Faith travels first class: India’s spiritual tourism

Vilas Shete, 69, and his wife, Ranjana, sit in numbing disbelief as news of the rising death toll flashes across their screens from Nepal. Just days before, the couple had been standing on that ground at Gyirong Port on the Nepal-China border, smiling for photographs. They had been on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar. Now, the area is devastated, ravaged by a flood that even swept away the check post they had crossed.

The couple has been on many of India’s well-known religious tours, including to the 12 Jyotirlingas, Shirdi, Char Dham, and Narmada Parikrama. Every time they step out for religious tours, especially in other States, it cost nearly ₹50,000.