TOP 5 VISITED SCARED SITES IN THE WORLD
Meiji Shrine and Sensoji-Temple:
Meiji Shrine,located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken.The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto.Meiji Shinto shrine is surrounded by a holy forest of 100,000-plus trees. Gardens feature spring azaleas, summer irises, autumn foliage on Japanese maples and gingkoes, and black pines dusted with winter snow. Sensoji, also in central Tokyo, was dedicated to Bodhisattva Kannon, the most compassionate Buddha, in 628. Its five-storied pagoda is dramatically lit at night. Continuing centuries-long tradition, stalls along the temple’s Nakamise Street sell food and goods to visitors—whose numbers swell around New Year’s.
Meiji Shrine has been visited by numerous foreign politicians, including United States President George W. Bush, and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Annual Visitors: 33 million.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi, India:
Kashi Vishvanath Temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples which are dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. this Temple stands on the western bank of the holy river Ganga, and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest of Shiva temples. The main deity is known by the name Vishvanatha or Vishveshvara meaning Ruler of The Universe. Varanasi city is also called Kashi, and hence the temple is popularly called Kashi Vishvanath Temple.
Recently the government has worked to improve the quality of the water, where many millions also make offerings of flowers, food, and floating oil lamps.
Annual Visitors: 24 million.
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City:
The Old Basilica, begun in the 1500s and completed in 1709, stands in stark contrast to the massive new basilica that was built in the mid-1970s and looks like a sports arena. It is, in fact, designed to hold 50,000 people, who come for mass—celebrated several times daily—and to see an image of the Virgin Mary that is said to have appeared on an apron in 1531.
Annual Visitors: 23 million.
Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams Temple, AndhraPradesh, India:
Venkateswara Temple is a landmark Vaishnavite temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Sri Venkateswara, an incarnation of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from trials and troubles of Kali Yuga. Hence the place has also got the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntham and Lord here is referred to as Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam. The temple is also known by other names like Tirumala Temple, Tirupati Temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple. Lord Venkateswara is known by many other names: Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa.
Annual Visitors: 22.5 million.
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris:
The most-visited tourist attraction in France (and No. 13 worldwide) hardly has a space that’s not filled with statues of saints and angels, 30-foot-diameter stained-glass rose windows depicting Bible stories, or symbolic geometric shapes representing both limits and boundlessness. It’s weathered evolving styles and renovations since its 1345 debut and today is as much an art gallery as a place of worship.
Annual Visitors: 15 million.