Things to do in Uttarakhand (Uttaranchal)
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Vina Maharaj Music School
In Lakshman Jhula, Vina Maharaj Music School offers sitar, tabla, harmonium and flute lessons at Rs200 per hour, and organises concerts.
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Neelkantha Mahadev Temple
Follow the dedicated pilgrims who take water from the Ganges to offer at Neelkantha Mahadev Temple, a 7km, three-hour walk along a forest path from Swarg Ashram. Neelkanth (Blue Throat) is another name for Shiva, who once drank poison churned up from the sea by gods and demons, which turned his throat blue. A much longer road (17km) via Lakshman Jhula also goes to the temple. A jeep taxi costs a small price to return.
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Yoga Study Centre
According to locals, this is one of Rishikesh’s most highly regarded yoga schools and runs two- and three-week Iyengar yoga courses for all levels (payment by donation). It’s a small ashram on the river south of the town, off Haridwar Rd.
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Meeting Point Cafe
Away from the bazaars and halfway along the Mall, this is a nice little hang-out with espresso coffee and Tibetan food.
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Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram
Just south of Swarg Ashram, slowly being consumed by the forest undergrowth, is what's left of the original Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram. It was abandoned in 1997 and is now back under the control of the forest department, but the shells of many buildings, meditation cells and lecture halls can still be seen, including Maharishi's own house and the guesthouse where the Beatles stayed.
Indeed, in February 1968 Rishikesh hit world headlines when the four Beatles and their partners stayed, following an interest and earlier visit by George Harrison. Ringo and his wife didn't like the vegetarian food, missed their children and left after a couple of weeks, but the others staye…
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Cable Car
From midway along the Mall, a cable car runs up to Gun Hill (2530m), which, on a clear day, has views of several peaks, including Bandarpunch. A steep path also winds up to the viewpoint. The most popular time to go up is an hour or so before sunset and there’s a minicarnival atmosphere in season with kids’ rides, food stalls, magic shops and honeymooners having their photos taken dressed up in Garhwali costumes.
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Chotiwala
There are two open-fronted and fiercely competitive Chotiwalas side by side, both serving up thalis, South Indian food, ice creams and sweet lime sodas. There’s little to distinguish between them and they’re easy to spot by the rotund (but not very jolly) mascots with the pointy hairdo (a choti ) sitting out the front.
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Oasis Restaurant
At New Bhandari Swiss Cottage, this restaurant is more refined, with candlelit tables in the garden and hanging lanterns inside. The menu ransacks oodles of world cuisines from Mexican and Thai to Israeli and Tibetan, and features a number of chicken dishes including a delicious chilli chicken. Great desserts include apple crumble.
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GMVN Tourist Office
Contact the GMVN tourist office which offers Rajaji safaris even when the park is officially closed. These are five-hour trips (Rs1750 per person) that include being taken on a short safari, watching a parade of wild elephants, and visiting a tribal village of Gujjar buffalo herders.
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China King & Ginger ‘N’ Garlic
Two restaurants in one, this bright, spotless fast-food place specialises in all things Chinese, from dim sum and chicken wings to chow mein. Upstairs, Ginger ’n’ Garlic has a more Indian flavour with North Indian veg and nonveg standards. Down below is a branch of New Zealand Natural Ice-cream.
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Nainital Mountaineering Club
The enthusiasts at Nainital Mountaineering Club offer rock-climbing courses at the rock-climbing area, a 15m-high rock outcrop to the west of the town.
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Casa Mia Bakery
The best of the many hole-in-the-wall bakeries, Casa Mia has a dazzling range of croissants, cakes, muffins, apple pies and frozen drinks.
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Little Buddha Cafe
Funky treehouse-style restaurant with an ultraloungey top floor and good food.
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Har-ki-Pairi Ghat
Har-ki-Pairi Ghat (The Footstep of God) is where Vishnu is said to have dropped some heavenly nectar and left a footprint behind. As such it is very sacred to Hindus and the place to wash away your sins. Pilgrims bathe here in its often fast currents and donate money to the priests and shrines.
The ghat sits on the western bank of the Ganges canal and every evening hundreds of worshippers gather for the ganga aarti (river worship ceremony). Officials in blue uniform collect donations (and give out receipts) and as the sun sets, bells ring out a rhythm, torches are lit, and leaf baskets with flower petals inside and a candle on top (Rs 5) are lit and put on the river to dr…
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Forest Research Institute Museum
The prime attraction of this museum is the building itself. Set in a 500-hectare park, the institute – where most of India’s forest officers are trained – is larger than Buckingham Palace and is one of the Raj’s grandest buildings. Built between 1924 and 1929, designed by CG Blomfield, this red-brick colossus has Mughal towers, perfectly formed arches and Roman columns in a series of quadrangles edged by elegant cloisters. Six huge halls have rather old-fashioned and dry displays on every aspect of forestry in India. Highlights include beautiful animal, bird and plant paintings by Afshan Zaidi, exhibits on the medicinal uses of trees, and a cross- section of a 700-year-ol…
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Snow View
The cable car runs up to the popular Snow View at 2270m, which on clear days has panoramic Himalayan views, including Nanda Devi. At the top you'll find the usual food, souvenir and carnival stalls, as well as Mountain Magic, an amusement park with rides that kids will love. There's also a hotel with restaurant and bar. You can hike to Cheena/Naina Peak, 4km away.
A walk up to or back from Snow View can take in the tiny Gadhan Kunkyop Ling Gompa (monastery) of the Gelukpa order (of which the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader). Take the road uphill from the Hotel City Heart and a path branches off to the gompa (the colourful prayer flags should be visible).
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Naini Lake
This pretty lake is Nainital's centrepiece and is said to be one of the emerald green eyes of Shiva's wife, Sati (naina is Sanskrit for eye). Naina Devi Temple, rebuilt after the 1880 landslide, is on the precise spot where the eye is believed to have fallen. Nearby is the Jama Masjid and a gurdwara.
For holidaying families, a boat ride around the lake is de rigeur. Boatmen will row you round the lake for Rs 120 (Rs 50 one way) in the brightly painted gondola-like boats, or the Nainital Boat Club (Mallital) will sail you round for Rs 120 between 10:00 and 16:00. Pedal and rowing boats can also be hired for Rs 50 to 80 per hour.
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Ram Rai Darbar
This unique mausoleum is made of white marble, and the four smaller tombs in the garden courtyard are those of Ram Rai’s four wives. The entrance gate is adorned with colourful murals. Ram Rai, the errant son of the seventh Sikh guru, Har Rai, was excommunicated by his father. He formed his own Udasi sect, which still runs schools and hospitals. When Ram Rai died in 1687, one of his supporters, Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, ordered the building of the mausoleum. As in other gurdwaras (Sikh temples), a free communal lunch of dhal, rice and chapatis is offered to anyone who wants it, although a donation is appreciated.
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Mindrolling Monastery
The region around Dehra Dun is home to a thriving Tibetan Buddhist community, mainly focused on the Mindrolling Monastery, about 10km south of the centre in Clement Town. Everything about the monastery is on a grand scale: it boasts a large college, manicured gardens and the five-storey Great Stupa. At over 60m tall, it’s believed to be the world’s tallest stupa and contains a series of shrine rooms displaying relics, murals and Tibetan art. Presiding over the monastery is the impressive 35m-high gold Buddha Statue, dedicated to the Dalai Lama.
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Shanti Kunj Ashram
A large ashram set in beautiful gardens on the road to Rishikesh, this is an inspirational community (founded in 1971) that offers simple accommodation. It suits serious students of sadhana (spiritual achievement), as meditation and mantras start at 5am, followed by yagyar (fire ceremony) and meditation in a hall dominated by a model of the Himalaya. Contact the foreigners office (the ‘Abroad Cell’) for further information. The ashram has established its own university and runs ‘spiritual camps’ (in Hindi and English) running from nine days to one month.
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Elephant Rides
The village of Chilla, 13km northeast of Haridwar, is the base for visiting the Rajaji National Park. Elephant rides, which can take up to four passengers, are available on a first-come-first-served basis at sunrise and 3pm, but there are currently only two elephants. Contact the Forest Ranger’s office, close to the tourist guesthouse at Chilla, where you can also pick up a brochure, pay entry fees and organise a 4WD. These take up to eight people and cost Rs700 for the standard safari (plus Rs100 entry fee for the vehicle).
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Ashrams
While most travellers make a beeline for Rishikesh to partake in yoga, spirituality and stay in an ashram, Haridwar has several excellent ashrams where you'll be surrounded by serious ashramites and fewer foreigners. You can join in with ashram activities as long as you obey the strict rules. Everything - lodging, meals, religious practice - is usually free, but a donation is expected.
Most ashrams try to be self-sufficient mini-utopias - some grow their own herbs which are made into Ayurvedic medicines, publish books and literature or run schools.
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Corbett Tiger Reserve
This famous reserve was established in 1936 as India’s first national park. Originally called Hailey National Park, then Ramganga National Park, it was renamed in 1957 after legendary tiger hunter Jim Corbett (1875–1955), who put Kumaon on the map with his book The Man-Eaters of Kumaon. The British hunter was greatly revered by local people for shooting tigers that had developed a taste for human flesh, but he eventually shot more wildlife with his camera than with his gun.
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Ananda Spa
Part palace, part exclusive, luxury spa resort, the prize-winning Ananda Spa is the last word in indulgent pampering, and plays host to the rich and famous from India and abroad. Perched high up in the hills 18km north of Rishikesh, Ananda Spa occupies part of the palace of the Maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal and spreads out over a manicured estate that includes luxury accommodation, a six-hole golf course, a jogging track, garden restaurants, an amphitheatre and a swimming pool.
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