buddhism

Religion is a huge part of the vibrant human experience across the globe. Travelers know that many of the most beautiful and historical sites around the world are tied to one religion or another. Here are five religious sites in America that you should definitely work into your next cross-country road trip.

A gentle brook bristles in the distance, and the soft plodding of travelers’ feet on damp moss fills the hush of the Japanese forest. Travelers dressed in white pack up their tents, and you join them as they shoulder their belongings and begin their journey. A dirt path winds along a crest overlooking miles of cascading rice fields. A bridge marked with mysterious symbols hangs over a dry riverbed with broken boulders like abandoned shrines. Finally, a stark red gate stands out among the overgrown green, signaling the entrance to an ancient temple.

I hobbled out like a hungover sailor shaking out my sea legs. And there I was, in Dharamsala, India—a cluster of brightly colored restaurants and guesthouses all stacked up on top of each other like a patchwork quilt—something between a city and a village nestled on the green mountain ridges, a place in transit, a sanctuary for the homeless, the country-less. The street was packed with maroon-clad monks and dreadlocked, tattooed hippies, Tibetan seniors waving their canes at oncoming traffic as they tried to get to the Dalai Lama’s temple, and then the occasional dazed traveler.

First Place Three OrphansPhoto by Stephanie Jarstad