Pilgrims to two of India’s most sacred spiritual sites will soon find a more secular symbol, a McDonald’s restaurant, as the US chain opens its first vegetarian outlets near the shrines.

McDonald’s is opening in Amritsar, site of the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest site, and Katra, the base for Hindus visiting the mountain shrine of Vaishno Devi, the second busiest pilgrimage destination in India.

The area around the Golden Temple and the entire town of Katra are vegetarian.

“A vegetarian store makes absolute sense in the places famous as pilgrimage sites,” said Rajesh Kumar Maini, a spokesman for McDonald’s India.

McDonald’s has 271 outlets in India and hopes to double this within three years. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012