VACATION IDEAS

Photos: Beautiful Sacred Places Around the World

See the places that have been inspiring more than vacation ideas for centuries.

Wednesday, Apr 4, 2012, 4:00 AM | Subscribe to the magazine

Source Article: 10 Most Sacred Spots on Earth

Uluru-Kata Tjuta in Australia is a sacred site to the Anangu people of the Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal tribe.
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Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is the site of an ancient Aboriginal creation story and is said to be inhabited by ancestor spirits.
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Cenote Sagrado in Mexico was the site of ancient Mayan ceremonies and occasional human sacrifice.
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Cenote Sagrado was created from a natural limestone cave.
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The ascetic Prince Siddhartha took rest under a native bodhi tree like the Mahabodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India, and awoke with the enlightenment that is a central tenet of the Buddhist tradition.
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A temple stands near the site of the Mahabodhi Tree.

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Mount Kailas in Tibet is a sacred place to Buddhists, Hindus, and Jains alike.
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Tantric Buddhists say Mount Kailas is home to Buddha Demchog, who represents supreme bliss.
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Mount Sinai in Egypt is where Moses is said to have received the 10 Commandments.
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A Greek Orthdox chapel is one of many religious structures that stand on Mount Sinai.
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The ruins of St. Michael's Tower at the top of Glastonbury Tor in England.
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Ancient Celts believed that Glastonbury Tor was the home of the King of the Underworld.
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The Klamath tribe of Oregon maintains that Crater Lake was the site of a battle between the Chief of the Above World and the Chief of the Below World.
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Historians believe that the Klamath people of Oregon may have witnessed the implosion that formed Crater Lake nearly 8,000 years ago.
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Mount Parnassus is the setting of many ancient Greek myths and legends, including the Oracle of Delphi.
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An ancient Greek amphitheatre stands at the Sanctuary of Apollo on Mount Parnassus.
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Lake Atitlán in Guatemala is ringed by Mayan villages and its shores are strewn with archeological sites and ruins, some said to be the mythological "underwater city" Chiutinamit.
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Lake Atitlán is Central America's deepest lake, at 1,114 feet.
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Vortexes—powerful centers of kenetic energy that can have an energizing effect on visitors—have long drawn people to Sedona, Arizona.
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Sedona's votexes are easily accessible to vistors via hikes and walks.
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