Best spiritual destinations in Asia

Historic mountain temple paths and sacred pilgrimage complexes across Asia

Asia is where a lot of people go when they want to slow down, look inward or learn a practice they can take home with them.

Rishikesh in India is often called the yoga capital of the world, and many travelers stay a week or more for classes by the Ganges. Ubud in Bali is known for its rice terraces, water temples and a long list of retreats, from simple meditation courses to full wellness programs. In Bhutan, the hike up to the Tiger's Nest monastery, which clings to a cliff, is as much a spiritual journey as a physical one. For a quieter experience, the temple lodgings on Mount Koya in Japan let you join the monks for morning prayers and simple vegetarian meals.

Retreats and temple stays can fill up quickly in the busy season, so book ahead, and check whether a place expects silence, early mornings or a set daily schedule.

Lists by region

Worldwide (55) Africa (7) Asia (22) Europe (9) North America (13) Oceania (6) South America (6)

Region in India

Beaches, Culture and Portuguese Heritage

Each year on 3 December thousands of pilgrims gather at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa for the feast of St Francis Xavier, whose body lies in a silver casket inside. The dry sunny winter months are the time for visiting the old Portuguese churches, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Temples, geisha districts and kaiseki dining

The deep sound of temple bells and the smell of incense drift through the hillside lanes of Higashiyama, where Fushimi Inari Shrine has thousands of red torii gates winding up a forested mountain. Zen temples such as Ryoanji have a rock garden of 15 stones while monks teach seated meditation.

Region in Myanmar

Ancient Temples and Timeless Sunsets

Between the 11th and 13th centuries the kings of the Pagan kingdom built more than 10,000 temples and pagodas on a dusty plain beside the Irrawaddy River, while about 2,200 still stand. Travellers ride e-bikes along sandy tracks to the temples while hot air balloons float over the stupas at sunrise in the cool season.

Island in Thailand

Island of Parties and Pristine Beaches

King Rama V visited the island in 1888 and carved his initials on a boulder at Than Sadet waterfall, which later kings of Thailand also visited. Today the quiet northern and western coasts have yoga and meditation retreats with sunrise classes, while Wat Khao Tham, a hilltop monastery, runs silent courses for foreigners.

Explore Ko Pha-ngan

Yoga capital meets adventure haven

Each March teachers and students from many countries gather on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh for the International Yoga Festival, a week of classes and meditation. In 1968 the Beatles stayed at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whose overgrown buildings are now open to walkers.

Explore Rishikesh

French Charm Meets Indian Culture

Incense and the quiet of meditation are part of a visit to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in the old French quarter, where followers of the philosopher gather around his flower covered tomb. A short drive north, Auroville, founded in 1968, has the Matrimandir, a golden sphere used for silent meditation.

Explore Pondicherry

State/Prefecture in India

Desert palaces and vibrant cultural tapestry

In the desert state of northwest India, Rajasthan has Pushkar, a lakeside town with one of the few temples to Brahma, while Ajmer Sharif is a Sufi shrine visited by people of all faiths. At Mount Abu the Dilwara temples are Jain shrines carved in white marble in the 11th to 13th centuries.

Explore Rajasthan

City in Saudi Arabia

A Spiritual Oasis

Like Mecca, Medina is a holy city of Islam where the Prophet Muhammad is buried beneath the Green Dome of the Prophet's Mosque. Pilgrims also visit Quba Mosque, built in 622 when the Prophet arrived in the city, while others walk to the slopes of Mount Uhud.

Ancient History Meets Modern Culture

Like three holy places in one walled neighbourhood, the Old City has the Western Wall for Jews and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians. The Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque for Muslims are a short walk away while on Fridays Franciscan monks lead a procession along the Via Dolorosa.

Explore Jerusalem

Region in Indonesia

Tropical beaches, vibrant culture and adventure

Incense smoke and the sound of gamelan gongs are part of every morning in Bali, where families set small palm leaf baskets of flowers called canang sari at doorways and shrines. Hindu temples such as Tanah Lot on a sea rock and Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung are open to respectful visitors.

Sacred riverbanks echo ancient pilgrim chants

At sunset each evening priests at Har Ki Pauri ghat wave flaming lamps over the Ganges in a ceremony called Ganga Aarti, while crowds set afloat tiny leaf boats of flowers and candles. Every 12 years the Kumbh Mela, a huge Hindu pilgrimage, fills the riverbanks with millions of people.

Explore Haridwar

Town in Indonesia

Bali's Cultural and Spiritual Heart

Unlike the beach towns of southern Bali, Ubud is surrounded by rice terraces and temples, with healers, yoga studios and meditation classes. Nearby Tirta Empul is a holy spring temple where worshippers wade into pools and stand under spouts of water in a cleansing ritual called melukat.

Himalayan Culture Meets Modern Life

Residents of Thimphu walk clockwise around the Memorial Chorten each morning while spinning prayer wheels and murmuring mantras. On a hill above town the Buddha Dordenma, a bronze statue 169 feet tall, has more than 100,000 smaller gilded Buddhas inside, while Tashichho Dzong is the seat of the government and the monk body.

Explore Thimphu

Nature Reserve in Jordan

Valley of the moon's timeless magic

The ruins of a Nabataean temple from the 1st century sit at the foot of Jebel Rum, a sandstone mountain, where Bedouin guides still serve sweet tea and tell stories around campfires. The desert is so quiet and dark that travellers sit on dunes at sunrise or lie under the stars.

Explore Wadi Rum

Golden spirituality in Punjab's heart

The Golden Temple, called Harmandir Sahib, is a Sikh shrine covered in gold that stands in the middle of a sacred pool, reached by a marble causeway where pilgrims walk at all hours. A free community kitchen called the langar serves vegetarian meals to tens of thousands of people of every faith each day.

Explore Amritsar

Laid-back charm by the Mekong River

Every morning at sunrise lines of monks in saffron robes walk the old streets in a ceremony called Tak Bat, while residents kneel and place sticky rice in their bowls. Wat Xieng Thong, a temple from 1560 with a gold stencilled wall, is one of many temples in town.

Explore Luang Prabang

A Spiritual Journey in Tibet

At nearly 12,000 feet on the Tibetan plateau, Lhasa has the Potala Palace, once the winter home of the Dalai Lamas. Pilgrims lie face down in prayer on the stone square outside the Jokhang Temple, while foreign visitors need a permit and a guide to enter Tibet.

Giant Buddha, tame deer and ancient temples

Todaiji Temple has a bronze Great Buddha about 49 feet tall inside one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, while Kasuga Taisha Shrine has thousands of stone and bronze lanterns. Deer roam the park and bow for crackers, since in the Shinto faith they were once seen as messengers of the gods.

City in Saudi Arabia

A spiritual journey like no other

Muslims around the world face Mecca five times a day in prayer while in the city itself pilgrims walk seven times around the Kaaba, a cube draped in black cloth. Millions come each year for the Hajj pilgrimage while entry to the holy city is for Muslims only.

Historic Site in India

Where Enlightenment Began Amid Sacred Monuments

In the state of Bihar in northeastern India, Bodh Gaya is where Siddhartha Gautama is said to have reached enlightenment under a bodhi tree about 2,500 years ago. Pilgrims sit beneath a descendant of that tree beside the Mahabodhi Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, while monasteries built by Thailand, Japan and Bhutan stand nearby.

Explore Bodh Gaya

Town in Thailand

Chilled Mountain Vibes and Natural Magic

Pai was a quiet valley town before travellers found it. Today it has yoga studios and meditation courses, while Wat Phra That Mae Yen, a hilltop temple with a large white Buddha, is reached by about 350 steps and has a quiet terrace for sunset.

Temples, chaos and Himalayan magic

Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in the world, a white dome painted with the watching eyes of the Buddha, where pilgrims walk clockwise at dawn spinning prayer wheels. Elsewhere in the valley Swayambhunath has monkeys on a hilltop and Pashupatinath is a Hindu temple beside the Bagmati River where cremations are held.

Explore Kathmandu

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