France, India, Mali, Uzbekistan and beyond... these ancient monuments and pilgrimages have been tourist sites for centuries

Santiago de Compostela, Spain

The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known as the Way of St James, attracts more than 100,000 pilgrims a year. To qualify for the 1,000-year-old compostela, the traditional Latin certificate of pilgrimage, you must carry the pilgrim passport, have walked or ridden on horseback the previous 62 miles (100km), or ridden 125 miles by bike, and have declared a spiritual or religious motivation (for more details visit www.csj.org.uk).

The Camino Frances, which traditionally starts in St Jean Pied de Port, is the most popular of all the Camino routes and is so busy in July and August that accommodation is in short supply.

Tro Breiz, France

The seven founders of Christianity in Brittany, bishops of the early Celtic church, are venerated in the Tro Breiz - tour of Brittany in Breton. Pilgrims visit the tombs of each saint in their own cathedrals: Samson at Dol, Malo at St Malo, Brioc at Saint-Brieuc, Tugdual at Treguier, Pol-Aurelien at Saint- Pol-de-Leon, Corentin at Quimper and Patern at Vannes.

The route, which is 375 miles long, was popular in the 16th century when it took a month or more and was relaunched in 1994 by Les Chemins de Tro Breiz. Now lovers of hiking and spirituality complete one section of the route each year. The pilgrimage from Vannes to Quimper takes place during the summer each year.

Details: www.tro-breiz.com

Varanasi, India

According to legend, the city on the Ganges was founded by the Hindu deity Shiva, and is one of the most sacred places of pilgrimage, with more than a million devotees a year, many taking long haul flights to India coming for ritual bathing or to throw the ashes of their loved ones into the holy waters. Tourists, lured by the spectacle, take trips along the river at dawn when it seems as if most of the city is performing its ablutions.

Kandy, Sri Lanka

The golden temple of Sri Dalada Maligawa on Kandy Lake is revered as the home of the left upper canine tooth of the Lord Buddha - smuggled into the country in AD300 in the hair of a princess. This relic attracts a daily procession of pilgrims, dressed in white and carrying lotus blossoms. The Esala Perahera festival in August synthesises Buddhist and Hindu beliefs in ten nights of spectacular parades with decorated elephants.

Djenne, Mali

The oldest city in sub-Saharan Africa, was a centre of Islamic learning and pilgrimage and its first mosque was built in 1240 by the sultan Koi Kunboro, who converted to Islam. Now it is a Unesco World Heritage Site and the Grand Mosque is the tallest dried-earth building in the world. The current mosque was built in 1907, with three towers, each topped by an ostrich egg. Every spring it is replastered in a spectacularly messy festival.

Mount Athos, Greece

Mount Athos in Halkidiki is the oldest surviving monastic community in the world, still out of bounds to any woman other than the Virgin Mary. There are 20 monasteries, which can be visited by outsiders for a maximum of four days. Visitors receive free basic board and lodging and the freedom to travel around the peninsula. There is a daily quota of 120 Orthodox pilgrims and 10 non-Orthodox, but the admission process is long and complicated.

Details: www.ouranoupoli.com

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

With hundreds of mosques and madrassas, this is the most complete example of a medieval city in Central Asia. Since the 14th century it has been the home of Sufism, a mystical brand of Islam, and pilgrims flock to the birthplace and tomb complex of the Sufi saint Bahauddin Naqshbandi. It was reopened in 1989 after the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Jerusalem, Israel

The Western Wall (or Wailing Wall), the holiest of Jewish prayer sites, is a major part of the line that separates the Old City’s Jewish and Muslim quarters. It doubles as an outdoor synagogue with separate prayer areas for men and women. You don’t need to be Jewish to pray at the wall, but you do need to meet Orthodox dress requirements - paper skullcaps are on hand.