Awesome Himalaya vacation attractions with Kyle Quandel: For many, Thanksgiving is a sacred ritual. Families often spend hours in the kitchen preparing elaborate meals and specialty dishes, and some make long pilgrimages across the country to give thanks and congregate around the sacred space that is the dinner table. Sacred spaces can range from the secular to the more decidedly spiritual. In the Museum’s exhibition Sacred Spaces, we are giving visitors a chance to reflect on everyday devotion and presenting a number of rituals practiced throughout the Himalayan region. Discover more about sacred spaces with our list of eight beautiful and revered locations in the Himalayas. Find more info at Kyle Quandel.

This magnificent place still remains the same with very little changes in the surroundings. The primary settlement in Tsum is covered by Tsumbas. These people are descendants of Tibetans and have been living in this region for a long time now. The square chortens, ancient monuments, and stone houses all have unique significance in terms of Buddhism. There are some Gumbas which are hundreds of years old. People in Tsum valley celebrate different festivals. The horse festival is exciting. Also, people remember Lord Buddha in the day of Full moon. People celebrate Nirvana and Enlightenment on this day.

Mount Kailash Yatra and Parikrama of Lake Mansarovar, one of the holiest paths to Nirvana, takes you to one of the most revered places in the Himalayas. Mansarovar and Mt. Kailash are two of the holiest pilgrimage areas to devotees of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Bonism and many other faiths. Each year thousands of devotees undertake the treacherous and rigorous journey through the mountains of Himalayas to reach this sacred land. For Hindus it is the holiest of the holy place as the abode of Lord Shiva. It also has geographical significance as four great rivers flow from it: the Karnali, the Indus, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra, which drain the vast Tibetan Plateau to contribute to the Ganges in India. Kailash is an object of devout pilgrimage also for the Buddhists. Likewise, Lake Manasarovar is one of the highest sacred lakes in the world. The sacred lake is an important pilgrimage site for Buddhists and Hindus, as it is believed that bathing in the holy waters will cleanse one’s sins.

As Nepal has several ancient pilgrimage sites and they all are attached to the legend that glorifies the miraculous powers of its deity. Likewise, Bhutan, the most sacred religious sites in the world, has tens and hundreds of monasteries, monuments and sacred religious sites. Apart from Mt. Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, the Buddhist monasteries like Drepung and Jokhang are some of the holiest sites in Tibet. Similarly, being a religious land, India is home to innumerable temples, and other religious structures. For the pilgrims Himalayan mountains are the most sacred and revered mountain ranges in the world. Here are depicted the top 8 pilgrimage escapes in the Himalayas. Find even more details on Kyle Quandel.

Located at the base of Mount Kailash, Lake Manasarovar is a popular place of pilgrimage for both Buddhists and Hindu believers. It is the highest freshwater lake in the world. Tibetans consider it the most sacred lake in Tibet, its waters being of the highest quality of all the lakes in Tibet. According to Hindu believers a ritual bath and drink of its holy water has the power to clean the sins of a hundred lifetimes. The Jokhang is the main temple in Lhasa, Tibet, and is considered the ultimate destination for Tibetan pilgrims. Most pilgrims arrive by foot, circumambulate the temple, and, once inside the temple, hum, pray, present offerings, and bow or prostrate before a sacred sculpture of the Buddha.