Modern day Kumano city is located in Mie prefecture, but the main sites of the ancient Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route lie along the eastern side of neighboring Wakayama. The course totals hundreds of kilometers in length, encompassing all of the region's best scenery - skirting the often dramatic coastline, cutting through dense forest and deep gorges, and traversing steep mountain slopes.

Since the middle of the Heian era (794-1192), pilgrims have headed west from the hallowed Shinto shrines of Ise to the three grand shrines of Kumano before heading north toward the old capitals of Nara and Kyoto. Many of the paths remained unpaved until the early part of the Edo period (1603-1867), when daimyo Yorinobu Tokugawa encouraged their maintenance for communication purposes and to protect against rain damage.

The surviving network of stone paths was a key component in a World Heritage List designation awarded to the sacred sites and pilgrimage routes of the Kii-hanto (peninsular) in 2004. UNESCO noted that:

"The monuments and sites that form the cultural landscape of the Kii Mounatains are a unique fusion between Shintoism and Buddhism that illustrates the interchange and development of religious cultures in East Asia. Together, the sites and the forest landscape of the Kii Mountains reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over the past 1,200 years."

The Heian Emperor was a regular visitor to Kumano, which in the feudal period was loosely defined as the area south of the temples and cherry groves at Yoshino, in central Nara prefecture. Originally there were six routes, and the Emperor would traditionally travel on the Kii-ji, which followed Wakayama's western coast. Over time the Ise-ji path became more popular with ordinary pilgrims, possibly due to the attraction of the city's shrines. In a time when Japan's sovereign was viewed as a deity, people believed that passing through the same shrines as him in Kumano would bring them a form of karmic protection from the gods.

In a misleading quirk, the three main shrines of the Kumano Kodo are referred to collectively as the Kumano Sanzan. The kanji for Sanzan is "ŽOŽR", meaning "three mountains". But Hayatama-taisha, situated on the outskirts of Shingu city and the first of the shrines you reach travelling from the east, is build on flat land near the Kumano River.

The entrance to Hayatama-taisha ("taisha" indicates a large-scale shrine) is marked by a small arching bridge and a large, red torii gate of the type seen at countless Shinto sites. It is only in the inner courtyard that you get a sense of the grandeur and importance of the shrine.

A series of buildings lines the far, long side of the rectangular gravel space. They may look familar if you have visited other major shrines around Japan - gracefully curving tiled roofs, decorations of natural materials such as rope and straw, and vivid red, white and green paintwork. However, as UNESCO points out in its World Heritage citation, the shrines of the Kii region were among the first in the nation to introduce such design features, which later spread across the country.

Hongu-taisha, located in the hills some 25 km north of Shingu, has similar lines but is constructed from plain wood and its buildings have thatched roofs. This more refined, simple style is appropriate here; as at Ise, the shrine seems to blend in to the surrounding forest. Tall, vertical banners portraying Yatagarasu (a three-legged raven said to be a messanger from the gods of Kumano), a motif that can also be seen at the other Kumano Sanzan, flank the entrance to the largest hall.

Shingu is a good base for visiting both Hayatama-taisha and Hingu-taisha, as well as for organizing boats trips to Dorokyo gorge on the Kumano River. There are several cheap and convenient hotels in town. As its name suggests, the Station Hotel is visible from Shingu Station, and at just three minutes' walk it is probably the easiest accommodation to locate.

The final Kumano Sanzan shrine is Nachi-taisha, which shares a mountainside site 7 km north of Nachi Station with the Seiganto-ji Buddhist temple. The shrine itself is arguably the least impressive of the three, but what it lacks in intimacy and coherence is more than made up for in other ways.

The best way to approach the shrine is to walk up from the station. The first part of the route follows a modern road, but after a couple of kilometers you will see the old paved steps of the Kumano Kodo path branching off to the left. From here it is a long, steady climb up through the forest, with groups of fellow walkers to keep you company.

At the top, as well as the satisfaction of reaching the shrine, you will be rewarded with fantastic mountain scenery and a view of Nachi-otaki, at 133 meters the highest waterfall in Japan. As in the best Japanese gardens, the building nearest the falls, a bright red pagoda, seems to have been designed and placed to harmonize with the backdrop of vaertical rock, forest and falling water.

There are several minor sights between Nachi and Shirahama, the most interesting of which is in Kushimoto.

The rocks of Hashigui-iwa jut out into the Kushimoto Bay in an intriguing and compelling straight line formation, striding out toward Kii-oshima island. Even the smaller boulders dwarf the tourists, requiring giants steps to leap between them. The main rocks are immense, and are best viewed at sunset when the light and shadows combine to make them stand out dramatically against the calm ocean.

The population of this small town of 24,000 people multiplies every holiday season. Its twin attractions of a beautiful white sand beach and several natural hot springs prove irresistible to domestic tourists. Visit Shirahama outside the busiest months of July and August, however, and you'll pretty much have the place to yourself.

Large resort hotels line much of the beach and surrounding coastline, but, unsually, the Japanese penchant for overdevelopment doesn't impinge on your enjoyment of the place. The beach is stunning, and very different from others along the coast, because the same is specially imported from Australia.

The are public hot springs at either end of the beach. Sakino-yu to the north is a famous rotenburo (outdoor bath) carved naturally from the rocks. Shirara-yu, to the south, is a two-story building with an open space on the first floow and baths on the second floor that overlook the beach. Both hot springs are open from dawn untul dusk and cost just 300 yen.