Nine churches on the 60-mile Golden Valley Pilgrim Way have opened their chancels, crypts and cloisters to pilgrims of all faiths – or none.

Travellers to what was once was the spiritual centre of the world can learn about the region's long and storied history – as well as see the biggest annual pilgrimage on Earth.

Walking labyrinths has become an increasingly popular global method of reducing stress by integrating the mind and the body.

Christmas is year-round in Greccio, a small cliffside village in Lazio. The reason? This is where St Francis of Assisi created the first-ever nativity scene in a cave in 1223.

Although many travellers will have heard of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia, few will know about the "new Lalibela" being carved out of the rockface by a devoted monk.

Lalish is a tiny mountain village in Kurdistan with a population of just 25. It is to the Yazidis what Mecca is to Muslims.

Recently, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism & Antiquity has launched the Holy Family Trail, stringing together some 25 stops along the celebrated route of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

From Mongolia's mysterious deer stones to cities to honour the dead, ancient sites built by people trying to make sense of life, death and the universe are scattered across the planet.