Haridwar, Uttarakhand

On 14th November 21 at 9 AM we started from hotel Gowardhan Paradise, Mathura to Haridwar. Distance is 360 kms. Had lunch on the way and reached Haridwar at 5.30 PM. Searched for hotel and checked in hotel Ganga Ajure where we stayed two and half years ago when we came first time to Uttarakhand. After resting an hour we came down and ate some chats on nearby stalls like Panipuri, Burger, Pavbhaji, Mix bhel etc.

Haridwar is a paradise for nature-lovers, Haridwar presents kaleidoscope of Indian culture and civilization. Haridwar also termed as ‘Gateway to Gods’ and entry point to Devbhoomi. On 15th November 21 we had tea, biscuits at room and at 12.15 had riceplate at nearby hotel and decided a auto at Rs. 500/- to take us at 4-5 main temples in Haridwar. Autowala first took us to Pawandham.

Pawandham - This sacred place is located 3 kms away from Har ki Pauri. This temple has fantastic glass and mirrorwork. The elaborately decorated idols in the temple are worth visiting. Pawan Dham is a social non profitable organisation - a branch of Geeta Bhawan Trust Society (Redg.) Moga Punjab. Pawan Dham Temple is one among the most visited pilgrimage shrines in Haridwar. Devotees who come to Haridwar must visit to holy Pawan Dham Temple. The temple is one of the oldest doms in the state of Uttarakhand. The ornamental Idols are the biggest attraction within the shrine. Swami Vedantanand ji Maharaj is the founder of the temple. The wonderful work of glasses and artistically designed walls are the main reasons of its popularity. Great work of art describes the rich culture and heritage of the ancient India. It is a visual delight. Since photography is allowed in the temple, you can take pictures and the intricate ornamental work on the idols as souvenirs. Then autowala took us to Shivanand Dham Mandir. Entry ticket is Rs 5/- and for camera Rs.10/- At the entry point there is a great view of Ganga Avtaran. And inside many number of beautiful caves (Gufas), which depicts Radha Krishna, Shiv Parvati, Laxmi Narayan idols. And there are zankiya'a of Draupadi Chirharan, Eklavya Gurudakshina, Mata Anusuya place - Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh, Akashganga, Baba Amarnath, Mata Parvati pouring water on Shivling and Ganeshji, Chardham darshan - Badrinarayan, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamnotri, Mata Vaishno Devi Cave, Baba Bhairavnath, Shanidev, Rashichakra etc. Good temple to visit. There are few shops of ornaments specially which is necessary for God, for pooja etc. Beside there is Acharya Bela India Temple, which is also seems to be good but autowala is in hurry so we skipped this and went to Vaishnav Devi Temple. The Vaishno Devi Temple is only 5km from the city railway station. The temple enshrines three hindu deities namely goddess Laxmi, Kali and Saraswati. The devotees have to climb the floors and crawl through a narrow man made tunnel for the darshan of Mata Vaishno Devi. One can also have darshan of the replica of 12 Jyotirlinga's of Lord Shiva in the temple. It seems to be a replica of Ma Vaishnav Devi Temple, Jammu. Nice environment and well maintained temple. Who visits Haridwar, must not miss the place. Then we visited Bharat Mata Mandir... It is a seven storeyed beautiful temple. Founded by the Swami Satyamitranand Giri, Bharat Mata Temple is a unique temple sacred to Mother India and her spiritual and culture glory. Indira Gandhi inaugurated the temple on 15 May 1983. Located on the bank of Ganga, the temple welcomes people of every religion and community. Emblem of the temple, a woman dressed in a saffron-colored sari and holding the flag in one of her hands (Big statue of Bharat Mata) on ground floor and on every floor you can see Hindu Goddess, Nari Shakti, Saints, freedom fighters etc. You can opt lift service for just Rs 2/- which drops you directly on 6th floor, you can climb 7th and then come down gradually after seeing floors one by one. From last floor one can see a beautiful view of Ganga river. Then we went to Shanti Kunj for our stay enquiry but found that it does not suits us so cancelled the thought. And came back to Ganga Azure. After some time again by auto went to Har ki Pauri for Ma Ganga Aarti. Huge crowd was there. Attended Ganga Aarti and back to hotel.

On 16th November 21 we checked out hotel Ganga Azure, Haridwar at noon 12 and had some food (uttappa, dosa, chole Bhature etc) at beside hotel and started for Rishikesh, on the way we visited Swami Vivekananda Park which is considered one of the most beautiful and serene parks in Haridwar. The triangular shaped park, which lies on the banks of river Ganges, is enveloped in lush greenery and has a statue of the great Swami Vivekananda whose teachings have had a lasting impact on Indian culture, also the park is famous for a big statue of Lord Shiva, which is visible even from a distance while going from road. We spent half an hour at the park and then started to Rishikesh.