Pilgramages

The pilgrimage to the St. James church in Santiago took its travelers through 3 months of walking and visiting many churches along its path, many of which were also called the church of St. James.  One thing I noticed about the churches that were visiting is that most of them had small carved statues of people repeating in several lines, forming an arc over the entrance to the church. The reason I noticed this is because it was shown in so many of the churches, yet I have never seen it on any of the churches that I have visited.
The pilgrimage to Santiago is only one of many pilgrimages people take for religious or moral significance.  Buddhists make pilgrimages to Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, and Kusinara.  Christians can also travel to many places that held important religious significance just as the site of the crucifixion, the site of Jesus' birth, Rome, and other sites with noted significance to the apostles and saints.   Pilgrimages are also made in Islam, Hinduism and Judaism as well as smaller religious sets.
I don't believe I could go on a pilgrimage myself, also I think the concept of going on such a long, physically demanding trek in honor of one's beliefs sounds very appealing.  Unfortunately, I am not religious enough for any pilgrimage to have religious importance to me.  Also, the culture in which a grew up does not foster the concept of taking off for long periods of time for things like a pilgrimage.  This combined with the fact that I do no possess the mental stamina for such a trip adds up to it not be a likely possibility for me.