Yatra

[5] In present times, yatras are highly organized affairs, with specialized tourism companies catering to yatris.

[6][7] The Hindu sacred month of Shravan is also the time of the annual Kanwar Yatra, the annual pilgrimage devotees of Shiva, known as Kanwaria, make to Hindu pilgrimage places of Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand to obtain water from the Ganges River.

In order of importance, in India there are 7 Sapta Puri holy cities, 4 Dhams (Char Dham) and 12 Jyotirlings devoted to Shiva, 51 Shakti Pithas devoted to the feminine manifestation of the god, and the important Rama circuit (Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Hampi and Rameswaram) and Krishna circuit (Braj, Kurukshetra and Dwarka).

Holiest cities: Sapta Puri are Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain and Dwarka.

[citation needed] Holy mountains: such as Mount Kailash,[10] Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri, Sarasvatotri, etc.

Samadhis (shrines) of Sadhus (Saints): Alandi, Samadhi of Dnyaneshwar: Mantralayam, samadhi of Raghavendra Tirtha, Belur Math which enshrine that Holy remains of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda Puri, and other direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, Tulsi Ghat, Varanasi where Saint Tulsidas left his mortal coil, Samadhi Mandir of Saint Kabir at Gorakhpur, near Varanasi, Panchaganga Ghat, Varanasi where Trailanga Swami lived and left his mortal body, Karar Ashram, Puri where Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, attained the Mahasamadhi.

A yatra or pilgrimage across a much larger area covering multiple faraway cities or sites, related to a specific deity or theme, are called the "circuit".

The other two being, "Braj parikarma" in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh and "Dwarka parkarma" (Dwarkadish yatra) at Dwarkadhish Temple in Gujarat.

Vraja Parikrama circuit of pilgrimage was formally established by the 16th century sadhus of vaishnava sampradaya with fixed routes, itinerary and rituals.

Braj has two main types of pilgrimage circuits, the traditional longer "Braj Yatra" encompassing the whole circuit, and the other shorter significantly modified contemporary point-to-point pilgrimage to visit the main sites at Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Govardhan.

The former, longer traditional pilgrimage route, also includes additional sacred sites Nandgaon and Barsana with travel on foot.

There is a Chota Char Dham as well includes Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath situated in Garhwal Himalayas.

Mansarovar is a fresh-water lake in Tibet near Mount Kailash, and both are places of pilgrimage attracting religious people from India and neighboring countries.

Millions of participants gather sacred water from the Ganga and carry it across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in their local Śhiva shrines, or specific temples such as Pura Mahadeva and Augharnath temple in Meerut, and Kashi Vishwanath, Baidyanath, and Deoghar in Jharkhand.

[citation needed] The annual yatra to the famous Vithoba temple at Pandharpur is held every year during the month of June and July.

Thousands of pilgrims come to Pandharpur carrying litters with the images of Jñāneśvar from Alandi, Tukaram from Dehu, Eknath from Paithan, and Nivruttinath from Trimbakeshwar.

The ten-day ratha yatra commemorates Jagannath's annual visit to Gundicha Mata's temple a short distance away.