Are you planning for Haridwar and Rishikesh visit ? Want to know what to see in Haridwar and Rishikesh ? Below you can find the list of important and historic places/temples in Haridwar & Rishikesh. This article will give you a detailed info about the famous religious places or sight seeing places in Haridwar and Rishikesh.
When I was in Jaipur I went to Haridwar and Rishikesh trip for 2 days. I have started in Jaipur Friday night by bus and reached Haridwar next day at around 9.30 am.
Day one
Places visited : Birla Ghat , Mansa devi temple , Chandi devi temple, Daksh temple, Ganga aarati at Birla ghat
HARIDWAR, Uttarakhand ,India
Hari means God and dwar means gate. So Haridwar means gateway to God. Haridwar is the gateway to Chardham(Gangothri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath). There are many religious attractions in and near by Haridwar.
After stepping down in Haridwar first sight that caught my eyes is mata Ganga(river Ganga). Right from my childhood I have heard a lot about the greatness of mata Ganga.Seeing Ganga mata for the first time is like goosebumps movement for me.I think it is difficult to talk about Haridwar and Rishikesh without talking about river Ganga.
GANGA MATA (RIVER GANGA)
It is a dream for almost every hindu to take a dip in river Ganga at least once in life time.
Ganga is the most sacred water body in the entire world.Ganga came to earth from swarga. A dip in ganga can wash away sins and will purify ones mind.Ganga starts in Gangothri and travel around 250km through hilly areas to reach plain areas of Haridwar.
I have taken a room in a hotel which is around 200metres from the banks of ganga. There are many hotels and ashrams in Haridwar where you can get accommodation. After getting fresh I went to one of the ghat which is near by my hotel.I was very much excited to have a dip in river Ganga.Water stream was moving very fast without any sound.Even though it was summer the water was very cool.
On the ghat I have bought some flowers and prayed ganga mata before taking a dip.I stayed in water for sometime and drank some water of sacred ganga,then I prayed to shiva lingas on ghat and went back to hotel.Then I had my lunch and started to ManasaDevi temple at around 12.00 pm.Since it is only 2km from my hotel I went to Manasa Devi mandir by walk.I have taken rope way to reach top of the hill.It was a very good experience to travel in rope way.
MANSADEVI TEMPLE Haridwar
History/Legend/Story : Mansadevi temple is dedicated to goddess mansa devi.Manasa devi emerged from the mind of great sage Kashyapa.Manasa means wish and the goddess fulfills the wish of devotees so she is called as mansa devi. Manasa devi is sister of Vasuki( snake, which lord shiva wears as an ornament). Below you can see the image/picture of mansa devi temple. You can also notice rope way in the below image.
Mansa devi temple timings : 7 am to 7 pm
I went in queue to have darshan of mata Manasa devi. After having darshan of mata Manasa devi ,I have tied a thread to the tree and told my wish.It is believed that if you tie a thread to that tree telling your wish, maa Mansa devi will fulfill your wishes.Then I had darshan of other gods in the temple and sat there for sometime.After this I have taken a shared taxi to reach Chandi temple. Distance from mansa devi temple and chandi temple is 4.5 km.
CHANDI TEMPLE Haridwar
History/Legend/story : It is the place where maa Parvati(in Chandi avatar)killed the demons Chanda, Munda, Shumbha, Nishumbha. After killing them goddess resided on the top of this hill for sometime.
Chandi temple timing : 6am to 8 pm
Below you can see the images/pictures of Chandi temple and rope way at chandi temple
Temple was very peaceful and calm. After completing darshan of mata chandi and other gods in the temple I sat there for sometime enjoying the beautiful view from the top of the hill.Then I went to Daksheswara mahadev temple (Daksh mandir) . Distance between chandi temple and Daksh temple is 5 km.
DAKSHESHWARA MAHADEV TEMPLE
History/story/Legend : This temple is named after the king Daksha prajapati,the father of Sati.This place is considered as the birth place of Sati mata.It is also believed that it is the place where sati mata sacrificed herself by entering the yagna kundam.But there are two other places which are believed to be the places where sati mata sacrificed herself.One is Draksharaaramam in Andhrapradesh and other is kottiyoor in Kerala.
Daksha mahadev temple timing : 6 am to 8 pm
Below you can see the image/picture of Daksh temple.
This temple is on the banks of river ganga.In the entrance of the temple you can find a big idol of lord shiva with sati mata in his hands.There is age old tree in the temple premises.In the main temple there is a shiva linga.They allowed me to take water from ganga river which is flowing beside the temple and perform abhishekam to shiva lingam.It is an awesome experience to perform shiva abhishekam with ganga water.
If you visit this place don’t forget to do shiva abhishekam with ganga water . You can also see the yagna kund which is believed to be the place where sati mata sacrificed herself. After that I went to Das mahavidya temple and other sub shrines in the Daksh temple.You can also visit shri maa anandamayi ashram which is beside the temple.In this ashram you can see a rudhraksha tree.
After this I went to hotel at around 5pm.At around 5.30pm I went to Birla ghat to see ganga aarathi.First I have offered flowers to ganga mata ,taken a dip and waited there to see ganga arathi.Ganga arathi started at around 6pm.First the priest has performed pooja to the shiva lingas on the ghat.The way he performed shiva pooja is awesome.
Then the priest offered flowers,clothes,kumkum etc to ganga mata and did pooja to ganga mata with Sanskrit slokas.Then he did shankanaad for three times and then started giving arati.In the background they will play ganga arati song while giving arati.In the summer evenings it is an unforgettable experience to see ganga arati.
After the arati is completed,slowly the ghat became empty.I sat on the ghat for sometime seeing mata Ganga and experiencing the summer breezes.Then I recalled ganga avatharana ghatta.
You can read the full story of ganga avatharana ghatta ( how ganga came from swarga to earth) by click the below link.
After that I went to ashram which is near by the ghat and attended their arati program and went to hotel at around 8pm, had my dinner and went for shopping in the city.I bought a rudrakshamala and some gavvalu/sea shells(kodi kauri) and came back to hotel.With this I have completed my first day in Haridwar.
Day two
Places Visited : Brahmakund , Har ki Pauri, Maya devi temple, Laxman Jhula, Adi bhadrinarayan temple, Ram Jhula, Neelkanth mahadev temple.
Next day early in the morning I went to Brahmakund, Har ki pauri to attend ganga aarati.
BRAHMAKUND, HAR KI PAURI
History/legend/story : It is the famous ghat in Haridwar.In previous yugas Lord Shiva and lord Vishnu visited Brahmakund in Har ki pauri.You can see the footprint of lord Vishnu on the stone wall here.After samudramathan,four drops of amrutham fell on the earth.And in all these four places kumbhmela will be performed.Brahmakund is one of these four places where amrutham has fell.
After the ganga arati is completed I went to Maya devi temple at around 7.30am. Below you can see the image/picture of har ki pauri. Distance from har ki pauri to mayadevi temple is 2.2 km
MAYA DEVI TEMPLE
It is believed that the heart and naval of goddess Sati devi fell in this region where the temple stands today.Goddess Maya is the adhisthatri diety of Haridwar.Haridwar was previously known as Mayapuri in reverence to this diety.This temple is a siddh peetha,where the wishes of devotees get fulfilled. Below you can see the image/picture of maya devi temple
Mayadevi temple timings : 6.30 am to 12 noon and 3 pm to 9 pm
After the darshan of mata Maya devi I went back to hotel,had my breakfast and packed my bag.Then I have taken a private bus to reach Rishikesh.There are some other important temples in Haridwar which I have not visited.So if you are going to Haridwar try to visit them as well. Distance from haridwar to rishikesh is 20 kms and laxman jhula is 32 km.
RISHIKESH, Uttarakhand India
Rishikesh got its name after lord Vishnu, who appeared to ‘Raibhya rishi’ as a result of his tapasya, as lord Hrishikesh.Rishikesh is considered as land of rishis. Lord Rama also performed tapasya in this place.
Rishikesh is one of the best place to learn yoga.
In Rishikesh first I went to Lakshman jhula.
LAKSHMAN JHULA
Lakshman jhula is a suspension bridge in Rishikesh.This bridge is built in the same place where lakshmana once crossed river ganga on a jute rope.After crossing Lakshman jhula I went to Adhi Badrinarayan temple.
SHRI ADHI BADRINARAYAN TEMPLE
After crossing Lakshman jhula i went to adhi Badrinath temple. As per guide When the main Badrinath temple is closed poojas to Badrinath are performed in this temple.
After the darshan of Adhi Badrinarayan I did some shopping in the near by street and bought some clothes for myself and my family.Then I had lunch in a hotel and went to one of the Shiva temple on the banks of river ganga, near Ram jhula. In rishikesh you can find many foreign tourists , who might have come to learn yoga.
Then I started to Shri Neelakant mahadev temple at around 3pm . Distance between laxman jhula and Ram jhula is 2.9 km. Distance from Rishikesh to Shri neelakanth mahadev mandir (temple) is 32 km and distance from Laxman jhula to Shri neelkanth mahadev temple is 22.5 km
SHRI NEELAKANTH MAHADEV TEMPLE
History/Legend/story : This is the place where lord Shiva consumed halahal(meaning poison) that emerged during samudramathan.Because of halahal throat of lord Shiva became blue so lord shiva is known as Neelakant. Below you can see the image/picture of neelkant mahadev temple
Neelkanth mahadev temple timings : 6 am to 9 pm ( i suggest you to visit before sunset as it is hilly area)
Shri Neelakant Mahadev temple is on the hills.You can get shared cabs from Rishikesh to reach this temple.On the hill other than the temple there are very few constructions (hardly 3 or 4) so the place is very calm and peaceful.While traveling in the cab you can enjoy the beautiful view of river ganga and the hills.
After getting darshan of lord shiva I also got darshan of akanda jyothi which is beside the temple.As per the sayings of priests this jyothi is there from longtime and no one knows, when it was started. Out side the temple you can get some snacks which you can have, by enjoying the beautiful environment.Then I came back to Rishikesh and went to Triveni ghat to attend ganga arati.
TRIVENI GHAT Rishikesh
Triveni ghat is a confluence of 3 holy rivers, ganga, Yamunothri and Saraswathi.
I went to triveni ghat by around 6pm.By the time I went there ghat was fully crowded(I think some special program is going on) .After ganga arati, I sat on ghat for sometime and drunk some gangajal and started back to bus stand by crossing Ram jhula.
while crossing Ram jhula I stopped at the center of the jhula for sometime to once again experience the cool breezes from ganga mata and the beautiful nature.I did not feel like going back,but some how I made my heart strong by saying that I will visit the place once again.After that I went to bus stop and took a bus.With this my Haridwar and Rishikesh tour completed.
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