Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N and Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N

   The Kumano Kodō is a web of ancient pilgrimage trails across the mountains of the Kii Peninsula, south of Osaka, leading to the three grand shrines of Kumano: Hongū, Hayatama and Nachi. For over a thousand years, emperors, aristocrats and ordinary pilgrims walked these paths through cedar and cypress forest, stopping at small subsidiary shrines along the way. The Nakahechi, the most popular of the routes, leaves the coast near Tanabe and climbs inland through the hills. It is part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, listed by UNESCO in 2004, one of only two pilgrimage routes on the list along with the Camino de Santiago, with which it is twinned.

   Read the complete Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N is where the day begins. Next is Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha.

2. 2. Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha

   Deep in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula, where forested ridges fold one behind another like the scenery in a woodblock print, stands the head shrine of the Kumano faith. Kumano Hongū Taisha is one of the three grand shrines of Kumano, and for over a thousand years emperors, aristocrats and ordinary pilgrims have walked here along the network of mountain trails known as the Kumano Kodō, now part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range listed by UNESCO.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki.

3. 3. Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki

   Water falls a hundred and thirty-three metres in a single drop at Nachi, the highest single fall in Japan, and it is not just a scenic attraction but a god. The Nachi no Ōtaki has been worshipped since long before the shrines were built, as a place where a kami lives, and the Kumano Nachi Taisha, a vermilion shrine on the hillside, was set up to honour it. Next door, the Buddhist temple of Seiganto-ji, with its three-storey pagoda in front of the falls, is one of the most photographed views in Japan, and shows how the two religions lived side by side.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 89 km into the recorded legs you reach Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki. Next is Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the.

4. 4. Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the

   The Kumano Kodō, the ancient pilgrimage routes, link it with two other great shrines, Hayatama in Shingū and Nachi with its tall waterfall, and with the sacred mountains of Kōyasan and Yoshino further north. UNESCO listed the whole network in 2004 as one of only two pilgrimage routes on its register, the other being the road to Santiago de Compostela.

   Read the complete Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the, about halfway. Next is back through Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki.

5. 5. back through Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki sits at 122 km, about halfway. Next is back through Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha.

6. 6. back through Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha comes up about 245 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N.

7. 7. Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - N closes the day.