Devils Tower, Wyoming, USA

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This striking rock rising from Wyoming's grasslands is the country's first national monument and it has a deep, spiritual significance to several indigenous American tribes, whose ancestors lived around it for thousands of years. The Cheyenne camped and hunted at what they called Bear's Lodge in the winter and consider it a holy place. It's also of great importance to the Lakota people, who see the wider Black Hills region as the place of creation: they traditionally held a sacred Sun Dance at the rock around the summer solstice. Climbing the steep butte is seen as disrespectful by many and there's a June Voluntary Climbing Closure to respect a culturally significant time when many ceremonies take place.

Sacred and spiritually significant sites around the world (msn.com)

Devils Tower, Wyoming, USA This striking rock rising from Wyoming's grasslands is the country's first national monument and it has a deep, spiritual significance to several indigenous American tribes, whose ancestors lived around it for thousands of years. The Cheyenne camped and hunted at what they called Bear's Lodge in the winter and consider it a holy place. It's also of great importance to the Lakota people, who see the wider Black Hills region as the place of creation: they traditionally held a sacred Sun Dance at the rock around the summer solstice. Climbing the steep butte is seen as disrespectful by many and there's a June Voluntary Climbing Closure to respect a culturally significant time when many ceremonies take place.