CityDekho
Rishikesh

Rishikesh

adventure spot · Uttarakhand

Famed globally as the 'Yoga Capital of the World', this crowded, restless city on the Ganges blends ancient spirituality with high-adrenaline adventure sports.

State
Uttarakhand
Type
Adventure Spot
Best season
Winter
Things to do
5+

Famed globally as the 'Yoga Capital of the World', this crowded, restless city on the Ganges blends ancient spirituality with high-adrenaline adventure sports. Rishikesh is located in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayas where the sacred Ganges leaves the mountains to enter the plains. It is a world-renowned destination for spiritual seekers, yoga enthusiasts, and extreme adventure travelers.

A short history

Long a stop for ascetics and pilgrims heading into the Himalayas, Rishikesh gained global attention in 1968 when the Beatles visited the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram here, an event that put it on the international map and helped seed the yoga-and-wellness tourism industry it's known for today.

Why Rishikesh matters

The 'Yoga Capital of the World' and gateway to the Char Dham, where the Ganga rushes out of the Himalayas.

How many people come

60 lakh

town in 2024 · Estimate

Why visit

Rishikesh is dry and vegetarian by law, and that shapes the whole town. Rafting runs roughly September to June and stops for the monsoon. The Beatles ashram at Chaurasi Kutia is a graffitied ruin now, and better for it.

How to reach

Nearest airport: Jolly Grant Airport (DED), Dehradun (21 km). Excellently connected via a 4-lane national highway from Delhi and Haridwar. Frequent luxury and state buses operate daily.

5 days in Rishikesh

Take the whole plan, or add any single stop.

Ram JhulaDay 1

Day 1

Ram Jhula

A suspension footbridge three kilometres upstream, linking Swargashram to Muni Ki Reti. Motorbikes use it too, so crossing is a negotiation. Laxman Jhula further up is narrower and older.

Day 1

Riverside cafes

Riverside cafes

Triveni Ghat

Day 1

Triveni Ghat

The main bathing ghat in Rishikesh town, and where the evening aarti happens. Smaller and less performed than Haridwar's, and much easier to sit through.

Day 2

Day 2

Rafting on the Ganges

Rafting on the Ganges

Day 2

Riverside camping (optional)

Riverside camping (optional)

Day 2

Evening at a riverside cafe

Evening at a riverside cafe

Day 3

Day 3

Morning yoga session

Morning yoga session

Day 3

Parmarth Niketan and other ashrams

Parmarth Niketan and other ashrams

Beatles Ashram

Day 3

Beatles Ashram

Chaurasi Kutia, where the Beatles stayed in 1968, four kilometres upriver. A ruin now — roofless meditation cells covered in murals painted by later visitors — and better for it. Ticketed, inside Rajaji reserve.

Day 4

Day 4

Trek or drive to Neelkanth Mahadev Temple

Trek or drive to Neelkanth Mahadev Temple

Day 4

Forest trail views

Forest trail views

Day 4

Return to Rishikesh by evening

Return to Rishikesh by evening

Day 5

Day 5

Riverside cafe breakfast

Riverside cafe breakfast

Ram Jhula

Day 5

Ram Jhula

A suspension footbridge three kilometres upstream, linking Swargashram to Muni Ki Reti. Motorbikes use it too, so crossing is a negotiation. Laxman Jhula further up is narrower and older.

Day 5

Drive out

Drive out

Food & cuisine

Signature dishes and local flavours to look for in Rishikesh.

2 dishes

Rishikesh Satvik Thali

A no-onion, no-garlic vegetarian thali served across the ashrams and cafés lining the Ganga — reflecting the town's yoga-and-meditation culture.

German Bakery Cafés

A Rishikesh institution — riverside cafés serving banana pancakes, muesli and baked goods to the town's long-stay backpacker and yoga crowd.

Suggested Itinerary

Day-by-day plans other travellers have published for Rishikesh

Ganga & Yoga: Haridwar, Rishikesh & Mussoorie

Ganga & Yoga: Haridwar, Rishikesh & Mussoorie

5 days 13 stopsCityDekho Editorial

Rishikesh guide & itineraries

Rishikesh is perfect for

adventurespiritualyogabudget

What & where to eat

Tapovan / Laxman Jhula

Cafe bowls

Riverside cafes with healthy bowls

Tapovan / Laxman Jhula

smoothies

Riverside cafes with healthy bowls

Swarg Ashram

Chotiwala thali

Famous veg-thali eatery

Aloo Puri

Classic North-Indian breakfast (Rishikesh is vegetarian, no meat or alcohol)

Chole

Chole

Classic North-Indian breakfast (Rishikesh is vegetarian, no meat or alcohol)

Sattvic / Ayurvedic thali

Pure-veg ashram-style meals

Garhwali Kafuli

Green-leaf Garhwali curry

Nearby getaways

Neelkanth Mahadev

about 1 hr

Frequently asked questions

Is rafting experience required?
No, most Rishikesh rafting stretches such as Shivpuri to Rishikesh are beginner-friendly, with a certified guide and safety briefing included.
Is Rishikesh good for solo travellers?
Yes, Rishikesh is considered one of the most solo-friendly towns in India, with ashrams, yoga courses and a well-worn backpacker trail along the ghats.

Things to do

How to spend your time in Rishikesh.

Ganga Aarti at Triveni Ghat

Evening river worship with lamps and chanting

Lakshman Jhula & Ram Jhula

Suspension bridges over the Ganga

White-water rafting

Grade II-IV rapids on the Ganga

Yoga & meditation

The world yoga capital - classes and retreats

Popular attractions

The places in Rishikesh most people come for.

Ram Jhula

Ram Jhula

Experience

Triveni Ghat

Triveni Ghat

Experience

White-water Rafting at Shivpuri

White-water Rafting at Shivpuri

Experience3 hrsmorning

Beatles Ashram

Beatles Ashram

Experience

Neer Garh Waterfall

Neer Garh Waterfall

Experience

See all attractions

Reviews & ratings

What travellers say about Rishikesh

CityDekho traveller reviews

★★★★★★★★★★

No CityDekho reviews yet

Be the first traveller to review this place.

Sign in to write a review

Community

Ask questions and share tips about Rishikesh

Sign in to ask a question or share a tip about Rishikesh.

Loading…

Been to Rishikesh?

Write what you would tell a friend — where you stayed, what you would skip, the thing you wish somebody had mentioned before you went. We read every submission before it goes up.

Share your story

More spiritual places to explore

More places you'll love

Assam

Hajo

Hajo is an ancient pilgrimage town near Guwahati in Assam, revered across three faiths. The hilltop Hayagriva Madhava temple draws Hindus and some Buddhists who believe the Buddha attained nirvana here, while the nearby Poa Mecca is an important Muslim shrine, making Hajo a rare centre of shared devotion.

Andhra Pradesh

Srisailam (Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga)

Srisailam, set amid the forested Nallamala Hills above the Krishna River, is home to the Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Temple, a rare site that is at once one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva (as Mallikarjuna) and one of the Shakti Peethas (as Bhramaramba Devi). This dual sanctity makes it one of southern India's most powerful pilgrimage destinations.

Maharashtra

Trimbakeshwar (Jyotirlinga)

Trimbakeshwar, near Nashik in Maharashtra, enshrines one of the twelve sacred Jyotirlingas of Shiva and marks the source of the Godavari, India's second-longest river. Its distinctive lingam bears three faces representing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and the town is a key site for the Nashik Kumbh Mela.

Kerala

Padmanabhaswamy Temple (Thiruvananthapuram)

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram is a Vaishnava shrine where Lord Vishnu reclines on the serpent Anantha in the Anantha-shayanam posture. Blending Kerala and Dravidian styles with a towering seven-tier gopuram, it became world-famous when vast treasures were documented in its vaults, ranking it among the wealthiest temples on earth.

Kerala

Guruvayur (Sri Krishna Temple)

Guruvayur is a temple town in Kerala centred on the revered Sri Krishna (Guruvayurappan) Temple, often called the Dwarka of the South. The deity is worshipped as the young Krishna, and the shrine is one of the busiest Vaishnava pilgrimage centres in India, famed for its strict rituals, temple elephants and devotional music.

Karnataka

ISKCON Temple (Bengaluru)

ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Rajajinagar is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the world, a striking blend of modern glass-and-steel architecture with traditional gopuram-topped shrines. Opened in 1997 on Hare Krishna Hill, it is a major centre for Krishna devotion, cultural programmes and prasadam distribution in Bengaluru.

Maharashtra

Siddhivinayak Temple (Mumbai)

Shree Siddhivinayak is Mumbai's most beloved Ganesha temple, built in 1801 and today one of the richest and most-visited shrines in India. Its inner sanctum enshrines a black-stone idol of Lord Ganesha whose trunk curves to the right, a rare and especially auspicious form that draws millions of devotees, film stars and cricketers alike.

Gujarat

Shatrunjaya Hill

Shatrunjaya Hill, near Palitana town in the Bhavnagar district, is a world-famous sacred mountain rising above the Shatrunjaya River. It stands as a unique structural wonder, being the world's only mountain holding a fortified complex of more than 860 carved marble temples built over a millennium. Considered an entirely holy landscape by the Jain community, no vehicles are permitted past the base database, requiring pilgrims and travelers to scale approximately 3,500 stone steps to reach the mountaintop complex.

Gujarat

Pavagadh Hill

Pavagadh Hill is a volcanic plateau rising about 822 metres from the plains of the Panchmahal district, at the heart of the UNESCO-listed Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park. Its slopes hold Rajput fortifications, medieval gateways and reservoirs, and a much-visited Kalika Mata (Shakti Peeth) shrine near the top.

Gujarat

Valsad

Valsad, once known as Bulsar, sits at the southern tip of Gujarat on the Arabian Sea. It is known for its mango orchards — the source of much of the region's Alphonso (Hafoos) crop — and mixes an industrial economy with easygoing coastal and temple tourism. With black-sand beaches and the union territory of Daman close by, it is a popular weekend break for visitors from Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Gujarat

Jamnagar

Jamnagar, once the princely capital of Nawanagar under the Jadeja rulers, sits on the southern Gulf of Kutch. Known as the 'Jewel of Kathiawar' and, for its many temples, as 'Chhoti Kashi', it pairs royal-era architecture — lake palaces, colonial squares and a solar observatory — with a large modern industrial belt. Nearby lie coral reefs and coastal wetlands rich in birdlife.

Gujarat

Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar, the meticulously master-planned capital city of Gujarat, stands on the west bank of the Sabarmati River. Designed by visionary architects H.K. Mewada and Prakash M. Apte, it is internationally recognized as one of India's greenest administrative capitals, laid out in an orderly grid of 30 structured sectors. Beyond its primary role as a political and bureaucratic powerhouse, Gandhinagar handles a massive leisure and spiritual tourist footprint due to its high-capacity exhibition facilities, lush urban forest canopy covers, eco-nature parks, and monumental temple installations.

Trending in Uttarakhand

Haridwar

Haridwar

An ancient holy city where the Ganges emerges into the Indo-Gangetic plains, world-known for its evening Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri. Haridwar, meaning the 'Gateway to Lord Vishnu', is one of the seven holiest places in Hinduism. Located where the Ganges River exits the Himalayan foothills, the city acts as the launching pad for the entire Char Dham pilgrimage circuit.

Kedarnath

Kedarnath

Kedarnath, set at 3,583 metres against a backdrop of snow peaks and the Mandakini valley, is among the holiest of the twelve Jyotirlingas and a cornerstone of the Char Dham Yatra. The ancient stone temple, reached by a demanding Himalayan trek, is one of India's most revered shrines.

Badrinath

Badrinath

A Vishnu temple that anchors both the national Char Dham and the Chota Char Dham circuits. Badrinath is a historic holy town between the Nar and Narayana mountain ranges in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It sits at an altitude of 3,133 metres along the banks of the Alaknanda River.