A journey, usually lengthy, to visit a religious shrine or site.
Most religions have traditional pilgrimage sites, such as sacred rivers, shrines, or buildings.
Pilgrimage to the Kaaba at Mecca , well established in pagan Arabia, was incorporated into Islam , the detailed rites being based on Muhammad 's own practice. Every Muslim tries to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. In addition, Karbala and Najaf in Iraq are sacred to Shiite Muslims. The Golden Temple at Amritsar in the Punjab is a pilgrimage site for Sikhs. In China and Japan mountains, such as Mount Tai and Mount Fujiyama, were early favoured as sites for Buddhist pilgrimage.