Rishikesh ~ India

 Rishikesh was the next destination on our India itinerary after visiting Haridwar. Rishikesh is in state of Uttarakand. It is set in  Himalayan foot hills where the ganges flows. The history behind Rishikesh is that has been a part of the legendary 'Kedarkhand'  now known as Garhwal; a princely state that was ruled by the Garhwali Rajput Dynasty. It is thought that Lord Rama did his penance at this place after he killed the demon  King Ravana.

There are many temples and ashrams to visit in Rishikesh, together with places like the Ram Jhula and the Laxman Jhula. These are foot bridges spanning over the Ganges where Laxman  and Lord Ram had used to cross the Ganges. The bridges which were originally made from rope were reconstructed from steel to make them more durable. We walked across these to cross the river from one side to the other, the crossing can be made by boat also.

Rishikesh is also well known for Ayurveda treatments and there are many centers that offer coaching and training in ayurvedic medicine. It is a home for travellers seeking solace, spirituality and yoga. Pilgrims flock to Rishikesh to offer prayers to the Ganges and it is also the starting point for travelling to the four Chota Char Dham pilgrimage places - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.

 Like Haridwar Rishikesh also offers Ganga Aarti, it is conducted at the Triveni Ghat and is also at the Parmarth Niketan but because both aartis are performed at sunset we had to make the choice to attend one of them only. The aartis are beautifully conducted using fire lamps and synchronised to spiritual music.

The visitors are invited to partake in the aarti too, volunteers passed around the divine lighted lamps for everyone to participate. The dramatics of the aarti are little staged for the tourists but never the less it is beautiful, more serene and calmer than our experience of the Ganga aarti at Haridwar.

The highlight of our trip to Rishikesh was the visit to the Neelkanth Mahadev Temple. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nilkanth, an aspect of Shiva. It was thought the temple is marking the place where Lord Shiva saved the world by drinking the poison churned from the ocean. The temple is situated 32 km from Rishikesh, high up in the valleys of Manikoot, Brahmakoot and Vishnukoot and is located at the meeting of the rivers Pankaja and Madhumati.

The ride up to the temple which is situated 1330km high is through steep and narrow winding mountain roads. The scenery is spectacular and you will catch glimpse of many wild life residing in the mountains especially monkeys. Along the route, dotted on the river banks of the Ganges there are many campsites where travelers can stay and enjoy white water rafting. You can also find many Ashrams in the woodlands offering travelers a retreat to practice yoga and meditate.

The temple itself is pretty small, the walk up to the temple from the car park is lined with vendors selling religious artifacts and flowers and offerings. There are many food and tea vendors dotted around too.

We did find that we had to queue up to visit the inside of the temple to offer our prayers to the Lord Shiva shrine inside. The queue did not seem too bad and worshipers were creating a beautiful spiritual atmosphere as they chanted the name of lord Shiva whilst queuing. Once we reached the darshan point, we were able to offer our prayers but we did feel it was a little rushed and personally, I would have like to have had a little more time to soak up the atmosphere. Sadly because of the volume of people there this was not possible. Ideally it would be better to visit the temple at off peak times but due to its reach it’s difficult to make the journey too early or too late in the day as the roads are very tricky leading up to the temple.I would highly recommend visit to this temple both for the Darshan (prayers) and for the views which are spectacular.

On day two of our stay at Rishikesh we spent the day wondering around the shopping area, there are three tourist markets, one near Laxman Jhula, one near Ram Jhula and the third near the Triveni Ghat. In the markets you can buy many handicrafts, a range of religious paraphernalia, costume jewellery, kurta tops, cotton trousers and beautiful and colourful cloth bags and scarves.

For the more adventurous people there are many other things to do in Rishikesh such as bungee Jumping, Trekking, white water rafting, camping, kayaking and rock climbing too.

In all our experience of Rishikesh was serene calm and beautiful and I would love to return for a longer stay and to perhaps attend a yoga retreat.

To follow my India travel series do check out my previous post:
10 Essentials to carry in your hand luggage.
Top 15 India travel Tips

Haridwar
Jaipur

Choki Dhani Jaipur
Jodhpur