Nature's Trust Paradise: Rishikesh and Devprayag
We recently shifted to a new house after months of exploring and finding a correct fit that suited our budget and expectations. Every morning, I open my balcony door, and I can easily see the brightly lit morning sunshine along with the cold warmth of air that I have longed to endure for a long.
While unpacking my stuff and placing artifacts in my study area, I found a wall hanging that was gifted to me in the Year 2017 on my birthday by a close friend, named Huma whom I met during my internship stint at TATA Motors, Lucknow. She gifted me a wall hanging which had an outline of a world map drawn manually and filled with watercolor. It has an affirmation below that says, "GO FIND YOURSELF". Whenever I look at it, it fills me with an immense sense of pride, and thirst to go out, and "explore" the unexplored.
Honestly, it's been 3 years since I planned and executed a trip on my own. The last one was a trip to Amritsar-Kartarpur Sahib way back in Jan'20 (check out the travel post). Although I did a couple of trips post covid, but with family. I knew deep inside somewhere the "aawara" in me was longing to dream, plan, execute, and feel a trip. As they say, "Aap chalna to shuru karo, logo ka karwaan apne aap banta rhega", I was on it.
I had an official visit planned to Saharanpur (UP) in the mid of December. I thought it to be a perfect time to stretch the visit further and try unfolding the likes of Rishikesh and Devprayag too. I asked a friend of mine, Jay, and he said "Let's go". To make our trip a bit more smooth, our Ford Ecosport was all set to vroom with us.
THE STAY
Rishikesh offers you a multiple vibe at one go. There's a sense of peace, calmness, tranquility, serenity, and spirituality along with a "hippyness" around you. You'll find a lot of backpackers there, mostly foreigners who travel here to explore a deeper meaning to their lives and be engulfed in the deep calmness that the holy river Ganga provides to everyone.
We had in mind not to book a hotel but rather a hostel because places like this give you an amazing platform to bond, connect, engage, and indulge in sharing life-long experiences of people from various nationalities, states, religions, beliefs, and upbringing. And we did the same. We booked a 2-night stay at THE HOSTELLER (Laxman Jhula) for a 2 bed in a 6-mixed dorm room via BOOKING.COM. The booking experience and on-boarding experience were smooth and we found a decent lodging with an overall cost of 3300/-.
THE ROUTE
As mentioned, I had a stopover at Saharanpur city, we planned our trip accordingly from Delhi as per the below route:
DELHI-GHAZIABAD-MODINAGAR-MEERUT-SAHARANPUR-HARIDWAR-RISHIKESH (278 KM one-way).
THE JOURNEY
Jay (from Gurgaon) and I (from Delhi) decided to meet at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station around 7:30 AM on 18th Dec and kickstarted our journey from there. We had our first layover at 10 AM at Cheetal Grand Motel, Khatauli, Uttar Pradesh (126 km from Delhi) for breakfast. I tried it earlier during my last visit to Dehradun, and the motel offers tasty cuisines ranging from Indian, Chinese, Continental, etc. We had Tea, a bread omelet, and a masala dosa which cost us around Rs 374/-.
We were filled with breakfast before heading straight to Saharanpur City to carry out an official visit. We reached there at noon and left the place at 4:45 PM to head on further to our destination for the night, Rishikesh.
The SH (state highway) that links Saharanpur City to NH34 could be a little spooky and scary, especially during evening hours. Being winter, the sun sets around 5:45 PM and one has to take immense care while traveling on this route. The route was a bit secluded and we decided to speed up and cover the SH (Saharanpur Jhabrera Rd, and Manglaur Jhabrera Rd) to reach the NH as soon as possible in daylight to avoid any inconvenience. It's a 48 KM stretch which I'd suggest covering in the daytime especially if you are travelling from Saharanpur to Hardiwar.
Having said that, we were back on NH34 which led straight to Rishikesh.
The route on NH34 offers you the great comfort of driving with almost no diversion till Haridwar. Once you cross Hardiwar by-pass you might encounter a diversion of 2-3 Km due to a flyover construction.
Post crossing the Hardiwar outskirts, you could easily sense the change in landscape. Apart from the flat terrain that you must've been seeing for the past few hours, you'll find yourself engulfed amid the hilly terrain of Uttarakhand Mountain. That's the beauty of the UK. It offers you a wide range of landscapes on the same route.
Welcome to Rishikesh Janaab.
We arrived at our hostel at 7:45 PM. The hostel had already stated clearly on their site that the location doesn't offer a free parking space and one could easily avail a paid parking within a close vicinity. We found one roughly around 300m from our hostel. Believe me, in hilly terrain 300m feels like a km once you start walking. We parked our car. It was Rs 100/- for 12 hours, plus parking completely at your own risk. It's like an open dust land with no security guard. So park at your own risk (which I felt was completely safe as we parked there for 2 nights) and you don't even have an option apart from this.
Don't worry, the place is safe, even for female travelers, even if you are traveling solo during late hours. But again, it's my version and yours can differ.
THE HOSTEL
Once we settled down, we explored our hostel. It comprises a common area (you can play TT, carrom board, or sit and simply relax and involved in chit-chat on the sofas), a rooftop cafe (you can enjoy a panoramic view of the beautiful yoga city of the world), and water dispenser on every floor. The rooms were spacious (we opted for a 6 dorm mixed bed) where you'll get a blanket, pillow, power charging at the bedside, and a curtain to raise to prevent privacy. The room has a common bathroom and a 24x7 hot water supply.
Post doing a recee of our stay, we head straight to the lanes of Rishikesh. These lanes are jampacked with hotels, hostels, cafes, restaurants, and street vendors. One could easily shop for an artifact or anything you feel like buying. This place has everything to provide comfort to fellow travelers. You find the number of lanes like these that surround the 3 jhulas (Laxman, Ram, and Janki) that connect the 2 sides of Rishikesh.
When we explored the area from 8:30 to 10 pm we found fewer travellers out there. Maybe it could be the off-season or the dip in temperature (it was 5 degrees) or could be the anticipation of the Christmas-New Year crowd because mostly the "live jamming" sessions at hostels were supposed to be from 22nd onwards till 1st Jan. Because the streets weren't too much crowded, we could easily explore the magnificent panoramic view of the River Ganga and it's banks.
I could easily recall Jay and I were standing in the middle of Ram-Jhula. River Ganga was flowing beneath the jhula, the temp would have been around 5 degrees, and the air was cross-ventilating. We were freezing standing in the middle of the hula but the breathtaking view of the river Ganga and the waves created by the cross-ventilating air was surreal. It was a treat to the eyes, especially when Ram-Jhula wasn't lit. I sensed some amazing philosophical thoughts in my mind which I immediately recorded in voice notes.
We sat near the bank of River Ganga near Ram Jhula and saw a pre-wedding shoot of a couple. One could easily feel the serenity vibes while being in the yoga capital of the world. Rishikesh gives you a philanthropic deep vibe to feel for yourself. You are there with your rawest self.
Later, while exploring the streets, we enjoyed various cups of tea, bun maska, pakoda, paneer tikka, and later headed straight to our hostel lane. It was 10 PM. At the place where we parked our car, we observed a cool roadside cafe "COFFEE HOME" serving Irish coffee and woodfired oven pizza. We couldn't resist our tastebuds and ended up ordering them. It was magic in the air. Hot coffee in our hands along with a slice of pizza, unseen unknown people around us making the best use of bonfire on this bone-freezing winter evening. We ended up checking some old college photographs of ours and indulged in some travel conversations with our fellow travelers before heading straight to our hostel at 10:30 PM.
We had to have a sleep of at least 6 hours before heading on to our next destination early at 7 AM. The mind needs rest amid the excitement of this ongoing trip. We slept a deep sleep that night.
The alarm went off at 6 am and we woke up. (Here's some advice for you if you are staying in a hostel: try using the washroom as early as possible to spend as much time as required. Also, most fellow travelers start their day at 8 am so you can easily wake up at 6 am and get yourself ready by then without any hustle).
We were ready to hop onto our 2nd day at Rishikesh and amid the wintry morning of 9 degrees, the wind was speeding like anything making the weather extremely pleasant. To add a cherry on top, the AQI was just 33.
Wow! Being a Delhiite, I haven't seen AQI less than 350 in recent years.
The weather was pleasant, the car was all set and we were ready to move straight to a 72Km-long drive on the mountains of Uttarakhand, straight from Rishikesh (340m above sea level) to Devprayag (830m above sea level). We were expecting to reach in the next 3 hours as there were chances of dense fog ahead.
On our way we experienced a brightly lit sun shining amid the cloud sky and making its way out. It was golden yellow in shade and we could easily sense the positivity that the god was showering upon us while making us experience the beauty of this morning. We drive at a nominal speed of 50 kmph to sense the best offering around us from nature. We took a halt after 1.5 hours from Rishikesh at a roadside tapri (tea point). We had tea along with bun maska, grabbed a handful of biscuits and namkeen, and headed to our destination.
POV: The roadside tea spots could offer utterly beautiful landscapes sometimes. Check the one down here. It connects deeply with nature. This view alongside having our freshly prepared ginger tea and bun-maska added amazement to it.
From there, the next stop, ie our destination was 1.5 hrs away. Slowly and steadily we paced our journey while being surrounded by the breathtaking mountains of the UK, we were spellbound by the natural beauty.
We reached Devprayag at around 11:30 AM. Although they have dedicated paid parking which could be utilized we prefer to park roadside at the nearest pitpoint to access the route via stairs. The trek was tough. One has to step down from a height which is 830m above sea level. The step count would be close to 100.
The history behind Devprayag has its importance. Despite being a sangam of 2 of India's greatest rivers, it is also of great relevance that Lord Rama and King Dasharath performed penance here. When you visit the bank of the Devprayag Sangam, one can easily observe the Sangam of rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi. Since both the rivers emerge from different glaciers (Alaknanda from Badrinath while Bhagirathi from Gaumukh) the color of both is different. Alaknanda is muddy whereas Bhagirthi water is green in color. It's mesmerizing to see the merging of 2 different color streams come, mix, and form the origin of the holy river "Ganga".
We spent almost an hour exploring the beautiful landscape that the Devprayag has to offer to the visitors. I made sure that I did justice while capturing the best of the landscape out there. I simply stood at the bank and saw the amalgamation of the fastly flowing Bhagirathi with the Alaknanda which was calmly flowing at its own pace. The Sangam was beautiful and made me recall an amazing life philosophy that goes like this: Every chaotic/fast-paced person needs someone calm/mindful in their life to ensure that together they stay brave while dealing with whatever comes in their way of life.
I sat down there and simply observed the surreal beauty of nature which wouldn't have been possible if Jay wasn't willing to take me along with him to visit the place.
After closely observing the offering of nature, we moved ahead to our next destination which was 2 hours away from there. Our next stop is Beatles Aashram. Since we were traveling to Beatles Aashram from Devprayag, we had to get ourselves back onto the route to Rishikesh. Beatles is located on the other side of the Laxman Jhula. The route to the Beatles from Devprayag is a bit narrow and could be challenging, especially the last 3 Km. It's a narrow one-way lane and you have to stop several times while giving way to the other vehicle coming in the opposite direction to you. Although it's challenging, the panoramic view makes it extremely a delight to drive. But be careful.
We reached the Beatles Ashram by 2:30 PM and took us close to 2 hours to reach there from Devprayag. Parking is available at the entrance and is FOC at your own risk. There's an entry fee of Rs 200/- per person (Indian) and Rs 1200/- (foreign) and is also available at discounted rates for Students.
Note: The entry to Beatles closes at 3:45 PM and all the visitors have to leave the premises by 4:30 PM. There's an entry and exit count of members as per your valid ticket. Make sure you keep the ticket safe before you exit the premises. Also, you can carry cameras and camcorders but avoid drones. Entry to the drone is strictly prohibited.
Honestly, I was not much into the Beatles till the time I visited here. I heard of them, and to me, they were a band of 4 Americans who attained a deeper spiritual connection while being at the Ashram. While being in Rishikesh, visiting this place was on my list. Earlier this year I read a travel novel titled, "On the Open Road" by Stuti Changle, and she mentioned the place where three of the characters of her story attained answers to their life question while staying and meditating at the place. Deeply inspired by the book, I was expecting answers to my questions as well.
Post-checking in the Ashram premises, one has to trek a bit to reach the main entrance. You could easily spot the dome-shaped meditation caves and the place right from its entrance sparks a curiosity in the visitor to go out and explore.
When you enter the main gate, there's a map showing which section one must visit/cover while being on the premises. We started our journey from the left hand while the 84 meditation caves (chaurasi kutiya were on the right).
It's the belief that after the death of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who had leased the place from the government of Uttar Pradesh (earlier UK was a part of UP), the govt overtook the place and amalgamated it into the Rajaji National Reserve. Later in 2015 after a lot of political interference, the government decided to open it for the public as a heritage site doing less/no renovation work. As a result, the place is spooky, vandalized, full of graffiti, and could create a sense of doubt at various places.
To our left, we start exploring the place in the following order:
- Post Office
- Kitchen
- Printing Press
- Meditation/Assembly Hall
- Anand and Siddhi Bhawan (Residential Complex)
- 84 Meditation Caves
- Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Resident
- Museum
- Beatles Bungalow (I guess we missed capturing this but must've seen it).
Although many stories are surfacing on the internet about The Beatles and their stint at the Ashram, the sides surely differ when heard from the Indian and British perspectives.
POV: I visited the place to seek solace, inspiration, guidance, and actualization of how meditation and spirituality would've been like during the times of The Beatles (1968s). All I ended up was discovering amazing Grafittis (some of them were spooky), vandalized walls and buildings with notions from visitors such as "I was there" and some life-enhancing quotes as well. The site seemed a bit spooky to me and surely requires a bit of maintenance. It's good to preserve heritage sites but they also deserve a bit of renovation and maintenance, especially if you are charging Rs 200/- per visitor.
Check out these still which I gathered from there. For more, check out my Instagram account.
Post gathering a set of mixed emotions from The Beatles Ashram, we headed straight to seek divine guidance from the Holy Ganga River at the utterly famous Triveni Ghat to attend Ganga Aarti which is hardly at a distance of 15 minutes from there.
If you are in Rishikesh (or any other Holy city where the Ganga flows), attending Ganga Aarti is something that I'd surely advise.
The Aarti begins at 6 pm (in the winter). Make sure you secure a place as early as possible to avoid last minute rush and could easily enjoy a pleasant view of the entire aarti. Either you could be a visitor (which is FOC) or you could pay a sum of Rs 350/- to perform the Aarti. (you won't be performing yourself but your donation and name count) where you could get a front-row visibility as well.
Before the aarti begins, they perform some bhajans and one can easily see several devotees chanting, humming, and dancing to the beats as flawlessly as possible.
The aarti begins with a 2 mins shanknaad. You could easily sense, observe, and dwell in the positivity that the sacred place has to offer to everyone out there.
Do not miss to spend some at the ghat once the aarti concludes to seek blessing from the Holy River Ganga. The place and the vibes have their charm that can only be experienced once you visit there.
Post attending the aarti visiting The Beatles Cafe/60s Cafe was on my mind. I've already bookmarked it while I was shortlisting the places to eat and try at least once you are in Rishikesh. And as a matter of chance, the cafe was hardly 500m away from our hostel.
The cafe is situated on the roadside and one could easily spot the cafe as they have a standee of the cafe along with the poster of all the 4 Beatles on it. The cafe offers some decent cool vibes once you enter the premises. It has a couple of open lawns where one could easily spot a sitting. It also has a place to host a group of friends in an open hut. Alongside, you can find a spot in the cafe that ensembles a Beatles-inspired theme with old-school and nostalgic elements adding a cherry on the top to it.
The food was pleasant but I personally enjoyed reading the menu time and again as they've curated it differently. It isn't complicated. It isn't just about their offerings rather you'll find an anecdote/story on every page to read and get totally into the vibes of the Beatles. We ordered pasta, 2 coffees, and a world-famous dessert (brownie with ice cream) and it cost us Rs 940/-.
Once through with it, we went near to our hostel to call it a day. But before we did that, Jay had a craving for wood-fired oven pizza of "Coffee Home". Being our last night at the Rishikesh, we thought to give it a try again. We went there and ordered 2 cups of Irish coffee along with a pizza. The time just went by while having our meal, and getting in conversations with other fellow travellers. The eatery cost us Rs 380/-.
We reached the hostel at 10 PM. We got straight to our rooms, rested a bit, and went downstairs to try our hand at Table Tennis. The last time I played TT was way back in 2011 during school time. All thanks to the hostel for letting me relieve a decade-old nostalgic memory of mine. We played like complete novices for 45 minutes before heading to our beds and calling it a day.
What a day it was. Waking up at 6 am, heading straight to 800m above sea level amid fog and winter, engulfing in the serenity of Devprayag, sensing the spookiness and mixed emotions at The Beatles Ashram, offering our gratitude and seeking blessing from Holy River Ganga at The Triveni Ghat, getting into nostalgic Beatles mania at The 60s cafe, indulging in the conversation with unseen unknown travelers at the Coffee Home Cafe, and playing nostalgic session of TT, the day has to offer the best of the trip. It was magical.
THE DEPARTURE
We woke up at 6:30 PM and got ourselves ready to check out by 8 PM. The checkout was smooth. We left Rishikesh for Delhi surmounting all the memories, nostalgia, learnings, and lots of inspiration to dream, plan, execute, and feel the next trip.
TOTAL COST OF THE TRIP:
Food: 4000/- (approx Rs 1000/- per pax per day)
Lodging: Rs 3300/- (2 pax)
Fuel: Rs 3700/- (Diesel)
Toll Tax: 837/-
Ticket (Beatles Ashram): Rs 400/- (2 pax)
TOTAL: 13000/-
I tried to encapsulate the entire trip to the best extent possible. If you found this travel blog to be of any help, feel free to like, share, and comment on the blog.
DM me your questions if you have any.
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Cheers! Stay Purpose.
This is Mayank Sehra. Signing off.
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