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Published: November 13th 2014
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When I started planning for this trip in the spring of 2014, the only thing I was looking forward to was Bungee jumping and rafting on the Ganges and maybe spotting a tiger in Jim Corbett! Thus after some planning, my friend and I embarked on a week long holiday to Jim Corbett, Rishikesh and Haridwar. As we were entering Rishikesh by road, the weather was starting to get cloudy and looked like it would start raining any moment, which was definitely not something we were looking forward to after a 5 hour road journey! After checking in at the Divine Ganga Cottage, I decided to check out the view from the terrace and boy was I in for a surprise or what! With the clouds hovering low over the mountains and the river flowing below in a shade greener than green! I can safely say I have never seen the Ganges look more pretty ever in any place I have been in India!
Within 10 minutes of reaching Rishikesh I knew this would be a place which shall be etched in my memory forever. We decided to head for lunch at one of the cafes near Laxman Jhula... please
note any form of meat and alcohol is completely banned in Rishikesh! Now don't let that deter you from planning a trip there, the food here is absolutely amazing and this is being vouched for by a hard core non- vegetarian! You name the cuisine and they have it and not just have it they cook their meal to perfection! I would suggest you to have at least one meal at the German bakery near Laxman Jhula, their veg kofta and "happy" salad is too delectable and don't forget to accompany your meal with a shake. I have had some of the best shakes here in Rishikesh and a without a few glasses of these your trip here is definitely incomplete! The view from this bakery or any other cafes near Laxman Jhula are very pleasing to the eyes and you can spend hours sitting and gazing at the stunning view in front of you that is Rishikesh.
If you are a Beatles fan you will know way back in 1968 they had come to Rishikesh to train under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi for Transcendental Meditation, where it is believed they penned most of the "White" album, now this Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi ashram also known as the Beatles Ashram has become a shrine for Beatles lovers. Being a Beatles fan myself I knew I had to visit this place. It's a bit tricky to locate the ashram and people will misguide you as entry to the place has been banned by the Government for some reason! The weather being nice we decided to walk it..we started by walking all the way from Laxman Jhula to Ram Jhula, after which we crossed quite a few ashrams. A few meters after crossing Parmarth Niketan (another ashram) we noticed the road had narrowed down and there were fewer people on this side of the street and suddenly we stumble upon the vast banks of the Ganges..completely abandoned expect for a few sadhus smoking a
chillum. They pointed the ashram on the left of the ganges and upon reaching the gate we found it to be locked up with a Government sign saying entry is banned and that trespassers shall be fined! I wanted to cross over the fence and enter the ashram but since it was almost dusk and we were a bit skeptical of the people loitering around we decided not to
enter which was a shame. Though from what we saw outside the place was in complete shambles with jungle growing all around it. Thus we decided to sit on the banks of the river and watch the sunset which I must say was again a stunning view. If you do visit Rishikesh I would request you to visit this area, if not for the ashram then for the view..though I am definitely gonna enter the place on my next visit here! On our way back from the ashram we decided to watch the evening
arti (a sacred ritual that takes place around a fire with the offerings made to Agni, the fire God) at Parmarth Niketan on the banks of the river. Once the arti started we noticed it was headed by an American who held a huge arti stand in his hand accompanied with several other Americans and Britishers along with Indians. Now what stunned me even more was the way they were chanting the prayers in Sanskrit with just a slight trace of accent! The
arti here is generally performed by the residents of the ashram who have come to learn the vedas
and not by any spiritual leader. The music and sound that engulfs you is so hauntingly sweet you ain't gonna forget it in a hurry!
The next afternoon we were to go camping near Shivpuri which was roughly 20kms away from Rishikesh and which was also the rafting area. Once we got dropped off at our camping site I looked around and asked my friend "will this place ever stop surprising us?" It just gets better and better!! The tents were set up right on the banks of the river and the season being off- peak we were the only two campers save for the cook and the caretaker! Even though it was almost 4pm when we reached they served us a delicious Indian lunch followed by tea. One can spend hours here watching the sunset and doing nothing but just admiring the view around you and telling yourself
I don't wanna go home! Soon after the sun had set, Karan (the caretaker) lit a nice little bonfire for us and set up a table and chairs near it to have a few drinks without us even having to ask him! He sat with us and started telling all
sorts of stories about how sometime wolves and wild elephants can be seen across the river in the mountains and also a little about his life. One thing I have noticed on my travels is people living in the mountains are the most content..they are happy with whatever little they have..they never seem unhappy about anything and they will always go out of their way to please you and help you. Hours passed by without us noticing it was dinner time and guess what...we were served chicken! Yes you heard me right..now this is allowed here as Shivpuri is located on the outskirts of Rishikesh! We woke up early the next morning to watch the sunrise but unfortunately we were on the other side of the mountains though we were not disappointed..with the early morning mist mixed with the clouds kissing the mountains and the sun rays adding a beautiful dash of color...it was a treat to the eyes. After a couple of hours we bid goodbye to this stunning place which I still miss and our ride picked us up to take us to the rafting area. Overall the rafting was decent..didn't get any major rapids save for a
couple as the main season for rafting here is in the summers when the water swells up. Soon we were dropped off near Ram Jhula where we had lunch and headed towards Haridwar for the final leg of our journey. I must confess Rishikesh was one place which was difficult for me to bid goodbye to and I still think of it often and I know I'll go back there for sure!
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Jungle Camping in rishikesh
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rishikesh jungle cottages
thanks for sharing the information that what else we can do in rishikesh apart form rafting