Best Famous Temple to Visit in Rishikesh

Rishikesh is a tehsil and municipal council in the Indian state of Uttarakhand's Dehradun district. It is located in northern India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is also known as the "Gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas" and the "World Yoga Capital." Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, and Haridwar are the three districts that surround it. It is around 25 kilometres north of Haridwar and 43 kilometres south of the state seat of Dehradun district. According to the 2011 Indian census, Rishikesh has the seventh largest population in the state of Uttarakhand and the largest city council.

It is also a place of pilgrimage, which is considered one of the holy places of the Hindus. In September 2015, state tourism minister Mahesh Sharma declared Rishikesh and Haridwar as India's first "two national heritage cities". Rishikesh is a vegetarian city. There are many religious places, some places to visit and adventure spots too. A large number of people come here to visit.

Rishikesh tourist place information

Rishikesh is a Devbhoomi, which is the main pilgrimage place of Dehradun district. Many deities used to reside here, hence it is called Dev Bhoomi. It is situated on the banks of the holy river Ganges and is surrounded by the Vedanta Shivalik Mountains on three sides. Taking a dip in the river Ganga has religious significance in the Hindu community. Every year a large number of tourists come here to visit the religious places, see the great Himalayan Mountains and take a dip in the river Ganga. It is said that taking a dip in the river Ganges washes away all sins and purifies the soul.

There are many ancient temples and ashrams here, which have religious importance here. Rishikesh is called Yoga Capital, because yoga and meditation training takes place here. Hindu sages and saints stay here and remain engrossed in yoga and meditation. So that they can attain salvation.

Weather in Rishikesh (Best time to visit Rishikesh)

The climate of Rishikesh is of European type. The weather here changes many times in a year and tourists can come here anytime of the year. But the best season here lasts from the middle of September till May.

Best time to visit Rishikesh for river rafting – In winter (from October to February) the temperature here remains from 19 to 27 degree Celsius, which is very good for roaming, at this time people can enjoy rafting.

The temperature here in summer (from March to June) is 35 degree Celsius. At this time not many people come because of the extreme heat. But it remains cool in the evening and people feel happy at this time.

Here people enjoy the rains during monsoon (from June to September). Rishikesh is a very beautiful place, which remains hot in summer and cool in winter. Rafting does not happen in this season.

How to reach Rishikesh

• The nearest airport to Rishikesh is Jolly Grant in Dehradun. There are direct flights from Delhi, Lucknow. Taxis, buses are easily available from this airport to Rishikesh.

• To go to Rishikesh, many buses ply from Haridwar, Dehradun, Delhi, which are of all types.

• The nearest railway station to Rishikesh is Haridwar, from where trains are connected to every corner of the country.

Best Famous Temple to Visit in Rishikesh

There are many religious places in Rishikesh, which have great importance in the Hindu community.

1. Neelkanth Mahadev Temple – This is a very ancient and famous temple of Lord Shiva, which is 32 km from Rishikesh. It is situated on top of a mountain, whose height is 1330 m. This temple is surrounded by three valleys, Manikoot, Bramhakoot and Vishnukoot. This religious place is formed by the confluence of two evergreen rivers Pankaja and Madhumati.

2. The Bharat Mandir - Adi Guru Shankaracharya established this temple around the 12th century. Bharat Mandir is located on the banks of the Ganga in the centre of Rishikesh. This temple's sanctum sanctorum contains a figure of Lord Vishnu carved on top of a saligram. Adi Guru Shankaracharya put the Shree Yantra on the Tripal's statue.

3. Trimbakeshwar Temple – This famous temple is situated on the banks of river Ganga. It has 13 floors and many Hindu deities are present in each floor. This temple does not belong to any one deity or goddess. Laxman goes to this temple by passing through the swing.

4. Laxman Temple – This famous temple is situated on the banks of river Ganga. The temple is famous for its sculpture and paintings on its walls. It is said that Lord Rama's brother, Lakshmana meditated at this place to attain spiritual enlightenment.

5. Kunjapuri Temple - This temple is very important in Hinduism. This peak has an elevation of 1676 metres. Kunjapuri Devi Temple is one of Uttarakhand's 52 Shaktipeeths. The torso of Goddess Sati is reported to have fallen at this location while Lord Shiva was carrying her dead body. That is why it is known as Shaktipeeth.

6. Raghunath Temple – This is a very important place for religious festivals in Rishikesh. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shri Ram and his wife Goddess Sita. It is one of the all important religious places.

7. Veerbhadra Temple – It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is 1300 years old. Here Virbhadra ji worshiped in the presence of Lord Shiva.

8. Vashishtha Cave – This is a very ancient cave where sage Vashishtha used to meditate. Sage Vashishtha was the son of Lord Brahma and he was one of the 7 Saptarishis. This cave is located 25 km from Rishikesh on Badrinath road.

9. Rishikund – This is a pond located near the Raghunath temple. Kubj Sant ji established it and by worshiping God this pond was filled with the holy water of Yamuna.

10. Triveni Ghat – This is the confluence of three holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. People come here to take bath, it is very famous religious place. It is said that by taking a dip in this confluence, the soul becomes pure and all the sins are washed away. People reach here in large quantities and take bath and in the evening there is a great aarti of Maa Ganga ji, which is worshiped and enjoyed by the people.

11. Geeta Bhawan – There is a huge complex on the banks of river Ganga in Swargashram, Rishikesh. There are many halls and 1000 rooms in this complex, in which devotees can stay easily without any hassle for free. Many satsang and meditation programs are held here, in which many devotees come to participate every year.

Adventure spots of Rishikesh (Rishikesh adventure sports) –

There are many adventure spots in Rishikesh. The most famous white water rafting here is famous both in the country and abroad. The rafting season here starts in March and continues till September. There are many other places in Rishikesh which are backpacking, bungee jumping, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, rappelling and zip lining etc.

• Byasi is a small village situated on the banks of river Ganges and it is at a distance of 30 km from Rishikesh. It is known as an adventure spot for rafting and camping in the river Ganges. Here the flow of river Ganges is more, which is very important for rafting. That's why this place is very good for rafting.

• Kaudiyala is a small village located 40 kilometres from Rishikesh on the Badrinath route. It is well-known for its white water rafting. This is a great location for camping. Many travellers come to see this place.

• Jumping Height is also a very good adventure spot, it is about 15 km from Laxman Jhula in Mohan Chatti. Many types of adventures are done here. People enjoy it a lot.

Places of health in Rishikesh (Rishikesh Health Spa) –

• Rishikesh is one of the 6 Apex Swasthya Suraksha Vidyalayas established by the Minister of Family Welfare and Health. It is run by the Government of India under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. There are also many places for medical studies here.

• Shripad Yasso Naik, Minister of Yoga and Cultural Medicine, inaugurated India's first Ayush place on June 4, 2015, in Rishikesh. He is confident that Rishikesh has research on Ayurveda, Yoga, Natural, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and many types of medicines.

In this way Rishikesh is famous for many religious places and adventure spots. Every year a large number of people come here and enjoy all these.