Kii Peninsula
The remote and mountainous Kii Peninsula offers a wonderful combination of stunning natural beauty and spiritual calm. It is the largest peninsula on the main island of Honshu in Japan and is located in south central Honshu, south of Nara and Osaka. The peninsula has two national parks - Ise Shima and Yoshino Kumano as well as the Nanki Kumano Geopark on the southern coast.
Lonely Planet placed the Kii Peninsula in the “Top ten destinations in the World” category in 2018. The quiet temple town of Mt Koya is Japan’s most sacred site and a spiritual hub for Shingon Buddhism. The peninsula showcases many aspects of natural beauty such as dense forests, rivers, gorges, unique rock formations and waterfalls including the breathtaking Nachi-taki Falls.
The Kii Peninsula is also home to the ancient Kumano Kodo pilgrim trail. The Kumano Kodo is one of only two pilgrimage trails in the world to have been awarded official UNESCO World Heritage status.
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For information on walking one of the various Kumano Kodo routes, click the button below.
Kumano Kodo
This ancient trail dates back to the 11th century when the royal families made the spiritual pilgrimage to Kumano from the original capital city of Kyoto. The Kumano Kodo is registered by UNESCO as a World Heritage pilgrimage route and encompasses the three Grand Shrines of Kumano (known collectively as the Kumano Sanzan).