Rishikesh

Rishikesh is another pilgrimage town in the Dehradun apart fror Haridwar. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Chandrabhaga.According to a legend, it was in this sacred town that Ram undertook a penance to atone for the sin of killing the Brahmin Ravana.

The town, which is named after a legendary saint named Rabhiya Rishi, is home to a number of temples and ashrams, and attracts tens of thousands of devotees from all over India each year. The Bharat, Chandra Mauleshwaran, Lakshman, Pushkar, Raghunath, Shatrughan and Venkateshwar temples are some of the most famous shrines in Rishikesh.

Besides Haridwar, Rishikesh also serves as a base for the so-called Chota Char Dham pilgrimage to Badrinath, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Yamunotri.Rishikesh is also the venue of the annual International Yoga Festival which attracts participants from many countries.

The town is also a popular adventure tourism destination, especially for trekking and white water rafting. Attractions in and around Rishikesh include the Lakshman and Shivanand (or Ram) Jhoola suspension bridges across the river Ganga (the Lakshman Jhoola started life as a jute rope bridge); the Triveni bathing ghat, the Gita Bhawan, Muni ki Reti, Shankaracharya, Shivanand, Swarg and Ved Niketan ashrams; and the Yoga Study Centre