Travel Diaries: Trip to Rishikesh

Rishikesh is a city and tehsil located in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand state. It is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, in northern India.

It is also known as

" Yoga Capital of the World ".

It is a pilgrimage town and regarded as the holiest place to Hindus. Hindu sages and saints have visited Rishikesh since ancient times to meditate in search of higher knowledge.

There are many things to do in Rishikesh and there are many tourist attractions.

Laxman Jhula

is an iron suspension bridge across the river Ganges, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-east from the town Rishikesh in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The bridge connects the two villages; Tapovan in Tehri Garhwal district to Jonk in Pauri Garhwal district crossing the river from west to east. However it is near to the Rishikesh city thus creating ambiguity in its location, the bridge is one of the iconic landmarks of Rishikesh.

It is believed that Laxman crossed the path on two jute ropes, from there the name Laxman Jhula came.

Then I went to see Pramath Niketan :

It is the largest ashram in Rishikesh with over 1000 rooms, Parmarth Niketan provides a clean, pure and sacred atmosphere as well as abundant, beautiful gardens to thousands of pilgrims, who come from all corners of the Earth. The daily activities at Parmarth Niketan include daily yoga specializing in Vinyasa yoga, general Hatha yoga and yoga Nidra.
Daily activities also include morning universal prayers and meditation classes, daily satsang and lecture programs, kirtan, a world-renowned Ganga aarti at sunset attended by hundreds of visitors each day at the shore of Ganges, as well as Nature Cure and Ayurvedic treatment and training.

I have even attended the Aarti at Triveni ghat, which is a confluence of three holy rives, the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati. Here, the daily event attraction is Maha Aarti in the evening.

It is also believed that if you will take a dip in this holy water then you will be rid of your sins. The water was very cold, so I haven't taken the dip.

But I have attended the Maha Aarti even I also did the Aarti.

One of the oldest restaurant in Rishikesh is Choti wala :

See the Ganga in the early morning, the wind here is so cold that it will give you shivers even in the summers.