Sacred tours
- A growing trend in travel is group tours to sacred places. It is said
that visiting sites such as ancient stone circles and holy temples can
be spiritual experiences that give the traveler a more rewarding trip
than the average holiday or vacation. Of course going on pilgrimages to
sacred sites is nothing new. It is what Chaucer wrote about in his
Canterbury Tales hundreds of years ago.
Spiritual holidays - Although spiritual trips in Europe may focus on
ornate gothic cathedrals such as Chartres, in the U.K. sacred site tours
are more likely to focus on megalithic stone circles such as Stonehenge
and Avebury. Meanwhile, in North America vacation excursions that are
designed to stimulate the body, mind and spirit are more likely to be
places associated with Native Americans such as medicine wheels and rock
carving or petroglyph galleries.
Travelers who go on sacred tours enjoy experiencing them with
like-minded people, so small groups of individuals who are spiritually
inclined are quite popular. They will often be led by experts such as
authors, archaeologists, spiritual leaders and even yoga and meditation
instructors. These tour hosts frequently lead ceremonies and other
exercises to help the group members tune in to the spirit of a place for
maximum enjoyment and benefits.
As the baby boom generation nears retirement age, going on spiritual
holidays to sacred places are more and more being added to personal
bucket lists of things they want to accomplish while they are still
healthy enough to travel. For some destinations such as Machu Pichu and
the Inka Trail in Peru, it is best to be in sufficiently good physical
shape so one is able to do moderate hiking across some rocky terrain at
fairly high altitudes. Similarly, it takes a bit of stamina to climb the
popular Mayan pyramids in Guatemala, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula
of Mexico.
For those who make the investment to go on spiritual trips, many report
that they enjoy both an inner and an outer experience. Not only do they
see stunning scenery and meet interesting people from foreign cultures
but they also may come home having gained insights about themselves.
