Spiritual travel drives India’s domestic travel boom, with Young women and solo travellers leading the surge
National, July 30, 2026: Domestic travel in India continues to show strong momentum this year, and spiritual and pilgrimage travel is emerging as one of the biggest drivers of this growth. Once largely associated with family trips and older travellers, journeys of faith are increasingly becoming diverse, embraced by younger Indians and solo travellers, particularly women. Cleartrip’s PeekABoo Trends Tracker shows pilgrimage destinations recording some of the strongest booking growth of the year, across flights, hotels and buses, with the Char Dham and Amarnath Yatra circuits leading the season.
- Solo travellers lead the way for Amarnath Yatra
One of the strongest themes emerging this season is the rise of independent pilgrimage travel.
Flight bookings made during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra circuit by female solo travellers increased by 20% year-on-year, signalling growing confidence among women undertaking spiritual journeys independently.
Additionally, the Yatra has driven strong growth across travel categories, with hotel bookings rising by 22% year-on-year and bus bookings growing by 104%.
Dwarka too has recorded a 37% increase in solo women traveller bookings. - Char Dham Yatra Sees Strong Booking Growth
Haridwar and Rishikesh, the key gateway cities for the Char Dham Yatra, recorded strong growth across categories:
● Haridwar — hotel bookings +161%, bus bookings +203%
● Rishikesh — bus bookings +113%
Train bookings on Char Dham corridor routes also recorded strong growth, reinforcing the multi-modal nature of pilgrimage travel in India.
Bookings for the route originated largely from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. - Festival calendar powers pilgrimage destinations across India
Puri, which hosts the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra and the return Bahuda Yatra, recorded over 200% growth in hotel bookings.
Mathura, where devotees gather for Guru Purnima and the Govardhan Parikrama, saw hotel bookings rise by 196%. In contrast, Varanasi, which experiences a significant influx of devotees during the holy month of Sawan and the Kanwar Yatra, recorded 161% growth.
At the same time, destinations with year-round spiritual significance continued to witness sustained demand. Prayagraj, Ayodhya, Haridwar, Udupi, Thanjavur, Thrissur, Gokarna and Tirupati all recorded triple-digit growth in hotel and bus bookings - Affordable stays remain the preferred choice: Budget hotels recorded the highest growth at 386% year-on-year, followed by mid-range hotels, which grew by 164%,