Rishikesh – Don’t Rush, Stay calm and soak in the city !

If you belong to North India or if you ever stayed in Delhi or above it, you definitely would have heard about Rishikesh, Uttrakhand. It is the long weekend destination of every other group. During my one year of stay in NCR, I have heard almost every group of friends, colleagues and even my boss planning a trip to Rishikesh for upcoming weekends. Though I had been to Rishikesh earlier as well but it was a very short, half a day stay. At that point, I just visited few places in the evening and yes it seemed nice but not much exciting. I wondered what people find so special to visit Rishikesh again and again. The answer to all of these queries came to me when I visited Rishikesh this year in May.

Night at Rishikesh

Why should you definitely visit Rishikesh?
Resting at foothills of Himalayas and drenched with holy water of River Ganga aka the Ganges (The Most sacred river in Hindu Mythology) Rishikesh is one of the popular tourist destinations in India. Attracting youngster with opportunities like Camping, Rafting, Bungee Jumping and other adventure sports. It has been equally interesting to foreigners from all across the globe offering spirituality, yoga and meditation classes.

Photo by spiffertrails

The city has a number of cafes offering delicious food and those situated at river bank provides great view too. We tried Freedom Café near Laxman Jhulla and they had awesome Ice cream Pancake. For people who love adventure, Rafting at Rishikesh is a pure thrill, even the longest stretch on raft seems to be too short. Your heart will be thumping once you get on a raft but it never says to stop doing it. There are too many shops offering rafting packages and deeper your explore in the markets less costly it will be.

Photo by adventurenation.com

The best way to enjoy your visit will be to have a seat at a café facing waters. It’s good all the time but in the evening when you look uphill sitting at the river bank, having a view of mountains with lights spread all over it and sound of city hustle, it is more than what you call “Awesome !” Take a stop at Yoga and meditation classes and it for sure will make you relaxed. Sit on the bank of river dipping your feet in the water and you can understand how life in nature is a luxury itself.

Best time to Visit, Finding a Stay and Budget
Rishikesh can be visited anytime in the year. As it is not situated at much height and gets hot in summer it won’t be a good idea to visit for Just sightseeing in summers. However, the river remains cool with chilling water and offers a perfect rafting experience in summers. For sightseeing purpose its good to visit between September – April.
Finding a place to Stay should never be a problem as there are a number of Hotels and Guest Houses. However looking for a place with a good value for money and decent facilities might get tough during tourist season. Although there are a number of websites that offers prior booking and covers most of the hotels but for solo travels and people who love to be in a more natural environment, I would recommend using Airbnb. We booked Neelkanth Apartments through Airbnb for our stay and it was the best stay I have ever had so far. For Hotels, I feel Goibibo offers the best deals on Hotels.

Laxman Jhulla- Rishikesh

Yoga

If you manage money wisely and don’t go for much luxuries and expensive hotels, a trip to Rishikesh will hardly cost you around 3000 bucks. With Decent hotels at around INR 600, Visiting places at walking distance and elegantly priced Cafes, a trip to Rishikesh with moderate facilities is easy in the pocket and doesn’t dig a hole.

So, if you want to beat the summer with a thrilling rafting experience or want to just chill out in a cool café with awesome music or as it happened with me and the travel bug in you is biting you continuously and making you restless. Then pack your bags and check out Rishikesh. I am Sure you will find something worth coming again for.
Keep feeding your soul, Keep Travelling!