Rishikesh- Beyond Yoga and Meditation

Rishikesh is famously known as the Land of Yoga and is popular for its spiritual significance. However, Rishikesh is much more beyond its traditional image of the Yoga City.
My first day in Rishikesh was as adventurous as it can be. I was traveling solo and reached my stay at Hosteller  Mini in Rishikesh at around 11 a.m. As there was still time for my check-in at the hostel, I decided to go for river-rafting- the one thing that's in every adventure freak's bucket list when visiting Rishikesh.

I booked a 16-km rafting trip and it was the most fulfilling experience of my life. At one point, I even fell down in the river from my boat and it was hell scary but even after six months of that trip, this was my best memory from that trip. It makes me more eager to try new adventures every time I get a chance to live my life to the fullest.

After coming back from rafting, I checked in to my dorm room, took a shower and got ready. Although it started raining afterwards and instead of going out, I decided to chill and play card games with other hostellers.

Later, we all went for dinner at one of the moat famous cafes in Rishikesh - The Beatles Cafe.

The next day started with the realisation of all the pain and bruises I got from my previous day's adventure. Although my whole body was paining, my heart was excited to try on new adventures. Thus, I get along with my new group of friends amd fellow solo travellers to do a short hike to a secret waterfall and then enjoyed relaxing and playing in the water pool.

Later in the evening we went for lunch at Nirvana, which serves ones of the best dessert menu in Rishikesh with its cheesecake a must try. After pet pooja, we went for the real pooja at the Triveni Ghat, which has one of the best and mesmerizing aarti at the Ghat of Ganges. Attending the aarti was one of the spiritual event that I did in Rishikesh and it was quite peaceful.

On the third day, I was adamant to go for both a historical and a spiritual tour of the Beatles ashram where the rock band Beatles stayed for mindfulness. The Beatles ashram, now a part of the Rajaji National Park, was another masterpiece of Rishikesh, which connects an indivdiual with his inner peace. The organically constructed huts with river rocks in the ashram provide a peaceful environment for all the attendees to have an experience of how the gurus and their followers meditated in the past.

Later in the evening, we rented an activa and went for a long drive to the sunset point. The sunset point was somewhere on a hill and riding an activa on the hilly roads of Rishikesh, especially at the night when we were coming down after witnessing the best sunset in a long time, was also another risky yet interesting adventure for me.

The next day I departed for my home, but the three days I spent in Rishikesh meeting new people from different parts of the country and developing a special bond with each one of them was something I'll never forget and it will stay with me forever. And yes, I stayed in Rishikesh for three and a half days but I did not attend any yoga workshop which was a part of the plan because I already got the peace I was looking for by just being in this city.