Kanyakumari-Kashmir Round trip - Day 23 - Haridwar - Neelkanth - Rishikesh - Haridwar

Day 23 - Haridwar - Neelkant - Rishikesh - Haridwar (stay in Haridwar)

Kilometers Covered - 155 KMs

Walking - 10000+ steps

The day started with a dip in Ganga followed by breakfast in a cart - hot idlis, chutney & sambar. We left the hotel by 7.30 AM and stopped near Ganga Barrage - water was gushing through the barrage, it was a beautiful sight.

Neelkanth Mahadev Mandir, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nilkanth, an aspect of Lord Shiva. The temple is about 32 km from Rishikesh in the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, India. The temple architecture is very much influenced by the Dravidian style and is a popular Hindu pilgrimage site. It is surrounded by dense forests and is adjacent to the mountain ranges of Nar-Narayan. It is enveloped between the valleys of Manikoot, Brahmakoot, and Vishnukoot and is located at the confluence of the rivers Pankaja and Madhumati.

According to Hindu sacred texts, the place where the Neelkanth Mahadev Temple currently stands is the sacred location where Shiva consumed the poison that originated from the sea when Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) churned the ocean in order to obtain Amrita. This poison that emanated during the Samudramanthan (churning of the ocean) made his throat blue in color. Thus, Shiva is also known as Neelkanth, literally meaning The Blue Throated One.

We stopped the vehicle approximately 1.1 KMs before the temple and started walking. It was very crowded and we were lucky enough to see the morning arti in temple. 

We then visited Vashisht Cave and Arundati Gufa in Rishikesh - Badrinath road. One can't miss the serenity and tranquility around the cave. It has a hallowed history. Legend says that it was inhabited by Sage Vashishtha for penance. 

Adjacent to the Vashistha cave, is the cave of his consort Arundhati. Walking a few metres on the banks of the Ganga downstream, will take you to this cave. These caves are shrouded in mystery. One of the local monks said, "It is believed that this cave is so long that it has a direct short cut to Badrinath." Another monk vouchsafes for a special divine experience when you meditate in these caves. Spending some time inside the cave in silence, invigorates the being. You can carry that silence for a long time time when you come out. We spent some time inside both the caves.

Traffic was horrible in Rishikesh and Mahadevan dropped me approximately before 1.5 KMs of Lakshman Jhula. He went to Sivanandashram (he did a 3 months diploma there few years ago and decided to visit his teachers, I joined him later after visiting the jhulas)

Lakshman Jhula - a big hanging bridge is a must visit in Rishikesh. Maintenance works were going on and we can see the bridge (side view) after walking through the banks of Ganga. There's also a dedicated temple for Lakshman ji near this bridge.

Ram Jhula - another hanging bridge, you could literally feel mild swings while walking on this. It was a thrilling experience and many people were walking to & fro enjoying the jerk :)

Had couple of lemon sodas and walked to Sivanandashram. There's a prayer hall where rama jabam gets chanted throughout the day. A divine feel :) His teacher served us hot tea, we conversed for 30 minutes on various subjects and left the place by 4.30 PM.

We reached Haridwar, same parking lot & hotel. I walked and bought some rice, sesame seeds for Mahadevan (the next day was Amavasya) We indulged in street foods of Haridwar, local fruits, sprouts and had vilampazham (wood apple or bael fruit) juice for dinner.

Luv,

Krishna & Mahadevan

insta - viswanatkr01