Pilgrimage Tourism and Sacred Places in the Himalaya

Abstract

For centuries, the Himalaya have been a venue for pilgrimage and continue to be a popular religious destination today. A considerable part of that number were domestic visitors (45.3 million), with a large share being pilgrims visiting sacred temples and shrines in the High Himalaya, including Amamath (3.888 metres), Manimahesh Lake (4,080 metres), and the complex of four temples at Chota CharDham. There are thousands of pilgrimage destinations, sacred shrines, monasteries, and temples of many of faiths throughout the countries of the Himalaya, including Pakistan and Afghanistan. Due to the growing number of pilgrims and the vulnerable montane environment, pilgrimage tourism in the High Himalaya faces a multi-hide of challenges and opportunities. Because inaccessibility necessitates the use of local resources, if managed inappropriately, pilgrimage tourism can severely degrade the natural environment, which in the High Himalaya, is the foundation of people's subsistence. Pilgrimage tourism in the Himalaya has multiple socioeconomic and environmental impacts.

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