Earth's Sacred Wonders

At Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a man who believes the temples are home to his ancestral spirits, risks his life to save them from the jungle. At Al Aqsa in Jerusalem, a young Muslim paramedic battles his own hunger and exhaustion to help other fasting worshippers during Ramadan. And at the Shaolin Temple in China, a Buddhist warrior monk faces a test that will change the course of his life forever.

In Mali, a young Muslim helps to re-plaster the Great Mosque of Djenné, in the hope of a place in paradise. At Japan’s Nachi waterfall, a Shinto devotee undertakes a gruelling challenge to ensure the wellbeing of Japan for another year. And at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York, an Episcopal priest performs an astonishing ceremony to bring people, and their animals, closer to God.

From the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to Boudhanath stupa in Nepal, and Lalish in Iraq, discover what people do for faith in some of the most sacred places on Earth.