque. The old walled city, a World Heritage site, has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the names used today — the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters — were introduced in the early 19th century.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia
The ancient capital of the Khmer kingdom, Angkor is the most popular destination in Cambodia. Stretching over some 400 square kilometres, including forests and jungles, Angkor Archaeological Park contains remains of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th century.

Explore Angkor Wat (believed to be the largest religious structure in the world) and the city’s other ancient towers and temples. The nearby town of Siem Reap offers a number of hotels, restaurants and transportation to Angkor.

Easter Island, Chile
Easter Island, located in the South Pacific between Chile and Tahiti, is one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. Its name “Easter Island” derives from its rediscovery by a Dutch explorer on Easter Sunday in 1722.

Chichen Itza, Mexico
Chichén Itzá is the largest of the ruined Mayan cities on the Yucatan Peninsula. It is believed that the construction of the first temples (dedicated to the rain god Chac) began in the 7th century — and the city reached its peak under the rule of the Itzáes in the 10th century.

In the following centuries, Chichén Itzá became the most powerful city in the Yucatan. Most of the grand architecture was built during this age, in a mixture of Maya and Toltec styles. At the end of the 12th century, the city was captured by rival city Mayapán, but it remained a place of pilgrimage for the Maya until the 16th century.

The structures of Chichén Itzá were overgrown with jungle and slowly decayed until major archaeological excavations began in the 1920s.

Avila, Spain
Ávila is a medieval city in the province of Castile-Léon, about 70 miles northwest of Madrid. Founded in the 11th century to protect Spanish territories from the Moors, Ávila enjoys an authentic medieval atmosphere with its magnificently preserved city wall, historic cathedral and a number of Romanesque churches. The old town of Ávila has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Parthenon, Athens, Greece
The Parthenon, which has stood atop the Acropolis of Athens for nearly 2,500 years, is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world.

It was built to give thanks to Athena, the city’s patron goddess, for protecting Athens and Greece in the Persian Wars. Throughout its long life, the Parthenon has functioned most importantly as a Greek temple, but has also been a treasury, a fortress, a church, and a mosque.

Lourdes, France
Located in the Hautes-Pyrénées region in southwest France, Lourdes is the largest Catholic pilgrimage destination in France and one of the most popular Catholic shrines in the world.

The small town (population 17,000) receives more than 5 million visitors each year thanks to visions of the Virgin Mary reported by a young girl named Bernadette in 1858.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes includes 52 hectares of property and 22 places of worship, including a sacred grotto, two basilicas, and a variety of buildings for pilgrims and the sick. Outside the sanctuary, many pilgrims also visit the home of the young visionary, St. Bernadette.