Kumano Kodo

The Kumano Kodo is a network of centuries-old pilgrimage paths crossing the mountains of the Kii Peninsula, south of Osaka across Wakayama, Nara, and Mie prefectures. For over a thousand years they have led to the region's holiest sites, above all the three grand shrines known as the Kumano Sanzan: Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha.

Devotion to Kumano drew pilgrims of every rank, from retired emperors to commoners, in numbers so steady they were once likened to a trail of ants. Over time the routes came to connect Kumano with other sacred centres nearby – Koyasan, Yoshino and Omine, and the Ise Grand Shrine.

The Kumano Kodo is not a single trail but several, each with its own name, length, and destination – among them the Nakahechi, Ohechi, Kohechi, Iseji, Kiiji, and Omine Okugakemichi. They range from popular, accessible walks to long and demanding mountain routes, winding through cedar forest, past waterfalls, stone paths, and mountain villages.

In 2004 the trails were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; alongside Spain's Camino de Santiago, they are one of only two pilgrimage routes in the world to hold that status.

Today, white-robed yamabushi ascetics still walk these paths alongside modern hikers. Watching over them, as ever, is the Yatagarasu, the three-legged crow of Kumano legend and the enduring symbol of these ancient roads.