Parasnath Hill (Shikharji)

Parasnath Hill, in Giridih district, is the highest peak in Jharkhand at around 1,365 metres, and its summit, Shikharji (also called Sammed Shikharji), is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in all of Jainism. Twenty of the twenty-four Jain Tirthankaras, including Parshvanatha, are believed to have attained moksha here, a concentration of spiritual significance matched by few other sites in India; the local Santhal community, for its part, reveres the same peak as Marang Buru.

The pilgrimage itself is a serious undertaking: a round trip of roughly 27km through the forests of Madhuban, involving some 12,000 steps, starting from Bhomiyaji Asthan at the base. Along the route, individual shrines called tonks mark the spots associated with each Tirthankara, and pilgrims commonly make the ascent on foot or by hired doli (sedan chair), with the summit rewarding the climb with sweeping views across the surrounding Chota Nagpur countryside.

The earliest textual references to Shikharji as a pilgrimage site appear in the Jñātṛdharmakatha, one of Jainism's core scriptures, and while some shrines on the hill are believed to be over 2,000 years old, most of the present temple structures likely date to more recent centuries.

On NH-2 (the Delhi–Kolkata Grand Trunk Road); the nearest railway station is Parasnath, near Isri Bazar, about 155km from Ranchi.