Nepali traveller aims for Guiness Record: Pradeep Thanal: Visiting 450 holy places in one year

Pradeep Thanal on his record quest

The endeavour started in Nepal, and later  spread to Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and the Himalayas.
Nepal has recently been engulfed in anti-government protests, forcing powerful politicians to flee their positions.
Among them, we hear a wonderful story, that of a graduate from Nepal named Pradeep Thanal, who set a record by visiting 450 holy sites in 6 countries within a year. Pradeep is now preparing to take that record to the Guinness Book of Records. Pradeep came to Sri Lanka in 2024 and met me as a tourist. He had a hard time even finding a time to meet me over a period of eight days.
Finally, we met at the Aishwarya Lakshmi Amman Temple in Wellawatte. He was accompanied by several others.
When I asked him: “Why did you suddenly come to Sri Lanka?” he replied that he had come to visit eight sacred sites. His aim was to visit them  and compile a book containing the details. He went on to name eight sacred sites in Sri Lanka. During eight days, he had visited the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the Shankar Devi Maha Shakthi Temple in Trincomalee, the Lakshmi Narayan Perumal Temple and Sadakali Temple, the Nallur Kandasamy Temple in Jaffna, the Sri Naga Pushan Temple in Nainativu, the Sita Amman Temple in Nuwara Eliya, and the Aishwarya Lakshmi Amman Temple in Colombo.

Pradeep Thanal

He began his pilgrimage to the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, his native country, and then expanded his travels to India, Tibet, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
He began his tour on June 22, 2023, and concluded it  on June 24, 2024, by visiting the Manikaran Shiva Temple in India. Accordingly, Pradeep Kanal has visited 329 holy sites in India, 80 in Nepal, 18 in Pakistan, 12 in Bangladesh, 5 in Tibet and 8 in Sri Lanka.
I asked him: “Why did you decide to set a record by embarking on a tour like this?”
“This sacred quest for world peace includes Hindu religious places, Sikh temples, and  includes  also Buddhist shrines such as Lumbini in Nepal, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar in India, as well as the Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka. My hope is to build international relations with each of these religious sites,” says Pradeep.
Pradeep was born in the Aislam region of eastern Nepal. It is a rural area.  Pradeep’s father’s name is Pushpala and served in the Indian Army. Mother is Menaka Devi. Due to his father’s military job, they had to go to different states in India. Therefore, the education of Pradeep and his children took place in schools in different states of India. Therefore, he received his primary education at one time in the state of Assam, and again in the state of Manipur, followed by the state of Nagaland. He graduated from Guhani University in Assam. He received his postgraduate degree from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Universal Tamil University in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
“At that time, many Nepalese were serving in the Indian Army. Because of my father’s job, this trip was not strange to me,” says Pradeep.
Some religious scholars say that 500 years ago, Guru Nayak set a record by visiting such a large number of religious places. It took 21 years. Similarly, Guru Adi Sankaracharya also visited a large number of religious places. But there is no record of how long it took. Religious scholars say that visiting so many religious places in a year is a world record. There are 365 days in a year. “How did you manage to fit so many visits into 2023-24?”, I asked him.
“It took time to reach those places” Pradeep said. “There were times when I visited 6 or 7 shrines in a day. Therefore, it was not difficult to reach 450 shrines within a year.”
“After successfully completing this record, a large number of  priests wished me well. I am not saying that I set a world record. But many religious teachers in India say that it is a world record.”
Pradeep is married. His wife is Deepali Sharma. He has an only son named Adhyayi. Pradeep lives in the Kalki area of Kathmandu, Nepal. He is a cultural and religious activist. He is also the president of the Nepal Friendship Association. “I cannot forget the support given by Mangesh Bhagwat, Binita Lepsa, Sunita Majumdar, and Sushant Singh of the Shiv Shakti Sangam for this trip. I spent my personal money on this trip, and Sirjina Timsina Wijekumar of the Nepal International Friendship Association supported me. My next endeavour is to visit every famous religious place in the world,” said Pradeep.