Spiritual travel is one of the oldest ways to travel. Already in ancient times, Greeks and Romans traveled for religious reasons to distant temples. In the 21st Century, many people revert to this original form of travel and discover the meditative effect of slowness.
“Always go only so fast that your soul comes along!” This wisdom from nomadic Indians has lost none of its significance. On the contrary, people always want to travel more and more distances in less and less time. With airplanes and express trains this is not a problem. As soon as one arrives at the destination, the program for the holidays is arranged. This can quickly lead to the stress of everyday life being replaced by holiday stress.
If on the other hand, you are on foot, you are suddenly determined by your own pace – whether you want to be or not. And that is precisely the charm of spiritual travel. Whether you are on a pilgrimage or just a short hike, your head will be clear and your everyday worries will be in the background when you set one foot in front of the other. The mind and the soul learn to breathe freely and focus only on the essentials.
The reasons for a spiritual journey are many: driven by religious conviction as well as an antidote against a threatening Burnout.
If you make your way along the trail for several days, one then speaks of a pilgrimage. The most famous pilgrimage route is the Way of St. James with the goal being Santiago di Compostela in Northern Spain. Part of this route also leads through SalzburgerLand.
Numerous other pilgrim paths and long-distance hiking trails lead to partly hidden, partly well-known parts of the county. Among these are the Arnoweg, the Via Nova or the Pinzgauer Marienweg.
A special form of pilgrimage is the cycling pilgrimage, such as the Alpe Adria Cycle Pilgrimage Path, which leads from Passau in Germany to Grado in Italy in a good seven days.
©SalzburgerLand Tourism – Pilgrims on the Way of St.James
For those who prefer a shorter distance, they enjoy the many spiritual paths. These themed paths combine spirituality and faith with the unique landscapes. The hike is from chapel to chapel, as in the Großarl Chapel Hiking Path.
You can also recharge your batteries with a visit to one of the magical power stops, which are scattered throughout SalzburgerLand.
And another tip, not only for stressed managers: a stay in the monastery is a perfect time out.
