Rishikesh - Gateway to the Himalayas

"Rishikesh” the name itself brings to our mind sacredness and spiritualness. This was my third visit to this divine city. One of the holiest cities in India, Rishikesh is not just known for its religious connection but also for its beautiful landscape. Surrounded by hills (the Lesser Himalayas) on three sides and holy Ganga River flowing through it, Rishikesh is an ethereal experience. Rishikesh is the gateway to famous Chardham which are Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. In fact Rishikesh is a favorite of those coming to meditate and seek salvation. It is believed that meditation on this sacred place leads to salvation. Every year many people come here to the ashrams to meditate and gain peace of mind. The place is also very famous with foreigners who come to India in search of spiritual quest. It is famous for its ashrams on the banks of Ganga, at many such ashrams yoga is practiced and taught regularly. Such is the feeling of Rishikesh that even Beatles could not escape from the magical experience. They had visited India in 1960 to pay visit to their Guru in Rishikesh. What else works in Rishikesh's favour is its altitude (1360 metres). It is higher than other holy cities of Haridwar and Varanasi, so the water in Ganga here is cooler and cleaner. The flow of the river is stronger here and the city is less populated than others. It is believed by the Hindu’s that Rishikesh represent the site where Vishnu vanquished the demon Madhu.

During this vacation, when we visited our brother-in-law in Dehradun, we decided to visit this holy city. We took a taxi from Dehradun and it was a day visit. You will find lot of nice restaurants in this small city. Rishikesh is a vegetarian city by law, as well as an alcohol-free city. We had our breakfast at a restaurant call “Rajasthan Restaurant” situated in the Badrinath JI Road, Tapovan Saral area. We took a private guide to take us around Rishikesh. For the entire day, we payed him Rs100. We will find lot of them moving around but be sure to check their government approved identity card.

He first took us to the 1200 years old Laxman Mandir, the only one in India.It is believed that Lakshman carried out penances here. It is also believed that his brother Bharat meditated here, and there is a temple to Bharat here. Then we proceeded to Shiv Mandir, the biggest Shiv Temple in Uttarkhand. Our next destination was Badri Nath Dwarika Dhish Mandir (Lord Krishna’s temple).Its believed that if you can’t visit Badrinath then the other way to attend moksha is by visiting this temple. Just near the temple, at the chowk you will get to see a big statue of Laxman. Our guide next took us to Vishnu or Shri Narayan Mandir where the entire 24 avatar’s of Lord Vishnu is explained in writings and statues. We then moved towards the famous Laxman Jula bridge, a 450 feet long suspension bridge from one bank of Ganga to other which is the landmark of the city. It was built in 1939. The legend behind it states that Lakshman crossed a bridge made of jute ropes here on river Ganga. The view from the bridge itself is panoramic. The mountains covered in green belt, the waters flowing below, a cool breeze, all these together make Lakshman Jhula a great place to visit. You can also feed the fish in the river below from the bridge itself, the fish gather at the place where people drop food for them. The bridge gives a magnificent view of the Ganges, greeting you with the cool breeze from the river.  To take a better view of the Jhula, one can take a boat ride in the river below, the scene with Lakshman Jhula in the foreground and green mountains in the background make a picturesque view and you can also feed the fish while you are in the boat or go for river rafting. We also visited Ram Jhula, a similar structure to Lakshman Jhula. But it is a more recent addition to the city. Also known as Shivanand Jhula, it connects Shivanand ashram with Swarg ashram. Crossing Lakshman Jhula, the main temple you will see is Kailash Niketan Temple. It is a 13 storey structure slightly different from regular temples. The temple has sculptures of all the gods and goddesses.

A visit to Triveni Ghat is “a must” if you are in Rishikesh. It is the main bathing ghat where every morning several devotees take a dip in the holy waters of Ganga, to free themselves of their sins and wrong-doings. The ghat is so named because it is believed that this is the place of confluence of three holiest Hindu rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. This is the place where River Ganga takes a complete right angle turn. The most enchanting experience here is that of the evening aarti. Scores of devotees stand on the steps of the ghat at this time. The priests perform the rituals, the golden flames come out of large pure ghee lamps (being rotated in set circular motions), vedic chants fill the air in praise of goddess of River Ganga and the conchs in the temples on the Ghat fill the air with their sound. The spiritualness in the air mesmerises one beyond expression and no matter what religion the people on the ghat belong to, their soul cannot remain untouched by this. What follows is even more spectacular. Turning the waters into golden, people float leaf boats into the river with flowers and lamps burning in them. Eyes follow these lamps as they go with the flow of the river. This small ceremony of ownership symbolizes hope, remembrance and wishes for future. As a mark of our remembrance of our visit we collected Ganga water in a white colour plastic water jar, which are abundantly available in the market. Nearby is the Rishikund or sages’s pond.  According to Hindu believes, this pond was saturated by Goddess Yamuna and it mirrors the temple of Ragunath, which is devoted to lord Rama and his wife. This is said to have been a havan kund where the holy men performed hire rituals in ancient times when the Ganga did not flow nearby. On the request of the sages Yamuna magically appeared in the Kund and have stayed there ever since.

There is another famous temple at a height of approximately 5500 feet is the temple of Nilkanth Mahdeo. It is situated at a hill top above Swarg ashram. Legend goes that this was the place where lord Shiva had drank venom which had come out from churning the sea. After drinking it, his neck had turned blue with the poison and hence he was called 'Neelkanth', the one with blue neck. To visit this most revered temple of Rishikesh, jeeps are available from Lakshman Jhula. Every year in the months of monsoon - mid July to August - fairs are held here. There is also a fresh water spring within temple complex where people take bath before paying a visit to the temple.

Known as “Yog Nagri” or “Yoga City”, Rishikesh is home to many ashrams, and most major Indian ashram, including Vivekananda, Sivananda, Osho, Bihar school of yoga, have an office there. It is a good place to experience classical Indian yoga.There is lot of places which you can attend, if you are interested. You can visit the Yoga Study Centre which is at Ganga Vihar, Tel. +91 135 431196. Bramacharya Rudra Dev, a senior Iyengar teacher, conducts lessons in a rather militaristic style and students need to move quickly to keep up. Another well known place is Yoga Niketan Ashram +91 135 430227.Located near the footbridge, classes are taught in a traditional Indian teaching style. Sri Ved Niketan Ashram, Tel. +91 135 433537/430279 is across the river on the Eastern side of the Ganges. Turn right after the footbridge and it's a five minute walk. The classes offer gentle yoga style similar to the Bihar School of Yoga and classes cover gentle warm ups for the joints, a few asanas and some pranayama. Meditation classes are offered too. There are many more prominent yoga centers but to list all of them here is not possible. Rishikesh hosts an International Yoga Festival, which is held every year in the first week of February.

If you adventurous and love rafting, trekking, rock climbing, then you can enjoy here as you will find lot of agencies providing these services.

The calmness, peacefulness, sacredness, fresh air, sound of Ganga flowing, green beautiful hilly landscape in the background, bells from the various temples(both ancient and recent), the banks dotted with many temples, ashrams and yoga centers will create an unforgettable and truly amazing experience for those that visit this ancient pilgrimage city.