Our journey through India begins with a six-hour train ride from New Delhi, then a four-hour car ride through the foothills of the Himalayas.

We arrive in a small town called Dwarahat, where 1,000 year-old temples remain sprinkled through the community.

“It is a historical place,” said Deep Chandra Harbola.

Harbola was born in Dwarahat, spending a lifetime traveling through the town’s surrounding mountain range.

The former history professor has gone hiking with monks and tourists alike.

“So many, many people. I guided them at that time. At that time, though, no road was there,” Harbola said.

Today, there is a road — winding and mostly paved — leading to some of the mountain's holy places, with stops for chai of course.

“Tea, tea, tea,” said Joshi, while making a group of pilgrims chai and coffee at his tourist rest stop.

“So my time here is a pilgrimage,” said American Rebecca Harvey, after returning to Joshi’s from a day-long trip into the mountains for meditation.

“So this is a golden opportunity to be up high in the hills where the vibrations are so conducive to meditation,” Harvey said.

For the locals, spiritual practices like meditation and prayer start early.

“In India, even from childhood, we are taught to pray. First sit and pray to God,” said India resident Rajini Kumari, who was also on a pilgrimage to Dwarahat.

Kumari said spiritual teachings usually start around 3- to 5-years-old.

For the children attending one school in Dwarahat, prayer and meditation are part of their daily curriculum, along with their studies in English and Hindi.

“India is spiritual because people love to talk to God,” said Dr. Naval Pant, of Lucknow, India. He described the countries overall belief in God and, for many, the belief in karma and reincarnation result in a more accepting community.

“Generally, Indians understand that whatever is coming into their life — good or bad — it has to do not as a punishment, but their own doing,” Pant said. “So people are generally not frustrated with whatever negative things they see around.”

That belief was noticed by Swiss tourist Fritz Stoeri.

“What I really love is that I have the feeling that here most everything is related to God, the Supreme Being, the Creator of all,” said Stoeri.

For Barry O’Meara, from Ireland, “I can’t help but coming back [to India]. It’s ingrained in you, the beauty of the people.”

From its cultural norms, to its history of worship, India’s spirituality is easy to see if you are looking for it with your heart.

“I think when you come to India, there’s just an overwhelming umbrella of spirituality over the whole place,” said O’Meara. “Eventually, when you can calm yourself down and look beyond the poverty and look beyond what is so different — then you’re home. Then you begin to really open up to that uniqueness that India has.”