Rishikesh, a spiritual and adventurous playground.
Rishikesh is famous for the adventurous white water rafting, world renowned yoga, the spiritual Ganges, and of course its Ashrams, especially the Beatles Ashram, Chaurasi Kutia. You will find its location on the eastern bank of the Ganges River.
How we got to Rishikesh
We flew to Dehradun from Mumbai with Air India at £145 each, including the return from Amritsar.
We vow never to fly with Air India again after they changed our seats we paid for! They had changed the aircraft, with an increased premium economy, shoving us into the middle of the plane. Not great for someone claustrophobic. Amazing how our original seats sat empty the whole flight. Complete and utter shambles.
Our first impression after landing and journey to Rishikesh
Stressful! One of the worst experiences when arriving at an airport to get transport. Surprisingly, the paid taxi company said they could take us, but could only drop us at the bus station, which was only a few kms from our hotel in Laxman Jhula. However, for an auto rickshaw this would be over an hour journey due to traffic. They informed us we could pick up an auto (rickshaw) from the station.
When there, that wasn’t so easy. No one would take us. One offered but for over 1000 INR.
Hot, dusty and noisy Rishikesh walk
We choose to walk. The map said 1hr. The heat was sweltering. The dusty streets a cacophony of noise. It’s always hard to work out the lay of the land when one hasn’t been there. I (Knox) was under the impression that the old Laxman Jhula bridge was shut. This was true, but I wasn’t aware of another bridge that we could walk across. Once we were across the Ganges, things could be easier to get to laxman Jhula area. However, I saw the new bridge in Tapovan would allow us to only have an 11 minute walk to the hotel.
This would be 2.7km from a bridge crossing one of the many subsidiaries that feed into the Ganges from the west bank. Dry for now but will flow when the rains come.
Therefore, it seemed logical to get an tuk tuk to that area. Traffic was very heavy but moving, just. On the busy road, we hailed one down for 500 INR. I expected that would take 30 mins or less. How wrong was I.
Stuck at a snails pace
Initially the going was reasonable. Upon reaching the bridge to Tapovan, we encountered what the maps don’t tell ya. A police block, operating a one way system, and diverting traffic up to another bridge crossing that would add 2km to the journey. How long could that take?
Due to the crazy traffic, the detour snaked at the pace of a snail. It was arduous, hot, and tortured with little satellite flies. Once we arrived in Tapovan, the rickshaw driver was going to leave us at the taxi stand. Thankfully, we encouraged him to take us down to the Laxman Jhula bridge, at a cost of another 100 rupees.
We finally reached our hotel over 3 hours after landing in Dehradun.
Well, what a nightmare.
Accommodation
After much research we chose Zostel hotel. We found a lot of places were overpriced with mixed reviews. It was sort of half hostel, half hotel, from dorms and premium rooms. We opted for a ‘premium’.
Ganges view
The room was bright with a charming view from the balcony of the Ganges. Some niggly frustrations, like only one bath towel provided, which was stained. Stickers/ notices on doors, did also give that hostel style accommodation, despite being in a premium room. Other than that it did what it said on the tin! Although, compared to what can be got for the price in other cities, it was a bit pricey. I guess it was all about the view!
The loudspeaker noise from the temple heightened the spiritual atmosphere which people swarm to Rishikesh for.
What to see in Rishikesh?
Rishikesh has a lot to see and do. From the Ganges, to the views, Ashrams and spiritual enlightenment, thrill seeking adventure rides, and just the chaos of the streets is plenty to keep one occupied.
Scooter hire
To see sights out of the main town, a scooter is very handy. Even though traffic is bonkers, a scooter can scoot past the line of frustrated drivers.
To adapt and switch an Orwellian phrase, Two wheels are good, four wheels are bad.
We hired from Laxman Jhula bike rentals. They were a bit pricey, 800 INR, but the bike was in relatively good condition and Rohit had good customer service. He even helped out later on a beer run (in the dry city) 😂.
Trayambakeshwar Temple
The tall bright orange Hindu temple standing at 13 storey high dominates the Laxman Jhula side of the bridge in Rishikesh.
It lights up at night to help it stand out that little bit more.
Little Goa beach
Of course, as lovers of actual Goa, we just had to see Little Goa Beach in Rishikesh, for the novelty I guess!
Ram Jhula & Lakshman Jhula
The suspension bridge across the Ganges is a popular attraction for photo ops. It connects Laxman Jhula, on the east bank, with Tapovan on the west bank of the Ganges.
The bridge gets super busy, with the hordes of tourists.
Even the monkeys enjoyed the glass walkway, as they slid along lol
The bridge lights up colourfully at night. Its a free sight.
‘Beatles’ Ashram (Chaurasi Kutia)
Famous for the meditation domes, graffiti art and off course the Beatles. Chaurasi Kutia, (the original Ashram name), gained international fame in 1968 when the band The Beatles stayed there to study Transcendental Meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Their planned 3-month Transcendental Meditation retreat however was cut short due to homesickness, other commitments, and disagreements with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Some of the band and their wifes left way earlier than others, not able to hack it, with John Lennon, George Harrison and wives staying longer, (approx 6 weeks), but still not finishing the 3 months.
Despite the early departures, it was one of the band’s most prolific periods, resulting in the writing of dozens of songs.
It amazes, even after all this time, that Chaurasi Kutia is still mostly famous for the Beatles being there. They have made alot of money from their name, it’s a shame they don’t upkeep the very famous site. More on that later.
Cost
As usual cost to enter tourist attractions is extortionate for foreigners. At 1200 it was way overpriced compared to Indian price at 200 rupees. Even locals thought 200 was too much!
Entering
Maybe the price would have been warranted if it wasnt like a building site! Most areas were under construction. The ticket desk guy admitted, after we asked the direct questions, that only the photo gallery was open. It would have been a pointless tour with throwing money down the drain, so we opted out. We were glad to read the warnings on reviews previously!
Vashishta Gufa Ashram
An ancient cave, ideal for meditation, located along the banks of the Ganges, is the centre piece of the Vashistha Gafu Ashrim. About 40 mins drive, depending on the traffic, out of Rishikesh, the place has a calm and serene vibe.
Calm retreat
To us, this Ashram is what an Ashram should be. It was peaceful, with a tranquility enveloping the place, and without charging in.
The tourist horde was away clogging up the roads as they sought adventure, while the overcharging ashrams sought recognition just because some celebs had been there once upon a time.
It was a wonderful retreat after the headache inducing noise from the town.
One could finally breathe with a sigh of relief for some peacefulness.
Cow licking fun
One special cow took a liking to Knox as she give his leg a good exfoliation with her tongue. Lol
Cave serenity
The dark, almost pitch black cave has mats inside, to invite people to meditate in silence, offering a moment to contemplate.
Dipping the feet in the Ganges. All toes still intact!
The Ganges water was cool, fresh, and much cleaner here than in Varanasi, where the odd body part can make up some of the debris in the holy waters.
Our choice, at the Ashram, was good as it was further up river from Rishikesh and the place was a lot more chilled out.
Triveni Ghat and the rest.
Ghats are steps into a river, in this case the Ganges, are often set near temples. It allows people to go down to bath in the water.
Triveni is the main ghat for holy bathing in Rishikesh and one of the places for the mesmerizing evening Ganga Aarti.
It is considered the meeting point of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers. Devotees believe a dip here washes away their sins and grants salvation.
Ved Niketan Dham
Close to the rammed Parmarth Niketan Ashram, of which we only managed a quick photo, we got much better and calmer footage of the Ved Niketan Dham.
Ved Niketan Dham is one of the oldest Ashrams in Rishikesh. With 150 rooms, beautiful gardens, daily yoga, and it’s position on the banks of the Ganges the Ashram is a peaceful draw for the devotees of the late H.H. Shri Vishwaguruji Maharaj, Yogasamrat, Mahamandaleshwar
Eating & Dinking
Since we were only in Rishikesh 2 nights, we only ate in 2 restaurants.
Pink cafe
The only place in town, or just outside it, that serves alcohol. Rishikesh, being a holy city, is a dry city.
Bit of a frozen type pizza but the beer was good and much needed.
Vedic Rasoi Thali house
Pre-paid traditional veg thali house. Pay 350 INR at the door, then head upstairs, and get served an ear all you want thali. Well tasty.
Leaving Rishikesh
We managed finally to get a driver to take us to Shimla for the 8 hour journey. It wasn’t an easy task and in all honestly we got ripped off. However, there was no other option, but to take the hit. It was that, or a tedious, uncomfortable bus journey.
Scooter though first, as 2 guys took both of us, luggage and all, on scooters to the waiting cab driver across the river! An Adventurous trip.
Would we recommend Rishikesh?
Rishikesh was great to see. However, it is absolutely jammed with tourists and traffic. The spiritual side to it may have been that in the 60’s, but now its very commercial and instead of peace and love, its more, ‘gimme your money’. Still go see it for yourself, maybe during a week day when less busy. Take them shoes off, embrace that hippy spirit, and laugh at the playful monkeys dancing to the music.
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