Not as crowded as Haridwar, Rishikesh is a peaceful town and is also one of the holiest towns of India. There is a mystical air about the place. A famous centre for yoga (mystical and spiritual training) and meditation, the town is dotted with numerous ashrams which offer yoga and meditation courses.

Interesting Places of Rishikesh.

Bharata Temple
Situated in the centre of the town, the Bharata Temple is a very ancient temple. It is half a km from Triveni Ghat, a famous ghat of the town. Although the temple is named after Bharata, brother of Rama (hero of the Ramayana), the presiding deity of the temple is Narayana (another name of Vishnu). According to an inscription found in the temple, Shankaracharya, the great theologian of the 8th century India, had the temple renovated.

Lakshman Jhula
3km from the centre of the city, Lakshman Jhula is a suspension bridge across the Ganga. The bridge is so named because Lakshman, Rama’s younger brother, is supposed to have performed penance at this place.
It was suspended by jute ropes till 1889. In 1939, iron cables had replaced the jute ropes. Just south of the bridge is the sandy beach of the Ganga where devotees take a holy dip in its waters.

Lakshman Temple
Near the bridge is the Lakshman Temple within which is Risha Kund. According to a tradition, Rama and Lakshman bathed at this well to expiate their sin of killing Ravana (villain of Ramayana), who was a brahmin. In ancient Hinduism, killing a brahmin (a member of the priestly class) was considered one of the worst crimes. The ancient lawbooks assert that while the killing of the other three classes could be expiated by paying fines, it could not be done so in the case of the killing of a brahmin. In the vicinity of the Lakshman Jhula exists a seven-storeyed temple. Scenes depicting the spiritual and otherworldly life are engraved on the walls of this temple.

Ram Jhula
There is also an another suspension bridge across the Ganga which is known as Ram or Sivananda Jhula.

Famous Ashrams
Swargashram and Sivananda ashrams are the noted centres for yoga and meditation. The ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the 13-storeyed Kailashanand Mission Ashram are also very famous.

Muni-ki-Reti
The area around the Chandrabhaga River, has a cluster of temples.

Triveni Ghat
People assemble in numbers at Triveni Ghat to bathe in the Ganga. They also offer milk to the river and feed the fish in its waters.

How to reach Rishikesh

Jolly Grant Airport at Dehradun is the nearest to Rishikesh. This small airport is situated at a distance of about 24 km from the adventure destination of Rishikesh.

The railway station in Rishikesh connects the adventure destination with the major towns and cities of India. Some of the places could only be accessed from Haridwar.

Rishikesh is mostly accessible by road from almost all the cities and towns in and around it. The State Transport Corporation has a number of buses plying to Rishikesh connecting almost all the major cities and towns of the state and the neighboring states. Rishikesh is also connected to some important cities nearby by private tourist buses, which concentrate only on the tourism aspect. These buses run at scheduled timings covering all the major tourist destinations of Rishikesh and the nearby areas.

For transportation in and around Rishikesh there is local tempos, cycle rickshaws, ferry boats and taxis. They are easily available in Rishikesh and also in the nearby areas of importance. You may even opt for the buses that ply on the fixed routes.