Kumano Kodo — Nakahechi

The Kumano Kodo is one of only two pilgrimage routes on the UNESCO World Heritage list — the other is the Camino de Santiago — and the Nakahechi is the way most walkers take. From Takijiri-oji it climbs into the cedar forest of the Kii Peninsula and crosses ridge after ridge to Kumano Hongu Taisha, passing the small roadside shrines called oji that pilgrims have counted off for a thousand years. Usually two days. [Route details] Start: Takijiri-oji · End: Kumano Hongu Taisha 35.94 km · 86 m to 696 m · climb 1675 m [Good to know] - Assembled from the OpenStreetMap relation for the Nakahechi, which tags itself 36 km; the line comes to 35.94 km. Wakayama Prefecture gives about 40 km for the walk, counting the approach from Kii-Tanabe. - Elevation is sampled from a terrain model at 300 m spacing, not recorded on the ground.