Rishikesh Tourist Place Information

Rishikesh is a tehsil and a municipal council in Dehradun district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is situated in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains in North India. This city is also known as “Gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas” and “Yoga Capital of the World”.

It is surrounded by three districts Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal and Haridwar. It is about 25 km north of Haridwar and 43 km south of state capital Dehradun district. According to the 2011 census of India, Rishikesh is the 7th largest city council in the state of Uttarakhand by population.

It is also a place of pilgrimage, which is considered one of the holy places of the Hindus. In September 2015, state tourism minister Mahesh Sharma declared Rishikesh and Haridwar as India’s first “two national heritage cities”.

Rishikesh is a vegetarian city. There are many religious places, some places to visit and adventure spots too. A large number of people come here to visit. Read about the philosophical site of Haridwar here.

Rishikesh Tourist Place Information

Rishikesh is a Devbhoomi, which is the main pilgrimage place of Dehradun district. Many deities used to reside here, hence it is called Dev Bhoomi. It is situated on the banks of the holy river Ganges and is surrounded by the Vedanta Shivalik Mountains on three sides.

Taking a dip in the river Ganga has religious significance in the Hindu community. Every year a large number of tourists come here to visit religious places, see the great Himalayan Mountains and take a dip in the river Ganges. It is said that taking a dip in the river Ganges washes away all sins and purifies the soul. Read the history of Ganga here.

There are many ancient temples and ashrams here, which have religious importance here. Rishikesh is called Yoga Capital, because yoga and meditation training takes place here. Hindu sages and saints stay here and remain engrossed in yoga and meditation. So that they can attain salvation.

Weather In Rishikesh

The climate of Rishikesh is of European style. The weather here changes many times in a year and tourists can come here anytime of the year. But the best season here lasts from the middle of September till May.

Best Time To Visit Rishikesh For River Rafting – 

In winter (from October to February) the temperature here remains from 19 to 27 degree Celsius, which is very good for roaming, at this time people can enjoy rafting.

The temperature here in summer (from March to June) is 35 degree Celsius. At this time not many people come because of the extreme heat. But it remains cool in the evening and people feel happy at this time.

Here people enjoy the rains during monsoon (from June to September). Rishikesh is a very beautiful place, which remains hot in summer and cool in winter. Rafting does not happen in the rainy season.

How To Reach Rishikesh – 

The nearest airport to Rishikesh is Jolly Grant in Dehradun. There are direct flights from Delhi, Lucknow. Taxis, buses are easily available from this airport to Rishikesh.

You can rent a car rental rishikesh for visiting all places in Rishikesh.

To go to Rishikesh, many buses ply from Haridwar, Dehradun, Delhi, which are of all types.

The nearest railway station to Rishikesh is Haridwar, from where trains are connected to every corner of the country.

Here are the following religious places, which are of great importance and people from all over the country come to visit here every year.

Religious Place Point – 

Neelkanth Mahadev Temple, Bharat Temple, Shatrughan Temple, Trimbakeshwar Temple, Laxman Temple, Kunjapuri Devi Temple, Raghunath Temple, Veerbhadra Temple etc.

Ghat/Bul/Kund/Complex Laxman Jhula, Ram Jhula, Triveni Ghat, Rishi Kund, Geeta Bhavan, Vashistha Cave, etc.

Yoga Places / Ashrams Muni Ki Reti, Parmarth Niketan, Sivananda Ashram, Omkarananda Ashram, Swargashram, Beatles Ashram, Anand Prakash Ashram, Andhra Ashram, Himalayan Yoga Ashram, Madhuban Ashram, Nirmal Ashram, Phool Chatti Ashram, Osho Ganga Dham Ashram, Sadhak Gram Ashram, Swami Dayananda Ashram, Vanprastha Ashram etc.

Rishikesh has been described on the basis of the following points.

1. History of Rishikesh
2. Religious places in rishikesh
3. Yoga Places in Rishikesh
4. Adventure spots in rishikesh

History Of Rishikesh (Rishikesh History) –

Rishikesh is a part of the famous Kedarnath. In this famous state of Uttarakhand, on the banks of the river Ganga, Lord Shri Ram did penance when he returned after killing Ravana, the king of Lanka. Lord Shri Ram’s younger brother Lakshman ji built a bridge over the river Ganges with a jute rope to cross the river Ganges. Which is today known as Laxman Jhula.

This bridge is 450 feet long. In 1889, this jute rope bridge was replaced with an iron rope, which was washed away in the fence that came in 1924. Then it was rebuilt strongly. It is connected to two districts Tehri and Pauri. In 1986, another similar bridge of 450 feet length was built near Shivanand Nagar, which is called Ram Jhula, which is connected to Shivanand Ashram and Swargashram.

The holy river Ganga flows through Rishikesh, which originates from the Shivalik Mountains of the Himalayas and flows through the plains of northern India. There are many ancient and new temples here on the banks of river Ganga. Shatrughan Mandir, Bharat Mandir, Laxman Mandir are the ancient temples here which were established by Adi Guru Shankaracharya. Shatrughan temple is located near Ram Jhula and Laxman temple is located near Laxman Jhula.

Rishikesh Famous Temple  –

There are many religious places in Rishikesh, which have great importance in the Hindu community. 

Neelkanth Mahadev Temple  – 

This is a very ancient and famous temple of Lord Shiva, which is 32 km from Rishikesh. It is situated on top of a mountain, whose height is 1330 m. This temple is surrounded by three valleys, Manikoot, Bramhakoot and Vishnukoot. This religious place is formed by the confluence of two evergreen rivers Pankaja and Madhumati.

Bharat Mandir – 

This temple was built by Adi Guru Shankaracharya in about the 12th century. Bharat Mandir is situated in the heart of Rishikesh on the banks of river Ganges. In the sanctum sanctorum of this temple, there is a statue of Lord Vishnu carved on top of a saligram. Shree Yantra Adi Guru Shankaracharya has been installed on the statue inside the Tripal itself.

Trimbakeshwar Temple – 

This famous temple is situated on the banks of river Ganga. It has 13 floors and many Hindu deities are present in each floor. This temple does not belong to any one deity or goddess. Laxman goes to this temple by passing through the swing.

Laxman Temple – 

This famous temple is situated on the banks of river Ganga. The temple is famous for its sculpture and paintings on its walls. It is said that Lord Rama’s brother, Lakshmana meditated at this place to attain spiritual enlightenment.

Kunjapuri Temple – 

This temple has great importance in Hindu religion. This mountain is situated at an altitude of 1676 m. Kunjapuri Devi Temple is one of the 52 Shakti Peethas in Uttarakhand. It is said that when Lord Shiva was carrying the dead body of Goddess Sati, the torso of Goddess Sati fell at this place. That’s why it is called Shaktipeeth.

Raghunath Temple –

This is a very important place for religious festivals in Rishikesh. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shri Ram and his wife Goddess Sita. It is one of the most important religious places.

Veerabhadra Temple –

 It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is 1300 years old. Here Virbhadra ji worshiped in the presence of Lord Shiva.

Vashistha Cave – 

This is a very ancient cave where sage Vashishtha used to meditate. Sage Vashishtha was the son of Lord Brahma and he was one of the 7 Saptarishis. This cave is located 25 km from Rishikesh on Badrinath road.

Rishikund – 

This is a pond located near the Raghunath temple. Kubj Sant ji established it and by worshiping God this pond was filled with the holy water of Yamuna.

Triveni Ghat – 

This is the confluence of three holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. People come here to take bath, it is a very famous religious place. It is said that by taking a dip in this confluence, the soul becomes pure and all the sins are washed away. 

People reach here in large quantities and take bath and in the evening, there is a great aarti of Maa Ganga ji, which is worshiped and enjoyed by the people.

Geeta Bhawan – 

There is a huge complex on the banks of river Ganga in Swargashram, Rishikesh. There are many halls and 1000 rooms in this complex, in which devotees can stay easily without any hassle for free. Many satsang and meditation programs are held here, in which many devotees come to participate every year.

Yoga Place Of Rishikesh (Rishikesh Yoga Ashram) –

Rishikesh is called the “Yoga Place of the World”. There are many yoga places here, which attract tourists. It is said that by doing yoga and meditation one attains salvation.

Rishikesh is home to the 133-year-old Kailas Ashram Brahmavidyapeetham, dedicated to the protection and promotion of Vedantic culture. Swami Vivekananda, Swami Ramatirtha, and Swami Sivananda attained enlightenment at this place. Read about the life of Swami Vivekananda here. 

Many yoga places and ashrams have been built here, which are popular for yoga and meditation. Here Muni Ki Reti, Parmarth Niketan, Shivanand Ashram, Omkarananda Ashram, Swargashram, Anand Prakash Ashram, Andhra Ashram, Himalayan Yoga Ashram, Madhuban Ashram, Nirmal Ashram, Phool Chatti Ashram, Osho Ganga Dham Ashram, Sadhak Gram Ashram, Swami Dayananda Ashram, Vanprastha Ashram etc. are prominent. They are very important here.

Every year people from all over the country come here to do yoga. Some of these famous places are –

Muni Ki Reti – 

This is a small place which is situated near Rishikesh. Muni ki Reti is famous for many temples, yoga and meditation and is the home of Ayurveda. It is also situating on the banks of river Ganges.

Parmarth Niketan – 

This is the biggest yoga place in India and also the biggest ashram, which is situating on the banks of river Ganga. It has been flourishing for more than 70 years. It was establishing in 1942 by Swami Shukdevanand Saraswati. This ashram is for everyone. The Maha Aarti of Ganga ji in the evening is also very famous here.

Swargashram – 

It is situating in the foothills of the Himalayas and is one of the oldest ashrams in Rishikesh. It is near Laxman Jhula and has meditation grounds for many famous sages. Yogi Swami Atmaprakash ji came here first, who established this ashram.

Beatles Ashram – 

This is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram which is famous as Beatles Ashram. This ashram gained prominence in 1968, after that a group of world famous musicians stayed in this ashram. He took training for meditation here. That’s why it is famous as the Beatles Ashram.

Shivanand Ashram – 

This was establishing by Swami Shri Shivanand ji. This ashram is surrounding by beautiful forest, mountain and river Ganga.

Omkarananda Ashram – This Himalayan

It is situating in the foothills. Omkarnanda Ashram is near Shivananda Nagar and the famous Laxman Jhula It was establishing by Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati. There are many other famous ashrams in Rishikesh which have yoga and meditation places and devotees come here in large numbers every year.

Adventure spots of Rishikesh (Rishikesh adventure sports) –

There are many adventure spots in Rishikesh. The most famous white water rafting here is famous both in the country and abroad. The rafting season here starts in March and continues till September. There are many other places in Rishikesh which are backpacking, bungee jumping, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, rappelling and zip lining etc.

Byasi

Byasi is a small village situating on the banks of river Ganga and it is at a distance of 30 km from Rishikesh.It is knowing as an adventure spot for rafting and camping in the river Ganges. Here the flow of river Ganges is more, which is very important for rafting. That’s why this place is very good for rafting.

Kaudiyala

Kaudiyala is also a small village, it is at a distance of 40 km from Rishikesh on Badrinath road. It is famous for white water rafting. It is a very beautiful place for camping. Many tourists come here to visit.

Jumping Height is also a very good adventure spot, it is about 15 km from Laxman Jhula in Mohan Chatti.Many types of adventures are doing here.People enjoy it a lot.