north india encompasses several of the holiest pilgrimage centres of hinduism (varanasi, haridwar, allahabad, char dham, vaishno devi, rishikesh, ayodhya, mathura/vrindavan, pushkar, prayag and seven of the twelve jyotirlinga sites), the most sacred destinations of buddhism (bodh gaya, sarnath and kushinagar), the most regarded pilgrimage centres of sikhism (amritsar and hemkund) and some of the highly regarded destinations in sufi islam (ajmer and delhi). the largest hindu temple, akshardham temple, the largest buddhist temple in india, mahabodhi, the largest mosque in india, jama masjid, and the largest sikh shrine, golden temple, are all in this region.