Rishikesh – Uttarakhand

Kasturi and I had planned to do a Himalayan trek with Kavya during our India trip this year. But given the COVID-19 testing requirements for Kavya, we cancelled the plan, and I planned to do the Kuari Pass trek in Uttarakhand. I would fly to Dehradun, spend a day in Rishikesh and then head to Joshimath, where I would stay for 4-5 days and then head back. 

Initially, I planned to fly out on Nov 13, but I was down with flu and had to postpone by a week. Just two days before my flight to Rishikesh, Kundan called and asked about my plan. He would be in Chattisgarh on an official visit and could join me for three days once he wrapped up his official work. 

Since 2017, Kundan and I have always made a trip to the Himalayas every time I visit India. So even though he couldn’t join me on the trek, I was glad we could spend some time together. So now, I would spend three days in Rishikesh and then head to Joshimath. 

India Domestic Air Travel

I booked my flights with Indigo for Pune-Delhi-Dehradun and the return journey. Indigo does an excellent job of summarizing the latest COVID-19 guidelines based on departure and arrival State.

As per the guidelines, I downloaded the Arogya Setu App and also filled out the COVID registration form online for Uttarakhand.

I had a snapshot of my BC Vaccination Card and Canadian Federal Vaccination Proof, so no RT-PCR test was required.

On my Pune-Delhi-Dehradun journey, I think the only place anyone checked my vaccination status was while exiting the airport. Nobody checked my Uttarakhand-specific registration.

Wanderlove is Ganga Vardan

We took a cab from the airport, and it was 7:30 pm by the time we reached Rishikesh. I had booked a room for three nights at Wanderlove Hostel and Cafe in Tapovan, Rishikesh. Not to be confused with another Tapovan in Uttarakhand that is about 9 hours drive from Rishikesh. 

The cab dropped us off in Tapovan, and we walked to what we thought was the hostel’s location. But we didn’t see any signs for the hostel. Kundan walked into a lodge to inquire. To our surprise, the front desk guy said we were actually at Wanderlove hostel.

The front desk had our reservation from Booking.com, so there was nothing to debate. The guy tried to put us in a room without a balcony even though I had booked with one. After some negotiations, we finally got our room. 

The room was okay, but there were no towels, toilet paper and definitely no mountain views as promised in the listing. The next day we got one towel, and it had three holes in it. I contacted Booking.com, but it didn’t help. So for the next two days, we would just come to this hotel to crash at night and spend our days exploring Rishikesh and nearby places.

On my way back from the Kuari Pass trek, I stayed at Live Free Hostel, and it was much better. I also heard good things about Zostel, another popular hostel with backpackers.

Laxman Jhula

The next day, Kundan and I walked to Laxman Jhula (bridge) – probably the most popular place in Rishikesh. It was a short walk from our hotel, and we first stopped by the riverbank of the Ganga.

One guy was meditating. A family paid their respects and filled small cans with the “holy water” of Ganga. Another group was just wrapping up its river rafting trip. And, of course, a few tourists were busy taking selfies with the mighty Ganga and Laxman Jhula as the backdrop. It seemed like Rishikesh had something to offer to everyone. 

Soon a local walked down to the riverbank and emptied a bag of flowers and other items (probably from his prayer ritual from the previous day) into the river. He saw me watching and said, “Case kar do” (File a case against me). I didn’t say anything, and we quietly made our way to Laxman Jhula. 

The bridge was too crowded, so instead, we continued our way to Tapovan Ghat (riverbank). It was much quieter and cleaner than the riverbank we had been before. 

Kundan has been to Varanasi, another holy city downstream by the river Ganga. He said that the water in Rishikesh is much cleaner than what he saw in Varanasi. Ganga at Rishikesh, where it just enters the plains, is supposed to be the least polluted. Still, scientific studies have established that the water is highly contaminated and unsuitable for drinking.

Ganga Aarti

Later in the evening, we made our way to Triveni Ghat (riverbank) in Rishikesh for Ganga Aarti – a prayer offered to the river/goddess Ganga. The aarti at Triveni Ghat is also referred to as Maha Aarti. The traffic was pretty bad, but we got there just after sunset, around 5:30 pm. 

It was quite a diverse group of people at the riverbank. Some people would set float a leaf bowl containing an oil lamp/camphor, incense stick, flowers and some other items as an offering to the Ganga. People were polluting the very river they revered. 

The aarti started around 6 pm. About 16 priests stood on the platforms, carrying a huge lamp and waved it around to the tune of bhajans sung by a group in the back. It was quite a performance and lasted for about 10 minutes. 

Shalom, Beatles and Chotiwala

Tapovan in Rishikesh has some excellent restaurants and cafes. Some of the ones we tried were along a narrow lane heading down to Laxman Jhula. This lane is lined with shops on both sides and the vendors call you in, to check out popular tourist items like rudraksha, gems, etc. One of the vendors was quite creative in his pitch and he said to Kundan, “Aapko kahi dekha hai” (I have seen you somewhere) and started the conversation.

We got lucky one evening when we walked into Shalom Cafe, and it was a live music night. Sagar Bharadwaj was just warming up with his guitar. So we found ourselves a good spot and ordered some food. 

Sagar is an exceptional musician/performer and entertained the crowd for the next two hours with popular songs from Bollywood. It was a fun night. 

Just a block down from Shalom is Beatles Cafe. 

The location is excellent and offers a beautiful view of the Ganga. You can see the fully lit Ram Jhula from the cafe in the evening. The food was great, and we came back again for dinner on our last night in Rishikesh.

One of the afternoons, we went to the other side of the river to visit Beatle’s Ashram (Chaurasi Kutiya) but considering the fee (INR 150 for Indians, INR 600 for Foreigners), we thought it was not worth it. On the bright side, we got to taste some local fruits like Ramfal and Chakotra (Pomelo Fruit) on this side of the river. Chakotra was our favourite and we had multiple servings.

Just as we were making our way back to Tapovan, we stumbled upon Chotiwala Restaurant. Actually, there were two of them right next to each other. One of Kundan’s friends had recommended this place. 

In front of each restaurant, a guy sat in a chair with elaborate makeup and a pointed Choti (braid). We chose the restaurant to our left, and the food was okay. However, the key attraction for tourists like us was the Chotiwala (a guy with a braid) in the front.

In Rishikesh, we rented a bike and made some day trips and later in December, I will do a follow-up post about these trips.

Resources:

India Domestic Air Travel: State Guidelines by Indigo

Uttarakhand: COVID Registration Form

Disclosure: The links I have shared in the post and under the Resources section are not Affiliate Links.

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