5 Lucky travel destinations to bring you good fortune

From the dawn of civilisation humans have craved prosperity, and this search continues at locations across the globe associated with good luck.

From rubbing Juliet's bronze breast in Italy to patting a turtle that symbolises wealth in Vietnam, humans seek fortune in many ways.

Here are five unique attractions that have long been linked to luck.

Kolkata's Great Banyan Tree is over 250 years old

In the western suburbs of Kolkata, I’m standing in front of a banyan tree that looks like an entire forest. Around me, Indian visitors are either posing for photos with this extraordinary tree or engaged in prayer.

About 500 metres wide, with 3,500 down roots that give it its forest appearance, Kolkata's revered Great Banyan Tree has been a sacred site since the late 1700s.

That’s because, for more than two millennia, Hindu texts have described banyans as the “Tree of Life”. Now the national tree of India, the banyan is commonly believed to grant good luck, protect against evil, foster fertility in women, and act as a connection between humans and the gods.

In India, the banyan also represents everlasting life. That makes sense in the case of Kolkata’s Great Banyan Tree, which continues to grow despite its main trunk having been removed nearly 100 years ago.

It now covers an area of almost five acres and stands more than 65 feet tall.

This tree is the chief attraction of the beautiful Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical garden, about four miles west of downtown Kolkata.

It is customary to touch this Tanuki's giant scrotum to receive good luck

Outside a Tokyo shrine, a statue of a raccoon clutches its giant scrotum. Located in Akihabara, a popular tourist district famous for being a hub of Japanese manga culture, Yanagimori Shrine is home to Tanuki the magical raccoon.

Tanuki is what’s known in Japanese mythology as a yokai. There are dozens of these supernatural beings. Some yokai are considered friendly to humans, while others are malevolent and dangerous. Fortunately, Tanuki is one of the kindly monsters.

He’s a shapeshifter who at times is a raccoon with oversized testicles, and at others takes the form of a monk or an everyday human.

In Japanese lore, the Tanuki is considered to bring good luck to those who pay it respect. This is why Japanese people can sometimes be seen rubbing its scrotum as they enter shrines home to Tanuki, like Tokyo’s Yanagimori.

Credit: Michael Coghlan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr. The body of Cu Rua, one of the last Yangtze giant softshell turtles, is preserved in Hanoi's Temple of Literature

In 2016, Hanoi was saddened by the death of a huge, shelled creature. This emotional reaction was not just because this was one of the world’s last Yangtze giant softshell turtles.

It was also due to this animal’s longstanding status as an icon of the capital city of Vietnam, and its key role in an ancient legend, in which a turtle deity helped protect Vietnam from Chinese invaders.

Measuring an incredible two metres in length, and 169kg in weight, this particular turtle was also a travel attraction as it lived in Hoan Kiem Lake, one of the city’s most visited locations at the heart of its tourist district.

Named Cu Rua, which translates to “Great Grandmother Turtle”, its preserved remains are displayed inside beautiful Ngoc Son Temple at the same lake.

For centuries in Hanoi, turtles have been sacred. They are icons of endurance which represent the longevity of Vietnam as a nation.

Turtles are also associated with prosperity, which is why statues of this creature can be seen in temples throughout Hanoi, including several at the majestic 11th-century Temple of Literature, where locals commonly pat their back for good luck.

The custom of rubbing this Juliet state in Verona caught on so much that authorities were forced to remove it to prevent further damage

A picturesque, riverside city in northern Italy, Verona was an appropriately romantic setting for the most famous love story in history, Romeo and Juliet.

Since the 1700s, this renowned tale, in which two lovers are forced apart by their families, has drawn visitors to the city.

Over many generations, a tradition formed. Local legend goes that, by rubbing the breast of a bronze statue of Juliet in the splendid Old Town area of Verona, a person will become lucky in love.

This tradition became so popular that city authorities in 2014 had to remove the original statue from its position beneath an old balcony, where Romeo wooed her in the stage play.

So many visitors were rubbing the statue that it became degraded and had to be replaced by a replica.

Credit: Alan Heardman, CC BY-SA 2.0. Visitors to Blarney Castle kiss the Blarney Stone for good luck, though not all may be aware that it used to be a toilet

On the outskirts of Cork, a lively city in Ireland’s deep south, tourists line up to press their lips against a rock with a disgusting back story. They lay down on the ground, inside the 15th-century Blarney Castle, and kiss its famous Blarney Stone.

In the 1600s, a myth grew around this stone. It was widely said that anyone who kissed it would be fortunate enough to acquire eloquence. In local parlance, they would be become adept at blarney, which in Irish slang means flattery or charm.

Many visitors who follow this tradition do so unaware that the Blarney stone was once a toilet. In the early years of this castle, people would sit there to relieve themselves.

Those same folk could never have guessed that pressing one’s face against that same spot would later become a custom.

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