Cultural Routes and Heritage Trails - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 33

Ganga or to participate in the Kumbh Mela (Singh, 2006). The pilgrimage
circuit between Lumbini, Nepal, and Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinagar,
India, is an important religious route still popular among Buddhists but also
among other cultural tourists. As well, in Saudi Arabia there are prescribed
paths and routes that Muslim pilgrims must negotiate as part of their pil-
grimage rituals in Mecca, although these are not usable by general tourists
(Timothy & Iverson, 2006).
The Via Dolorosa is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem thought to be
the passageway Jesus walked with his cross on the way to Galgotha to be
crucified. This short route (approximately 600 meters) became the focus of
pilgrims' attention during the Byzantine era and roughly followed the cur-
rent route from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Today, there are 14 Stations of the Cross, or artistic depictions, along the
route that commemorate various occurrences during the last hours of Jesus'
life (Bowman, 2000). Via Dolorosa and the stations are an important pil-
grimage route for many Christian sects especially during Lent, on Good
Friday and Easter.
While the Mormon Trail was discussed earlier in this chapter, it is worth
mentioning again in the context of religious trails. Although Mormons do
not practice any form of official pilgrimage, they are avid travelers to ancient
Biblical sites in the Holy Land and to church history sites associated with the
establishment of the church in the 1800s in the US and the pioneers' west-
ward migration to Utah (Olsen, 2006). Part of their passion for faith heritage
includes the Mormon Trail, together with its folklore and stories of faith and
human tragedy. Since 1997, the Mormon Trail has seen a surge of pioneer trek
re-enactments - where thousands of participants dress in period (19th cen-
tury) clothing, push handcarts and drive wagons along parts of the trail
where managing land agencies will allow these activities (Langelo, 2006).
The sesquicentennial anniversary of the first wagon train arrival in the Salt
Lake Valley was celebrated in 1997 by approximately 10,000 re-enactors
(Mormons and non-Mormons), who took part in all or a portion of the
1640 km trek from Omaha, Nebraska, to Salt Lake City (Hill, 1998). Some
43 covered wagons and 400 people traveled the entire distance (Underwood,
1997). For most of the re-enactors, retracing the very paths their forebears
created was a highly spiritual experience that built faith and congealed their
religious and personal identities (Hill, 1998; Hinckley, 1997). Not all who
follow the trail by foot seek a religious experience, although its existence is
most certainly a result of religious history and an important part of one
Christian denomination's heritage. Although hundreds, if not thousands, of
pilgrimage paths-cum-tourist trails exist throughout the world, some are
very noteworthy and have been widely researched in academic writing.
Certainly one of the most famous of these is the Camino de Santiago, or Way
of St James. According to ancient tradition, St James (Santiago), an apostle of
Jesus, was buried in Spain. The case study below provides more details.