I recently embarked on a tour of Asia and on my list of places to visit was Rishikesh in India. Rishikesh is a small town located where the Ganges comes down from the Himalayas in the northern state of Uttarakhand. It’s famously known as the yoga capital of the world and was bought to the world’s attention when the Beetles made a visit to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Ashram.
There are some amazing places to visit and things to do when you are there. I went to the Triveni Ghat which, is a bathing ghat. I arrived in the morning to find thousands of people bathing there and enjoying the Maha Aarti being performed. I had such a good time enjoying the cool breeze from the river as I relaxed on the banks.
My next stop was the Swarg Ashram which is a beautiful place at the foot of the Himalayas between Rishikesh and Laxmanjhula. This area is filled with ashrams and temples and well known for its healthy living environment. It’s a traditional place for yogi’s and appears in the holy scripture of Puranas. I then moved on to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Ashram otherwise known as the Beetles Ashram. The Beetles spent time there meditating and writing songs for their White Album.
With the Ganges being one of main features of the region it felt only right to embark on some river rafting. The rapids ranged from nothing much to talk about to amazingly exciting. I camped overnight on the rivers bank and then trekked through the hills in the morning. This is a must do and one of the best experiences of my life.
Non vegetarian food has been banned in this part of India. So don’t expect to be eating any meat when you visit here. The vegetarian Indian food is delicious and I ate it daily. There are cafes catering for foreigners who want foreign food but again it’s all vegetarian. For yogis like myself I really enjoyed the healthy food restaurants specializing in Ayurvedic cuisine.
There are so many yoga schools in the area that I visited. I won’t go into details as it will take too long. My advice is go and explore and you will find the yoga experience you are looking for. When not attended one of the yoga schools I would practice and meditate as I was on my adventures. The environment, the history, the tradition and the energy made for one of the best experiences I have had and definitely a place I will be back to visit again in the future.
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