Think about the last time you took a trip somewhere you really wanted to go, such as on holiday. How did you feel while you were on your journey? How did you feel when you arrived at your destination? What people did you meet on the way? What made your journey special?

You probably looked forward to your holiday and its journey because it was out of the ordinary daily routine. But it was still about normal life. A pilgrimage is different to this. It is far more important. It is a type of special journey that you make for religious reasons. That is, you make the pilgrimage because you feel that God has asked you to do this. It is often to a sacred site.

If you have trouble understanding the idea of pilgrimage, think of it as connecting with your ‘roots’, your family history, your country and its history, that kind of thing, only far more important than all of these because you are connecting with your god, your maker.

Most world religions have sacred sites that people make pilgrimages to. These sites may be where something special happened, or where someone is buried or was martyred.