Is it mandatory to travel to Gaya or Prayagraj for Pind Daan?

No — Pind Daan can be performed at any sacred water body or even at home. However, performing it at a major tirtha such as Prayagraj (Triveni Sangam), Gaya, or Varanasi significantly amplifies the merit and the efficacy of the rite. The scriptures describe these locations as places where the boundary between the earthly realm and the ancestral realm is especially thin.