Pilgrimages for millennials: less solemn, more luxe, with yoga, meditation, fine dining, and other wellness activities such as Ayurvedic massage on the itinerary

Pilgrimages to places of worship are not new in India, but a growing number of millennials and younger people are adding the usual elements of a holiday to them

People are taking part in yoga, meditation, Ayurvedic massages and other wellness activities, and eating fine food, during their trips to visit religious sites

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Neeti Mehra, a slow living coach, on a “praycation” in Varanasi, one of India’s holy cities. A growing number of Indians appear to be taking more spiritual holidays – where they visit places of worship but add in elements of a luxury trip as well. Photo: Neeti Mehra

Published: 11:15am, 27 Jun 2023Updated: 12:37pm, 30 Jun 2023

Neeti Mehra, 40, a Mumbai-based slow living coach and sustainability strategist, took her first praycation – or spiritual holiday – in 2020.

Along with her parents and a sibling, she visited Varanasi in northern India to scatter the ashes of her grandmother in the River Ganges, as is Hindu custom.

“We decided to make it a multigenerational holiday with my sister and her kids, staying at a luxury hotel with a swimming pool,” says Mehra. “We did food tours and took in cultural sights like the famous silk weavers of Varanasi, and visited temples and the Buddhist sites of Sarnath.

“It became a holistic experience with three generations enjoying different aspects of Varanasi.”

Neeti Mehra at the Beatles ashram – a place for practising spirituality – in Rishikesh. Photo: Neeti Mehra

Mehra has since taken other praycations – a portmanteau word combining “prayer” and “vacation” – in India, to Trivandrum, Odisha and Rishikesh, that mix visits to temples, ghats and mountain passes with food and cultural experiences.