Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
After breakfast we will drive to Rishikesh enroute visit Haridwar.
The sacred city of Haridwar offers a colorful and fascinating blend of culture. It is one of the most visited tourist attractions in India. Decked with devotees, its air is dipped in a mystical aura. Being one of the seven holiest cities in India, Its propitious location near the holy River Ganga has gained more popularity. Sweet smell of incense sticks and chanting of priests, Sadhus all around the pious Ganga Ghats and the blissful Ganga Aarti every morning and evening makes for a sight so ethereal and fascinating.
Later explore Haridwar & visit Mansa Devi first.
Presiding over the Bilwa Parvat is the temple of Mansa Devi. It is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Haridwar and can be reached by a cable car.
The temple is dedicated to Goddess Mansa (the goddess who fulfils wishes) and has two prime idols of the Goddess in the main temple; one with three mouths and five arms, while the other one has eight arms.
Another reason for the temple being famous is the spectacular view from the cable car. Swami Satyamitranand Giri laid the foundation of Bharat Mata Temple, which is situated on the bank of Ganga that flows through Haridwar. It is built in the honor of Bharat Mata which represents the entire India. It is one of the best tourist places to visit in Haridwar. It is one massive and unique temple in Haridwar and is dedicated to Mother India and has deities of historical legends.
The temple complex is an 8-storey structure with each floor dedicated to different Gods and mythological heroes. While on the first floor there is a statue of Bharat
Mata, on the second floor there is a temple (Shur Mandir) that is dedicated to the renowned heroes of India.
The third floor is known as the Matri Mandir and is dedicated to the achievements of women such as Radha, Mira, Savitri, Draupadi, Ahilya, Anusuya, Maitri and Gargi. The fourth floor is devoted to saints from various religions, including Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism and this floor is called Sant Mandir.
On the sixth floor, an assembly hall with walls depicting the symbolic coexistence of all religions practiced in India and paintings portraying the history and beauty of various provinces are kept. The various forms of the Goddess Shakti can also be seen on the sixth floor. The seventh floor is dedicated to all the incarnations of Lord Vishnu and the eighth floor is devoted to Lord Shiva.
Evening visit Hari Ki Pauri - Har Ki Pauri is a ghat, which was built by King Vikramaditya. It is believed that Vikramaditya ordered for this ghat to be constructed in the memory of his brother Bharthari. The major attraction of Har Ki Pauri is the evening Aarti that is organized each evening with great zeal. It is, in fact, one of those events in Haridwar that one should not miss out on. After the Aarti, devotees float Diyas in the River Ganga, which looks stunning in the evening light.
Later drive to Rishikesh, on arrival check in at hotel.
Rishikesh comes with many tags. It’s the “Yoga Capital of the World,” “the spiritual hub of India,” and “the place of sagas.” The place is also known as “Hrishikesh” and the story behind the name is: God appeared in the form of “Hrishikesh” when Rishi or Muni Raibhya (a character from the epic Mahabharata) undertook a rigorous penance. In Sanskrit, the meaning of the word ‘Hrishikesh’ is ‘Lord of the senses’ and it truly implies what it says. The revered tourist attraction of India, a place of utmost religious importance, the ambiance, culture, activities, markets and many more aspects of Rishikesh surely incite all five senses of a tourist.
Located in the Tehri Garhwal Region of Uttarakhand and bordered by the Shivalik Range (the lower Himalayan range) Rishikesh is called “the gateway of Garhwal Himalayas.” It is also the starting point of Hindu Chota Char Dham Yatra, a famous pilgrimage to the four abodes of different Gods: Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri.