Haridwar - One of the holiest Hindu cities

 


Located an hour downstream from Rishikesh, Haridwar is a much larger and holier city. It is one of four sites where drops of amrita, the elixir of immortality, was accidentally spilled over from a kumbha (pitcher) while being carried by the celestial bird Garuda. As a result, Indian people visit it in large numbers even when there isn't any festival - and at Kumbha Mela times it gets jampacked. The centre of Haridwar is crowded but interesting, vibrant, beautiful, with its bathing gaths along the long river banks of the Ganges. The city is surrounded by hills on both sides of the river, and you can visit two peaks with temples on them by cablecar. 


















































































































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