Theertha Yatra(Pilgrimage) in America

Theertha Yatra(read Pilgrimage) in India typically includes visiting Kashi and other holy places . Have you heard about Indians undertaking Theerta Yatra in US? If not, read on.. Theertha Yatra for the Indians visiting US means visiting some of the famous US cities and attractions.

Tourists apart, students and the resident Indians have some common wish list of places to see and experience. Theerta Yatra in US may involve whirlwind tours covering at least 2-3 places. In my observations so far, I have categorized American Theerta Yatra in to 3 levels. Off course, this categorization might change depending on each person’s purpose of visit, base location in US, employment (or education) status and affordability. These levels are

a) Level 0 – This is the starting level where people explore their home city, state, nearby lakes, forests, mountains, rivers, etc. Indian food and beverages are normally carried along to create the perfect picnic or trip atmosphere.
b) Level 1 – This is the first set of “must see” places
* Niagara Falls, New York City ( Important: Timesq EmpStateBldg, GroundZero & Statue of Liberty) Washington DC, Atlantic City & some NJ locations, Disney land, Universal Studios, ( LA or Orlando), Hollywood, Las Vegas (may be level2 also),San Francisco(especially Golden Gate Bridge & Lombard St)

c) Level 2 – This is the next level of exploration of the US. Some of the favourite choices;
* Las Vegas, Chicago, Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Yellow Stone National Park, Santa Monica Beach(LA), San Diego, beaches in Virginia and NC, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Wheeling- WV, Lake George – NY, Boston fall colors, Hawaii, Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, some more national parks

Newly arrived Indians in this country normally plan a tight scheduled theertha yatra of 3-4 days. The objective here will be pick one specific US region(like NorthWest, West or East Coast) and cover as many places as possible. Rather than detailed exploring each city/area, the focus here is “touch” each place and go forward to the next destination. On the first few trips it is very common to see multiple families traveling together.

Also very common is the practice of renting cars to visit places. This is inevitable in case the trip includes air travel. However, this is also beneficial because rental cars are relatively newer and they absorb all the trip mileage, wear & tear and risk factors(breakdown, repairs, etc).
Of all the places, I would Niagara Falls in the number one fav. Travel destination for visiting Indians. I came across an elevator operator in Niagara who is an African-American but has good hindi vocabulary!! Which he picked up from Indian visitors.

I might have missed some more key places, so let me know so that I can update my list.