8 Top pilgrimage walking tours

Walk this famous Christian pilgrimage along the Camino-Frances trail from Leon to the magnificent cathedral of Santiago, home to the shrine of the apostle Saint James. The Camino de Santiago takes you across undulating ridges, past rural farmland and up into the mountains for breathtaking panoramic views across Spain's rustic countryside.

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru is believed to have been a pilgrimage for the Sapo Inca people honouring the holy Andes peaks in the 15th century. Trek through dewy cloud forest, along bubbling white rivers and over elevated mountain passes. As you approach the final destination of this monumental pilgrimage, the ancient temples of Machu Picchu, feel your skin tingle and savour the emerald-green terraces of this sacred Lost City that stretch out before you.

Wander along wide gravel tracks, past lush vineyards and through old rural settlements on the San Gimignano section of the Via Francigena pilgrimage walk that runs from Canterbury in England to the Holy city of Rome in Italy. This is more than just a religious walk, it’s a route full of interesting sights and culinary delights; medieval stone towers rise up from the Tuscan town of San Gimignano where you can enjoy a relaxing alfresco lunch of delicious cured meats, slow-cooked beef ragu, and refreshing gelato treats.

For a pilgrimage walking tour with a difference, head to Bhutan to witness the Chimi Lhakhang fertility ritual. Starting in Sposokha, adorned with phallus murals, pilgrims wishing to conceive are encouraged to walk to the Chimi Lhakhang temple, famed for its fertility-enhancing virtues. Women are blessed by the resident lama who taps them on the head with a wooden phallus, and pregnant women come here to acquire the name of their unborn child.