From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Hinduism, the yatra (pilgrimage) to the tirthas (sacred places) has special significance for earning

the punya (spiritual merit) needed to attain the moksha (salvation) by performing
the darśana (viewing of deity), the parikrama (circumambulation), the yajna (sacrificial fire offering),
the Dhyana (spiritual contemplation), the puja (worship), the prarthana (prayer, which could be in the
form of mantra - sacred chants, bhajan - prayer singing, or kirtan - collective musical prayer
performance), the dakshina (alms and donation for worthy cause), the seva (selfless service towards
community, devotees or temple), the bhandara (running volunteer community kitchen for pilgrims),
etc. These sacred places are usually located on the banks of sacred water bodies, such as sacred
rivers or their tributaries (among the rigvedic rivers of sapta sindhu the trio ganges-yamuna-
saraswati are considered most scared), the kundas (pond or lake, among these the Lake
Manasarovar is considered most scared), the ghats (water bodies with stairs such as Ghats in
Varanasi), or the stepwells (among these the rani ki vav in the form of inverted temple is considered
most spectacular), or the temple tanks.
In order of importance, in India there are 7 Sapta Puri holy cities, 4 Dhams (Char Dham) and
12 Jyotirlings devoted to the Lord Shiva, 51 Shakti Pithas devoted to the feminine manifestation of
the god, and the important Lord Rama circuit (Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Hampi and Rameswaram) and
Lord Krishna circuit (Braj, Kurukshetra and Dwarka).
Holy Places: Himalayan Chota Char Dham - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri,
and Yamunotri. Varanasi, Prayagraj, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Dwarka and 
Rameswaram.
Holy Fairs: The Kumbh Mela (the "pitcher festival") is one of the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages that is
held four times every twelve years; the location is rotated among the four cities
of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain. The Mahamaham in temple town of Kumbakonam is also
celebrated once in 12 years. Annual Gita Mahotsav at Kurukshetra, Shravani Mela at Deoghar,
and Pitrapaksha Mela at Gaya are also notable holy fairs.
Holy Temples: the Char Dham of Rameswaram, Dwarka, Puri and Badrinath. Katra, home to
the Vaishno Devi temple; Puri home to Vaishnava Jagannath temple and Rath
Yatra celebration; Tirumala - Tirupati, home to the Tirumala Venkateswara
Temple; Sabarimala home to Swami Ayyappan; the 108 Divya Desams; the Shakti Peethas; the
twelve Jyotirlingas; the seven Sapta Puri; the Pancha Bhoota Stalam.
Holy Deity : Kuladaivat Hindu families have their own family patron deity. This deity is common to a
lineage, a clan or a locality.
Samadhis (shrines) of 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.[1]