Record breaking wave of devotion: Flood of faith surged from Chardham to Kashi-Ayodhya; Know why religious tourism is increasing in the country

New Delhi/National Desk: These days, an unprecedented rise of faith and religious tourism is being seen in India, which has destroyed all the old records of history. There is a huge increase day by day in the number of devotees at the major pilgrimage sites of the country. Be it the Chardham Yatra located in the inaccessible hills of Uttarakhand or the court of Mata Vaishno Devi in ​​Jammu, there is a rush of devotees everywhere. According to recently released government figures, this year within just two months of the start of Chardham Yatra, more than 40 lakh devotees have visited, while the number of people attending the court of Mata Vaishno Devi has crossed 50 lakh. This crowd of the year 2026 shows that now faith is not limited only to special festivals or auspicious moments, but has become a continuous flow of the whole year on the basis of weekends, holidays and better facilities. In just 67 days, 40 lakh devotees created a new history of Chardham Yatra. This year’s Chardham Yatra is going on smoothly in Uttarakhand since April 19. According to the official data released by the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), till June 25, 2026, i.e. in the first 67 days of the journey, a record breaking 4,003,158 pilgrims have visited the four Dhams (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri) and their associated pilgrimage sites. Despite the uncertainty of weather and rain in the hilly districts, the journey is going on safely due to the promptness of the administration. According to the data, maximum 17,332 devotees reached Badrinath Dham in a single day, while 8,618 devotees paid obeisance at Baba Kedarnath, 3,674 at Gangotri and 3,098 at Yamunotri Dham. On the other hand, the number of devotees visiting Mata Vaishno Devi till June 22 has also crossed 50.70 lakh. Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura have become the largest national centers of religious economy. On the religious map of North India, three major cities of Uttar Pradesh – Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura have taken this wave of devotion to a new peak. After the rejuvenation of Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi, the situation is that in the year 2025, a total of more than 7.25 crore devotees reached Baba’s court. Only during the New Year week (24 December 2025 to 1 January 2026), more than 30.75 lakh people had visited here. Same is the condition of Lord Shri Ram’s city Ayodhya, where after the construction of the grand Ram temple, the number of devotees is continuously increasing. On the morning of New Year i.e. on 1 January 2026, about 8 lakh people reached Ramnagari, out of which more than 3 lakh devotees had darshan of Ramlala on the very first day. Apart from this, Mathura-Vrindavan and the entire Braj region has turned religious tourism into the biggest economic activity of the country. A record 10.2 crore devotees are expected to reach the Braj region in the year 2025, making it the largest cultural and spiritual hub of the country. Crowd gathered from Mahakal Lok to Jagannath Puri and Khatu Shyam. From Central India to the Western and Eastern ends, every corner of the country is immersed in the devotion of Shiva, Shakti and Hari. The number of devotees has increased manifold after the construction of ‘Mahakal Lok’ in the Mahakaleshwar temple located in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. From the last week of December till the first day of the New Year, about 19.55 lakh devotees had visited Mahakal. At the same time, more than 8 lakh devotees reached the court of Sai Baba in Shirdi, Maharashtra in just a week, while the famous Siddhivinayak temple of Mumbai recorded a huge movement of 3 to 4 lakh people on the New Year. Talking about Eastern India, the doors of Lord Jagannath Temple located in Puri, Odisha were opened early on January 1 to control the crowd, where more than 5 lakh devotees had darshan of Mahaprabhu. On the other hand, this time a new record of 30 to 35 lakh devotees arriving at the famous Khatu Shyam ji’s Falgun fair located in Sikar, Rajasthan has emerged. Why is the number of devotees increasing rapidly? Know the 5 main reasons for this. Apart from immense devotion and faith in God, major changes in the management and infrastructure of religious places in the country in the last few years have inspired the devotees to leave their homes. There are mainly 5 major reasons responsible for this: World-class infrastructure and accessible roads: The central and state governments have completely revamped the roads leading to major pilgrimage sites. All-weather road projects, wide roads, well-planned new corridors, ropeway system and accessible government transport have now made travel extremely easy and safe even for the elderly and children. Digital and online system: In the era of modern technology, devotees are now free from long queues and uncertainty. For major pilgrimages and big temples like Mata Vaishno Devi, the facility of e-pass, online slot booking and digital registration from home is available. With this, devotees get an accurate idea of ​​the crowd in advance and are able to plan their journey better. Strong security and agile administrative management: The administration is now resorting to state-of-the-art technologies to prevent stampedes, theft or any untoward incident in these sensitive areas with heavy crowds. Live surveillance with CCTV cameras at every nook and corner, deployment of additional police and paramilitary forces as well as strict arrangements for one-way entry and exit have been made, which has strengthened the security confidence. Expansion of religious tourism and holiday trend: Now the trend of going on pilgrimage instead of going to a hill station with family during weekends and long holidays has increased rapidly in the country. Due to this, there has been a huge increase in the number of luxurious hotels, budget dharamshalas and local ‘homestays’ around the temples. This not only provides excellent accommodation to the devotees, but is also creating bumper employment and business opportunities for the local people. Development of grand cultural centers and new corridors: Mega projects like construction of grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and Mahakal Lok of Ujjain have strongly attracted tourists from the country and the world. These historic changes have not only increased the area and grandeur of the temple complexes, but also provided modern civic amenities to millions of travelers at one place, giving the country’s religious tourism a global identity.