Top Selling Rishikesh Day trip from Delhi

Sixteen hours, and ten of them are the road

That is the honest arithmetic: Rishikesh is 240 km from Delhi and the last stretch is slow. What you get in exchange is the Ganges where it comes out of the Himalaya — clear, cold and green, which is nothing like the river at Varanasi or Haridwar.

Book it knowing the drive is half the day.

Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula

Two suspension footbridges across the river, a couple of kilometres apart, and the centre of gravity of the whole town.

You cross on foot with pilgrims, motorbikes, cows and monkeys. Temples stack up on the east bank in tiers, and the view back across the water from mid-bridge is the photograph everyone takes.

Do not carry food in your hand near the monkeys, and take sunglasses off your head — they are organised, and they are quick.

Parmarth Niketan and Gita Bhawan

The largest ashram in Rishikesh, over a thousand rooms, with the ghat where Ganga Aarti is performed every evening at sunset — lamps, singing, and the river carrying flame downstream. If your day runs late enough to include it, stay for it; it is the best thing in the town.

Gita Bhawan next door sells Ayurvedic preparations and books at fixed, honest prices, which is a relief after the bazaar.

The town

Rishikesh has been a place of meditation for centuries and a place of yoga schools since the Beatles came to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram in 1968. That ashram is now abandoned, covered in murals, and open to walk through for a small fee.

Know before you go

Rishikesh is entirely vegetarian and alcohol-free inside the municipal limits. This is enforced and there is nowhere around it.

Shoes come off at every temple and ashram. Modest dress — shoulders and knees covered — matters more here than in Delhi.

Included

Private car with driver for the full day. Meals, donations and any rafting are separate.