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Rishikesh & Haridwar

Rishikesh, a most tranquil place in northern Uttar Pradesh, surrounded by hills and bisected by the wide and sluggish Ganges, is often claimed as the `Yoga Capital of the World'. Back in the 1960s Rishikesh gained instant fame as the site where The Beatles came to stay with their guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It is an excellent place to meditate and study yoga.

Rishikesh is also a good starting point for treks to Himalayan pilgrimage centres such as Badrinath, Kedarnath and Gangotri. Haridwar, the spot where the Ganges leaves the mountains and enters the plains, is among the holiest places of pilgrimage in India. This is the place where Brahma greeted Ganga on her descent to earth and where Vishnu (Hari) left his footprint.

Haridwar's waters are doubly sanctified, then, and 2 million people visit each year to bathe in the bend of the river known as the Brahmakund, Brahma's basin. Each evening at sunset priests perform Ganga Aarti, or river worship, ceremony and leaf boats loaded with flowers & lit candle are placed in the river by pilgrims, at the main ghat Hariki-Paira (Har ki Pairi). Bells rings across town, priests are chanting down by the river bank; pilgrims throng.

Every 12 years, a holy festival takes place here in February called Kumbh Mela. (It takes place every 3 years consecutively at Allahabad, Nisik, Ujjain, then Haridwar.) It came around to Haridwar in 1998. In 2001, Kumbh Mela will occur in Allahabad, a small village 120 km west of Varanassi situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna (Jumna) rivers.

A chair lift takes you to the Mansa Devi Temple on the hill above the city. Another important temple is Daksha Mahadev Temple. Haridwar is about 1/2 hour drive from Rishikesh. Most people stay in the quieter Rishikesh and drive over to Haridwar for the Har Ki Pairi ceremony in the evening. After the ceremony, the town is abuzz with activity around the colorful night bazaar.

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