Haridwar Reviews

Overview of the destination
A small town, the main attraction is the Ganga (Har ki Pauri). Believed to be sacred to take bath here. The water is very cold but as soon as you dip once, its really feels very good and calm. Its around 220 KM from delhi. You can walk around the city shops near HAR KI PAURI.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping
Food is available in various restaurants. I love parathas so just near the Har-Ki-Pauri Police chowki, there is a punjabi restaurant. Very tidy and neat. Lots of Paratha walas in the market. You can try the morning breakfast(allo paratha and aalo ki sabjee) Other good restaurants are Big-Ben(AC) near the railway station, its a walk of about 15-20 mins from HAr-Ki-Pauri. You can always take a rikshaw. Mansa-devi-Mandir,Chandi -devi Mandir-- Both of these mandirs are on top of the hills on either side. You can either walk the stairs or take the ROPE-WAY--Price Rs 31/head. Patanjali-This is a must place to visit, this is Baba RAMDEV's ashram. You can get personalized consultations from vaidhs(DOCS) which is free. You can get aaurvedh medicines. Meditation sessions, Yoga Session. Very Economical, the place is very huge and quite beautiful. Food is also very good here ranging from drinks , snaks, lunch-dinner. You can stay here upto 3 days. Check out www.divyayog.com. You can reach here reserving an AUTO/CAB - fare RS 500. Or you can take shared Auto - fare Rs 25/head I did not find much to shop there, but there are quite a lot of goodies related to PUJA which you can buy. Different type of shanks are also available.

Activities & things to do
Bathe in the River ganges. - Prime Watch and participate in the Aarti in the morning around 5:30 AM and evening 6:30 PM -- during summer. TIP- Always sit on the opposite side of the stairs and the mandirs for a better front view. From haridwar you can goto Rishikesh and also do the River Rafting Camping (RS 1600 ) Only Rafting would be Rs 400. Do it from MArine drive point.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
I took the train from Gaziabad as i was coming from NOIDA (NCR region, place near Delhi) I took the Massorie Ex. ( 4041 ). Dep time from Gaziabad 10:55 PM - Arrival in Haridway 6:15 AM. From station take a Rickshaw to Har-Ki-Pauri. You can also book a CAB car from Delhi/Noida, will take around 4-5 hours to reach haridwar. If you dont want to spend a lot on staying like me then take a lodge, these are quite clean and economical. I took GAURAV LODGE - 01334-266063 01334-227172. A double bed room was for RS. 400. Rating 3/5. Nice clear rooms with toilets, at this price it was ok. TIP- Take the back side rooms,these are bigger. Take a Raincoat with you during (July - Aug) After 15 July Sawan starts and during this time the crowd is massive. Be aware of the pandits, dont comit till you are sure,for everything you are to be charged with lot of dan ( donation ). So try to check out other people and then do it yourself. Just stop anyone if they try to get in to you and start a puja or ritual.

Overview of the destination
I alongwith my friend had been to Haridwar on last 17th Dec'06, by road from Delhi. We took our car (a Tata Indica) and enjoyed the ride very much. Only the road seemed to be very narrow since most of the road was occupied by sugarcane ladden vehicles of every description like a bycicle, a pushcart, a simple generator converted to a goods carrier to heavy trucks( 10 tyre). But though Haridwar was not what we expected to be but we enjoyed our stay therein. The bathing ghats could have been made more clean than what it is now. Moreover the bank near the Ghat should be more tourist friendly, since it seems to be inhabited by both beggers and bathers.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping
We had delicious vegetarian food at Treats the restaurant of Hotel Jahanvidale. We roamed around Haridwar but except the Yoga Ashram of Baba Ram Dev at Patanjali nothing much of importance or worth looking could be found.

Activities & things to do
River Rafting can be an attraction. Then again near the large statue of Lord Shiva the place can be made more eco friendly by planting lots of annual or perrenial shrubs/trees, lots of potted plants alongwith subdued lights. And may be also have a Light & Sound programme based on mythology near the Statue of Lord Shiva but after giving due consideration to sound pollution.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
Haridwar is located in Uttaranchal at a distance of about 220 km from Delhi and can easily be reached by car or State run bus service.