Thomas Cook India & SOTC Travel focus on the growing segment of customers seeking new experiences # Darshans and Pilgrimage Plus Holidays cover destinations like Rishikesh, Dwarka, Varanasi and Rameshwaram with hand-picked local experiences, food and sight-seeing # Diversity of spiritual locales: Char Dham, Jyotirlinga Tours, Varanasi & Prayagraj, Shirdi Darshan, Rath Yatra, Madurai-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari, Ramayana Anant Yatra, Dwarkadhish The pandemic influenced YOLO (You Only Live Once) sentiment has created a strong impact on the Indian traveller. The New Age traveller prefers to immerse into a destination and experience it like a local. Spiritual locales are no longer restricted to only sacred sites but also experiences - adventure, wellness, food, culture and hist...
Read MoreTag: pilgrimage
It is a scene that stirs hope — and relief — for Muslims around the world. One million pilgrims from across the globe amassed on Thursday in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the initial rites of the hajj, marking the largest Islamic pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic upended the annual event — a key pillar of Islam. The hajj is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for all Muslims physically and financially able to make the journey, which takes the faithful along a path traversed by the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago. Pilgrims spend five days carrying out a set of rituals intended to bring them closer to God. A general view of the Kabba at the Grand Mosque is seen during the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 6, 2022...
Read MoreWearing masks was made mandatory for devotees coming to see the annual Ratha Jatra festival in Puri on July 1 amid rising COVID-19 cases in Odisha, a senior official said on Monday. Around 10 lakh people are expected to gather for the festival in the temple town from across the country, and some foreign nations, Director of Health Service Bijay Mohapatra said. The festival of Lord Jagannath this time will see the participation of devotees after two years. In 2020 and 2021, only servitors took part in rituals due to the pandemic. "We are expecting a large congregation during the festival this year. Mask is mandatory in Puri during the festival. Health camps will be set up at the railway station, bus stand and Grand Road (Bada Danda)," Mohapatra said. Asking people wit...
Read MoreThis year's Amarnath Yatra is expected to be twice in size than before, with the Jammu and Kashmir administration preparing to welcome about 8 lakh pilgrims to the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Monday. The arrangements for the yatra, to be held after a gap of two years, were discussed at a meeting here chaired by Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Apurva Chandra. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Arun Kumar, divisional commissioners of Jammu and Kashmir regions, and deputy commissioners, participated in the meeting. Talking to reporters here, Chandra said the meeting was informed that this year's Amarnath Yatra is expected to be the biggest and best ever. Expectations are that this year's yatra will be twice the size than ...
Read MoreThe pilgrimage to the Himalayan shrine of Amarnath located at a height of 3,880 metres in south Kashmir will start on June 30 after a two year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 43-day yatra (pilgrimage) will end on August 11, shrine authorities said on Sunday. The decision on the schedule of the pilgrimage was taken at the 41st meeting of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) chaired by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan here, an official spokesman said. The pilgrimage to the cave shrine would start simultaneously from both the routes, the Pahalgam track in Anantnag district and the Baltal track in Ganderbal district, while online registration will start from April 11. The annual yatra to the shrine was cancelled midway in 2019 ahe...
Read MorePeople associated with the Chardham Yatra on Monday demanded simplification of the guidelines related to the pilgrimage, citing practical problems being faced by pilgrims. Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee vice president Narinderjit Singh Bindra and Chardham Yatra joint rotation committee chief Sudhir Roy said some complexities in the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued recently on the yatra need to be addressed and simplified for the convenience of pilgrims. "The SOP asks pilgrims to complete all formalities regarding the yatra well in advance and at the same time asks them to show a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours on arrival. How can a pilgrim who registers for the yatra two weeks in advance produce a negative test report not older than 72 ...
Read MoreThe Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand will begin on Saturday after its prolonged suspension due to COVID-19. A day after the Uttarakhand High Court vacated its stay on Chardham Yatra, the state government on Friday issued a detailed SOP to start the yatra from Saturday with strict adherence to COVID-19 norms. Imposing a daily limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the Himalayan temples, the SOP put a cap of 1,000 pilgrims daily on Badrinath, 800 on Kedarnath, 600 on Gangotri and 400 on Yamunotri. Showing a document certifying administration of both doses of the anti- Covid vaccine at least 15 days back or a negative RT/PCR/TrueNat/CBNAAT/RAT Covid test report not older than 72 hours will be compulsory for every pilgrim visiting the shrines, it said. Pilgrims from inside the ...
Read Moreसावन के महीने में शिव की आराधना का खास महत्व होता है। तो आइए, हम बताते हैं इस बार आपको देश में शिव के खास पांच मंदिरों के बारे में जो पंच तत्वों को प्रतिबिंबित करते हैं शिव पुराण की कैलाश संहिता के अनुसार शिव से ईशान उत्पन्न हुए और ईशान से पांच मिथुन की उत्पत्ति हुई। पहला मिथुन आकाश, दूसरा वायु, तीसरा अग्नि, चौथा जल और पांचवां मिथुन पृथ्वी है। इन पांचों का स्वरूप इस प्रकार बताया गया है। आकाश में एक शब्द ही गुण है, वायु में शब्द और स्पर्श दो गुण है, अग्नि में शब्द, स्पर्श और रूप इन तीन गुणों की प्रधानता है, जल में शब्द, स्पर्श रूप और रस ये चार गुण माने गए हैं और पृथ्वी शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस और गंध इन पांच गुणों से संपन्न है। कहा जाता है कि पांचों मंदिरों का निर्माण योगिक विज्ञान के अनुसार किया गया। ये मंदिर एक दूसरे के साथ एक खास किस्म के भौगोलिक संरेखण में हैं, जिससे कि उनके द्वारा ...
Read MoreDespite pressure from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh government to allow, the Uttarakhand government on Tuesday cancelled the Kanwar Yatra in view of the looming threat of a third wave of COVID-19. "We decided to cancel the yatra, according topmost priority to human life in view of the threat of a possible third wave, the surfacing of the Delta Plus variant of the virus and its impact across the country and abroad," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. The decision was taken after a meeting with senior officials and considering all aspects into account including the opinion of medical experts, he said. FILE PHOTO: Kanwarias on way back from Haridwar. Source: Twitter The chief minister also asked Director General of Police Ashok Kumar to coordinate with officials of the neighbouri...
Read MoreUttarakhand Cabinet on Friday decided to partially open the Chardham yatra for locals in limited numbers from July 1. Briefing reporters about the cabinet's decision, state government's spokesman Subodh Uniyal said Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri will be opened for residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts respectively from July 1 with a cap on the number of pilgrims to visit the temples daily. Bringing a negative RT-PCR/Rapid Antigen test report will be mandatory for every pilgrim and the SOPs to be followed by them while visiting the temples will be issued separately, Uniyal said. A senior official will be appointed for each of the four Himalayan temples who will coordinate with the district administration concerned about the arrangement for pi...
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