Rishikesh is a known place around the world for finding peace and is also known as the yoga capital. Every year there is an International Yog Festival held at Rishikesh which attracts many Yoga enthusiasts from all around the world. There are many ashrams in Rishikesh and it is also famous for its connection with the famous band ‘The Beatles’. In 1968 the band visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram which is also known as the Beatles Ashram.
Along with the spiritual importance Rishikesh is a home for a lot of adventure sport activities like river rafting, giant swing, flying fox, ziplining, sky cycling and bungee jumping to name a few. As a matter of fact, Rishikesh has the highest bungee jumping point handled by an organization called ‘Jumpin Heights’. The jump is of a total height of 83 meters which is of the highest height in India.
My visit to Rishikesh was not planned, me and my friends were in Punjab to attend our friend’s wedding. We had two days in spare, so we decided to visit Rishikesh after the wedding. We took a bus from Punjab, we took a bus to Haryana and from Haryana we took another bus to Rishikesh. You can find many buses heading to Rishikesh from Haryana, try to travel by road as train connectivity is not that frequent to Rishikesh.
The bus dropped us at the railway station/bus stop whatever you call, as both are nearby only 850 meters apart. From the bus stop we had some snacks and took a sharing auto to Janaki Jhula. We had booked a stay at the ashram near Janaki Jhula. It is advisable to stay in an ashram if you are visiting Rishikesh as it gives a different vibe with all the positivity around. We booked a stay at Ashram and they charged us a very minimal amount of Rs. 2000/day for a non-ac room.
The next day we went for River Rafting in the morning. We visited in March and Rafting charge was 600/person for 18 km which is reasonable based on the amazing experience we have. If you want a video, you must pay extra Rs.2000 and the instructor will shoot your video while rafting on his GoPro. This was our first-time doing Rafting and it was awesome. Straight in the Holy River Ganga we went 18km passing through all the rapids, cheering ‘Har Har Gange’ while crossing every rapid. It was a fun experience as we did something which we were not sure about unless we tried it. The rafting ended near Janaki Jhula and we spent a few minutes in the River Ganga, the water was pure, clear and cold.
After our rafting we rented an Access 125 bike for Rs. 500/day. You can find many bike rental shops all around Rishikesh. The rates are almost the same everywhere but if you want to go outside the city then the rates differ. The rate mentioned is only for local city travel. After having some breakfast and renting a bike we went to Beatles Ashram. The ashram was named after the famous band Beatles after their visit to India. During their visit they stayed here and practiced yoga. The ashram is quite big and you will need around two hours to cover the area, so plan accordingly if you wish to visit here.
After our visit to Beatles Ashram, we had lunch and went near Laxman Jhula for the evening Ganaga Arti which takes place every day. In the evening we decided to explore the local market of Rishikesh and sit near the shore of River Ganga and chill in the peaceful view. Note you should try the Chole Bhature near the shore; they are simply mouth-watering.
Finally after all these activities we ended our tour by exploring the local market collecting some souvenirs to remind us of Rishikesh. Hope this was helpful and you enjoy your time at this holy place. Feel free to comment if you need any information.
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