The little things about Rishikesh
Certainly Rishikesh is one of the most heard names when it comes to mountains and adventure sports. But I found Rishikesh is more than that.
Sep, 2021 — I was late. It was almost 7pm when I reached Haridwar. To my surprise, the weather was very humid. From Lucknow, there was absolutely zero climate difference feeling wise, not sure of the stats though. The bus took an hour to reach Rishikesh.
At 8, the bus station felt fairly desolated. I understood most of the tourists reach by afternoon there to continue their forward journey - No local buses after 6 pm from Rishikesh Bus stand. A generous Rickshaw driver offered me to drop to Tapovan at Rs. 50.
Finally by 9, I checked in to my pre-booked hostel (The hosteller). I was dead tired but still I didn’t want resign to bed so early. A quick night stroll to Laxman Jhula was relaxing.
The sweet breeze, the twinkling star like lights from distant hills, the gentle swing of the bridge and the fairy tale LEDs outlining the bridge were so dreamy.
I was dragged again in the morning only to find a different vibe altogether — calmness and the sounds of melody birds. (Hero pic)
Felt, I can spend an eternity there where time stops flowing. Sounds philosophical, eh? A quick paratha wala breakfast and I am back to the hostel. The great thing about staying in a backpacker’s hostel is that you get to make new traveller friends. I realized that a “Hi” with a smile in the face is enough to kickstart an amazing conversation.
Thats how I met Nikhil, a solo traveller from Maharashtra. He was travelling for the last one year covering the entire south, the enchanting Gujarat, the land of deserts, the Sikh capital of India and now the mountains. Travelling in public transport all while working on weekdays. Crazy.
He had rented a scooter. We decided to visit Neelkanth Mahadev temple which was around 20 kms uphill. The climate was nice and sunny, the road was fantastic. Huge kudos to the engineering team for the effort. As we were on our way, many adventure enthus were passing by, some for Rafting, some for bungee. We both wanted to skip these and wanted a leisure travel experience.
By 2 pm we had reached the temple which was location at the top of the mountain. The darshan took some time because of the crowd but it was smooth. You can park your two wheeler right at the entrance of the temple. The market starts 500 metres before that, and many visitors fall prey to buying puja stuff in lieu of parking at shops.
Though I am not a big devotee of Shiva, my curiosity led me to realize that the temple is a typical shiva temple. It is “We” as devotees and our myths who make a temple more sacred. Like some say that if you pray there on the night of Navratri, your wishes will be definitely granted. Unbelievable but true!
The weather in Rishikesh during Sep — Oct is just like any any town down below the altitude. The real chill begins from December onwards.
Anyway, as we are coming down we saw scores of rafters. The longest rafting is 21 kms which was closed due to rise in water. The standard cost for 9km rafting is Rs 400. During peak autumn season, they can raise it to Rs. 600.
If you are staying in Rishikesh, a day trip to Devaprayag is mandatory. Unfortunately I missed it.
At the evening, we went to catch the glimpse of aarti in Haridwar. All the clamour and hype regarding this on the internet was real. The vibe was so electrifying that no matter which faith you follow, you automatically will chant “Har Har Mahadev”, “Ganga maiya ki..jai”.
Later that night, we returned to Rishikesh. Near to Laxman Jhula, we chose Little Buddha Cafe while searching for a place to eat. The view of the Jhula from the cafe was Dope. Food was sumptuous and super tasty.
Day 2 morning, I again visited the Laxman Jhula. This time, I also explored Tera Manzil temple right beside the Jhula. It is a 13th floor iconic temple which hosts most of the prominent gods in Hindu religion.
After a stomach filling brunch, I head towards the famous Beatles Ashram — A 2 km walk from Laxman jhula. But a Rs. 150 ticket price for an Indian led me to decide against entering.
History says this is the place where the band members stayed for a long time on their India visit. The place seems asthetic according to the picture. Unfortunately I was low on my budget.
Upon returning back to the hostel, I met a couple of solo travellers — Jaydeep and Aryaan. They just came to Rishikesh for a few days. We three along with Nikhil spend some time in the Triveni ghat to catch the Sandhya Aarti at 6.30 pm.
Though not as crowded as in Haridwar, this Aarti was even bigger. A total of 10 priests, all in Dhoti-Kurta were performing the event. Post-Aarti the energy got even more higher as everybody started dancing in Kirtan. We joined them too!
