Rishikesh
Old, layered, dust-and-gold. Royal patronage stacked on Sufi shrines stacked on Mughal mortar.
Rishikesh is where the Ganges leaves the Himalayas and the yoga capital pretends it's still a pilgrimage town. The two bridges — Lakshman Jhula and Ram Jhula — string the ashrams together across the river. Stay on the east bank if you want quiet (Tapovan / Swarg Ashram), the west if you want chai stalls and souvenir markets. The Beatles Ashram (officially Chaurasi Kutia) is now a graffiti-covered ruin you can wander for 150 INR. The evening Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Niketan is a smaller, sweeter version of Varanasi's. Skip the white-water rafting in May (low water) and the whole town in monsoon (landslides). October to April is the window.
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Old, layered, dust-and-gold. Royal patronage stacked on Sufi shrines stacked on Mughal mortar.