Haridwar, Uttarakhand:

evening scene at Har Ki Pauri

After spending an afternoon in Rishikesh, I explored nearby Haridwar on the following day.

Haridwar is where the Ganges leaves the mountains and enters the plains of northern India. It is believed that Garuda spilled a drop of Amrit (the elixir of immortality) here. Furthermore, Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu visited Haridwar, which today constitues one of the seven holiest places of Hinduism. Every twelve years, millions of pilgrims congregate in the city for a massive religious festival, the Kumbh Mela, and bath at Har Ki Pauri, the most sacred bathing ghat. Although the next Kumbh Mela will take place only in a couple of years, smaller festivals occur every few months. While I visited Haridwar with a friend, the town was swarmed with thousands of pilgrims and the atmosphere was both festive and extremely hectic. We started our tour with a walk up-hill to the Mansa Devi Temple passing a couple of pilgrims trying to reach the top by measuring the distance with their bodies. After returning to town via the cable car and a short stop at the Maya Devi Temple, we spent most of the afternoon at the extremely busy bathing ghats around Har Ki Pauri to experience the crazy atmosphere and see the Ganga Aarti at sunset.

a temple in Haridwar

panoramic view near Har Ki Pauri

bathing pilgrims north of Har Ki Pauri

bathing pilgrims north of Har Ki Pauri

view from the hotel window

on the way to the Mansa Devi Temple

Mansa Devi Temple

entrance to the Mansa Devi Temple

entrance to the Mansa Devi Temple

the Ganges leaving the mountains

cable car station

Mansa Devi Temple

pilgrims on the path to the temple

pilgrims on the path to the temple

view towards Har Ki Pauri

cable car and Mansa Devi Temple

pilgrims on the path to the temple

old houses in Haridwar

street scene

old houses in Haridwar

Maya Devi Temple

carriers for Ganges water

nice guys in Haridwar

nice guys in Haridwar

pilgrims carrying Ganges water home

narrow, busy streets

narrow, busy streets

narrow, busy streets

chains to save bathing pilgrims

bathing pilgrims

bathing pilgrims

panorama south of Har Ki Pauri

Har Ki Pauri

bathing pilgrims

Har Ki Pauri

bathing pilgrims

Har Ki Pauri

Har Ki Pauri

Har Ki Pauri

Har Ki Pauri

Har Ki Pauri

view towards the Chandi Devi Temple

panorama south of Har Ki Pauri

Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

pilgrims

pilgrims

pilgrims

pilgrims

pilgrims

Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

smartphones everywhere

Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Pauri

evening at Har Ki Pauri

busy streets of Haridwar

After an extremely hectic day, we were happy that we organized a tour through the outskirts of nearby Rajaji National Park for the following day.