Haridwar

this place is a sacred city on the banks of Ganga. a lot of beautiful temples are by the side of the river.this is one of the best gateways to himalayan delights like Badrinath, kedarnath, gangotri, yamunotri, valley of flowers and lovely peaks of indo-tibet border.

..the smell…jhkh;ioihfrrs

If you are spiritual, it is a must visit place.

For nature lovers who don’t want to get into crowd, better visit river side of Laxman jhoola there.

Most people harbor a stereotyped impression about Hardwar and Rishikesh. I was no different. Like most people, I assumed it would be boring with only hordes of temples and nothing else to see. Since my mother had expressed an earnest desire to see those places, I decided to take her there. It was only after I reached at the location, I realized how wrong my assumption had been. Not only did I enjoy myself thoroughly, I also recommend Hardwar-Rishikesh as a terrific destination.

‘Hari’ is another word for God, while ‘dwar’ means gateway or portal. Haridwar, or Hardwar as it is called, therefore translates to the ‘Gateway to the abode of gods’.

Every evening at sharp 6.30 pm, an elaborate aarti is performed at Har ki Pauri – the main spot at the banks of the Ganga river. People were seated all around on the steps leading to the water. The entire surroundings at the ghat were lit up with lights and the shimmering reflections in the water were breathtaking to watch. Flower vendors selling colorful floral baskets to be floated in water abounded in plenty near the banks.

There are two temples, one on each side of the Ganga on the hilltops. To get to the top of each, we had to take the Udan Khatola or the ropeway. The view from the ropeway was marvelous and as we rose slowly upwards, a huge carpet of assorted flowers could be seen below.

The first temple we visited was the Mansadevi Temple. It is one of the most important temples of North India and one of the main places to see after Har-ki-Pauri in Hardwar. The goddess Mansa Devi is said to fulfill any wish you make there in the temple. The other temple was that of Chandidevi, on the Neel Parvat hills. Even if one were an atheist, visiting the hilltop would not be a waste because the view of the surrounding mountains from the hilltop is spectacular. In the months of September and October, the hilly landscape would be made much more magnificent with hazy mists. After the visit to the temples on the hills, our next destination was Rishikesh.

There are a number of three wheeler tempos that make frequent trips to Rishikesh from Hardwar. Per-seat rates can be haggled and you can get quick, easy transportation from Hardwar to Rishikesh. It took us around 40 minutes to reach Rishikesh and we’d negotiated with the driver to drop us off near the Laxman Jhoola. This huge bridge, 5 kms north of Rishikesh, is one of the main attractions of Rishikesh.

Rishikesh is renowned for herbs, gemstones, birthstones and rudraksha beads. There was an abundance of shops selling these.

Most of these shops are targeted towards the foreign tourists and quote exorbitant rates so if you intend to buy any of the stuff, be sure to haggle or bring down the prices. Around 30 kilometers away from Rishikesh is Shivpuri, which is the whitewater rafting capital of India. The river there has 12 rapids over 36 kilometers and attracts people from far and wide.

The places we had to skip for lack of time were the Bharat Mata Ashram, Anand Mayee Ashram, Pawan dham and the Rajaji National Park.