Trip to Rishikesh

Last week end my inlaws an I traveled from Delhi to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is where the river Ganga (Ganges) emerges from the mountains and enters the plains. Rishikesh and downstream Haridwar have been places of pilgrimage for thousands of years. There are a lot of Ashrams where the Sadhus live and meditate. In the past few decades Rishikesh has become the the centre of pilgrimage for a lot of foreigners, who want to experience the Hindu way of life and "Nirvana". What was once a pristine retreat for meditation and solitude, is now a bustling town with all the modern facilities and Hotels.

In this post I will break up the images in to various groups. The first group deals with the highway from Delhi and its users.

Here is what travels apart from regular traffic




Road Hogs






Overladen vehicles

As long as I can have a toe hold it will do

An election rally en route delayed us for at least one hour

Great shots.

Many older ashrams are situated on the eastern bank of the river Ganga. The Badrinath highway, lifeline of the hills is on the western side of the river. Hence this side was quiet as it was a long detour from the main highway. A road across the Ganga Barrage through the Rajaji National Park has come up in the last forty years, easing access for goods and heavy vehicles. Previously all the stuff was carried manually across the suspension bridge - Laxman Jhula.


The barrage


Check post and toll booth for entry




Rajaji National park through which the road passes


The road.


This is where we get off the highway to Swarg Ashram complex

I took around 500 pictures during three days of the trip, and have been at it since early morning. I will end today with a few shots of the sun setting over the Ganga river.


Rising sun on our way from Delhi

From the eastern Bank of Ganga at Swargashram

Thank you. More to come.

Cool thread

Fascinating stuff. Love it!

Continuing - Cows on the streets















The cows small hill breed and quite tame. They will mostly ignore you and go about their business, but if you try to feed them, then they will swarm all around you, nudge and shove and make life difficult.

Continuing - Monkeys.

The hills are full of monkeys, and they can be quite aggressive. I have seen them snatching food, mobiles and other "goodies' from unwary ttravellers. Even the vendors are not immune to their antics.


In the tree


On the street enjoying a banana just pinched from the vendor

A pregnant female, who begged for goodies - out side our room window

Where there are people, there are bound to be dogs. A few shots of the street dogs, enjoying themselves

The streets










Most of the streets are quite narrow, and only scooters and motorcycles can traverse them.

Vendors and the market scenes




Making "Ladoos" - sweets


Dried fruit


Sweets displayed in cabinet


Milk man delivering packaged milk products


Trinckets


Bangles


Bead necklaces


Patties

Temples and bathing Ghats


Geeta Bhawan, one of the Ashrams, where people stay, meditate and pray.


Bathing area in front of Geeta Bhawan


Another Ashram


Temple


A paragraph from Geeta


Pricelist of sweets in one shop


Ganesh


Drinking water dispenser. These are provided every where by the Ashram authorities.

Interesting Signs


NO SMOKING !

Sadhus


Meditating at the Ghat


Relaxing


Very enlightened person. Here he is blessing me.


Sadhus at the Ghat


Preparing for an immersion in Ganga

The narrative would not be complete without the Hotel where we spent three days.




The location.


Rear portion

The reception


One of the rooms


Toilet


View from the window


Solar heaters. These have become the norm for most of the hotels and residencies in the hills, as the electricity is pretty iffy.


Hotel Manager


Receptionist


Room Cleaner


Waiter and odd job man

In the next installment images of Haridwar, one of the main religious centers, about 40 kilometers down stream of Rishikesh.

Nice set of pictures. It looks like you really gave a great insight of your country. Thanks for sharing.