My friend Salem and I drove to South Carolina to watch the monks walk by.
It was a sunny, not-too cold January day, a perfect setting for our adventure.
Why monks?
A group of Buddist monks are walking from Texas to Washington DC. Called the “Walk for Peace,” the event began in Fort Worth on Oct. 26, 2025. The monks expect to reach the nation’s capital around Feb. 11.
They’ve walked through Texas and Mississippi and Alabama and Georgia and South Carolina. Jan. 14, they crossed into North Carolina with a stop in Charlotte.
I’ve enjoyed following the monks’ travel, thanks to their well-organized social media reports (see links below). As they got closer, I started researching a good place to see them.
I didn’t want to join the ever-growing crowds at their twice-a-day public gatherings. Instead, I indulged my love of maps – and planning – to find a quieter part of their route. That led my friend Salem and I to choose a quiet spot in South Carolina, where the number of monk-watchers was in the dozens, not hundreds (or thousands!).
Not too many people; not too few law enforcement
There were already some people parked along the road when we got there. But there was plenty of room and, even as more people arrived, it never got crowded.
Less than 2 1/2 hours after we’d first settled in, a line of slow-moving law-enforcement vehicles drove by. We could see the monks in the distance: just a blur of orange (robes), really.
Then, they were right there, walking past us, single file. Old and young, purposeful and serene.
Salem had brought some knit caps to give them to keep their shaved heads warm. They very politely declined because they were the “wrong color.” No time to get more info.
The monks were in view for all of maybe 10 minutes. They kept walking. Their destination for the night was 11 miles ahead.
Other thoughts
It was a friendly place to hang out. We met a few of our fellow monk-watchers even before we parked. The women in the van next to us had a friend a mile south at the monks’ lunch spot; she shared updates.
But… Two guys walked along the crowd, attempting to sell t-shirts commemorating the monks’ visit. I didn’t notice any sales. I was obnoxious enough to ask them how much of the money they collected would be going to the monks. The first fellow hemmed and hawed a bit and said he was there selling for someone else. The second guy claimed his boss had offered money to the monks but they turned him down.
A woman also walked along, giving away some nice stickers she had created. There were ones you could color in, others already had color on ’em. I think I saw one of them in a monk’s hands later, too.
Links
Walk for Peace website: frequently updated with news, photos and positive messages
Overview map: Very general, but gives you an idea of the entire route.
Live map: More specific, including the locations of each of their two visitors-are-welcome stops.