Haridwar was once under the reign of the old dynasties like the Mauryas and the Kushana. It has also been mentioned in the texts of the Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang. Being located 314 meters higher than the sea level it is a very popular tourist destination.
Here’s a list of the best 5 places to visit in Haridwar, The Gateway to the Gods.
1. Har ki Pauri
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One of the most important places to visit in Haridwar is the Har ki Pauri literally meaning the Lord’s Footsteps. The most renowned landmark at the Ghats is the footstep print of Lord Vishnu himself. It is said to be at the exact location where the River Ganga enters the plains from mountains. The place is popular worldwide because of Kumbha Mela and the Ardha Kumbha Mela carried out here.
2. Chandi Devi Temple
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The temple is built in dedication to Chandi Devi, which is a form of the Goddess Durga. The Chandi Devi Temple is a very ancient temple in India and is visited by many of pilgrims during the Navratri and the Kumbha Mela festival. It was founded by Adi Shankaracharya, a Hindu Philosopher who lived between 700 to 820 AD.
3. Pavan Dham
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Pavan Dham is well known for its rare temple architecture along with its craftsmanship. The temple is popular for the detail oriented and adorned idols. The unique and beautifully crafted mirror with glass work is a spectacular sight to behold. The temple was made in the year 1970 by Swami Vedantanand ji Maharaj.
4. Mansa Devi Temple
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Built to pay homage to the Hindu deity Mansa Devi, Mansa Devi Temple is situated atop a hillock called as the Bilwa Parvat of the Shiwalik Range of the Himalayas. The Goddess of this temple is said to fulfil all the wishes. Her devotees ask their wishes by tying a piece of thread on the branches of the tree situated within the temple complex. Then they come back to the temple to untie it once their wish is granted.
5. Daksha Mahadev Temple
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Famous among Shiv devotees, Daksha Mahadev Temple was constructed by Queen Dhankaur in 1810 and reconstructed in 1962. The temple’s location is where Goddess Sati’s father Daksha Prajapati performed a yagna, culminating to a chain of events. The Maha Shivratri performed here is filled with festivity and sheer devotion with tonnes of devotees visiting here during this time. A very famous temple in Haridwar, this place should not be missed for all devotees coming to Haridwar.
Known as one of the 7 holiest places in India, Haridwar is a very popular pilgrim spot located in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. The origins of the city can be traced back to the ancient Hindu texts too. Being one of the 7 places where the precious droplets of the elixir of life erupted from the Samundra Manthan also called the Churning of the Seas Haridwar is truly a holy place to visit for your soul.
As I reached the top of Kheer Ganga trek, tired and heavily breathing. I sat down looking at the sky which had already begun to show off its sparkling inventory of stars and when I looked towards the mountains and forest in front of me I could see the place I came walking from. Covered with green dense trees, making an illusion, of a huge dark forest dangerous enough for a human to walk around.
Walking the woods, following the trailsView from Barsheni towards Kheer Ganga
On the other hand, reality is exactly opposite to it. The silence and beauty preserved within these mountains can barely do any harm. The enormously big trees seen from the top of this mountain adds charm to the memorable dusk and makes me realize the difference between actually breathing that we rarely experience and biological respiration that we always do.
After about 3 hours and 30 minutes of non stop trekking we were finally able to reach the top of Kheer Ganga trek. Was it worth the time and run we did to reach ? Well, At first while we were still heavily breathing. It didn’t seem that marvelous but when we were able calm ourselves down, we realized “Yes, it is worth.”
Where is Kheer Ganga ?
Kheer Ganga is situated in Parvati Valley of Himachal Pradesh, a state located in Northern region of India and commonly called as ‘Himachal’ by Indians. For us (Indians) Himachalstands as synonym for mountains because of its completely mountain terrain. The panoramic beauty of Dhauladhar range and enchanting biodiversity of Himalyanrange of mountains makes Himachal a state full of life and nature. There are well known tourist places like Shimla, Mcleodganj, Dharmshala, Kufri and Dalhousie which I would highly recommend to anytime willing to explore Himachal and its beauty. Himachal is also a beloved place for Hippies and adventure lovers too and places like Triund, Kasol, Bir and Kheer Ganga are famous among youngsters and travellers for natural beauty, adventure sports and offbeat experience that these places offer.
How to reach Kheer Ganga ?
The trek to Kheer Ganga starts from Barsheni, Its a small village ahead of Kasol and very near to Sikh Temple Gurudwara Manikaran Sahib. From Barsheni leads two different paths towards totally opposite directions.
One goes uphill towards Tosh (Another place to cherish beauty of mountians)
Other goes downhill towards a small crossover bridge and after which the trek to Kheer Ganga begins.
*This can be very misleading if someone hesitates to ask locals as they might end up walking the wrong way.
I learned from my mistake and so I warn you. We walked straight uphill for around 45 minutes and got to know that we were on a wrong track that actually leads to Tosh. We then spent our next 30 minutes walking back to starting point and to begin on the right path. (A wastage of time and energy that could have covered 30% of our trek to Kheer Ganga.)
The diversion that can take you to another beautiful place.
How tough or worthy is trekking to Kheer Ganga ?
The Kheer Ganga trek is a moderate one, I’d rather say its easy but long. It Passes through couple of villages, some water streams, number of cafes and ineffaceable views. The trek might make you tired but its not extremely challenging. It’s in fact a lot easy as compared to the Triund Trek. Apart from many nice views and well placed small cafes the most noteworthy part of trek is the route itself. The trek has several naturally astounding spots, small water falls and quite jungle spots. Making it an immersive and blissful experience to walk through. In the jungle its easy to spot birds chirping and at times even loud noises of running water streams.
A wood house in one of the villages, while trekking
The trek stretches through different variety of terrains that break the monotony and never seems same. Looking at Locals from villages, walking between tall trees and witnessing powerful gush of waterfalls makes you feel a delusion of reality verses places you would have only see in pictures. No doubt the destination is beautiful but journey in itself is wonderful enough to keep you moving.
One of the view to be seen during the journey.
What’s there at the top?
Up-top, it was all crowded with people, which I guess, was because of the peak season timing. After about 10-15 minutes of rest we pulled up our strength and started searching a place our night stay. We got ourselves a common hall with chimney in center and good amount of space and bedding for better sleep. The cost was merely ₹ 150/person.
For stay, there are common halls or you can also rent a tent, if available (tough to get tents during tourist season). For food, this place also has a lot decently priced cafes that offer variety of Israeli, Indian, Chinese and Continental dishes to try on. There is also a bakery here at top and we tried their delicious puddings and sweet to the core cupcakes. It was like a bolt from the blue to see a bakery up hill at a camping sites like this.
Cheapest and minimal luxury stays.In solace yet surrounded.
A huge number of foreigners come to Kheer Ganga every year and attend Rainbow Group Festival. Where hippies from all around the world gather and live like community for around a month or two. These foreigners are usually here to either observe nature or to enjoy the weed culture of these mountains. I observed, that foreigners who come to Kheer Ganga usually have different interest if we compare them to those who are in Rishikesh. Here they are not much interested in spiritual or yoga practices and instead their purpose is to relax in nature or enjoy the smoke.
The temple and its story
The Story behind Kheer Ganga and its name
For anyone who visits Kheer Ganga, He/She must know the history behind its name and to my surprise, I saw a temple there which helped me with this.
“Who would have expected a temple at the end of a trekking spot ? I didn’t.”
One of the walls of this temple explained me the story behind the name of Kheer Ganga. Right in front of the temple is the famous hot water spring. A great relaxation for any tired body and can energize anybody who feels tired or low on energy. Its a perfect spot to relaxing tired feet after completing the trek.
Hot water spring
After reaching up top there are 3 note worthy attractions that an explorer must checkout:
The Temple and the story associated with Kheer Ganga.
The Hot water spring
Temple of Karthik Swami (little more uphill).
Karthik Swami Temple
Karthik Swami Temple has a story associated with it and I would keep it for you to find out. 😉
If places and stories associated with them has always been a food for your curiousity buds then these temple are for sure places to see. I’ll leave the story for you to find out as to why it’s called Kheer Ganga, and whats the story of other temple uphill. Let’s keep the curiosity alive. 😉
