UK Trip Report

Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to the Bharatpur blog, now adding another trip report but this time it is not a wildlife trip. February month is for a family trip with parents so apart from wildlife I keep schedule according to their choice, so this time trip report is from the UK, of course, it is not United Kingdome but it is our own UK “Uttarakhand.” The beauty of the places in Uttarakhand "UK" is just unmatched, you can feel it like heaven at all the time, and the season makes it more fruitful.

To begin with, let me tell you what all we evaluated and then will go into the details of the places. Since the trip was for parents, the adventure was not part of the schedule. The places we covered were Haridwar, Rishikesh, and Mussoorie. All three places have their own importance and are rich with a beauty which made us crazy and so happy that it cannot be described completely in words. Still, I will try to elaborate with key information so as it will help you to plan your trip, so let us take a flight and reach directly to the UK without any visa.

Entry to heaven

On day one, we arrived at Dehradun and reached Rishikesh for a stay since it was already 8 pm so no point to evaluate anything on day 1 so the journey started from day 2. We were stationed at Rishikesh but we started with Haridwar.

Haridwar

As you are aware that Haridwar is regarded as a holy place and is known for hosting important religious events and serving as a gateway to several prominent places of worship. If you are not aware then let me tell you that Haridwar is famous for the celebration of Kumbha Mela, which is celebrated every 12 years and every 6 years for Ardh Kumbh.

Being a short trip we only had 1 day to evaluate Haridwar so we opted to visit Chandi Devi temple, Mansa Devi Temple and Har ki Pauri.

Chandi Devi Temple

The temple is situated atop the Neel Parvat on the Eastern summit of the Sivalik Hills. Chandi Devi Temple was built in 1929 by Suchat Singh in his reign as the King of Kashmir. However, the main murti of Chandi Devi at the temple is said to have been installed in the 8th century by Adi Shankaracharya. The attraction recently introduce is a cable car (Ropeway/ Udankhatola). Visitors can reach the temple either by trekking route of 3KM or by cable car.

Chandi Devi Temple is highly revered by devotees as a Siddh Peetha, which is a place of worship where desires get fulfilled. It is one of three such Peethas located in Haridwar, the other two being Mansa Devi Temple and Maya Devi Temple.

Mansa Devi Temple

Near from Chandi Devi temple, it is located on a top of the Bilwa Parvat on the Sivalik Hills. The temple, also known as Bilwa Tirth is one of the Panch Tirth (Five Pilgrimages) within Haridwar. The term Mansa means wish and it is believed that the goddess fulfills all the wishes of a sincere devotee.

The temple is known for being the holy abode of Mansa Devi, a form of Shakti and is said to have emerged from the mind of Lord Shiva. Mansa is regarded as the sister of the Nāga (serpent) Vasuki. She is also believed to be the daughter of Lord Shiva in his human incarnate. Similar to Chandi Devi temple same Udankhatola (Cable Car) service is available here as well.

Har Ki Pauri

HAR means 'Lord Shiva', 'Ki', means 'of', and 'Pauri', means 'steps'. Har Ki Pauri is a major landmark place and a famous ghat on the banks of the river Ganga in Haridwar. A center place of attraction among devotees in Haridwar, Har ki Pauri is believed to be the place of exit of holy river Ganga from the mountains. Kumbh Mela is celebrated on Har Ki Pauri Ghat, so now you can imagine the importance of the place.

World-famous Ganga Aarti takes place in the Brahmakund area of Har ki Pauri, a sacred spot where it is believed that the nectar (Amrit) felled on earth. We were lucky to be present at Ganga Arti, the flow of the holy river was a treat to watch and Arti gave us peace of mind, truly amazing experience.

Arti Timing - Sunset time

To ensure you get the best place to feel the divine and spirituality, you need to reach at least one hour prior to the start of Arti. It starts around 6.15 pm, check sunset time of the day you plan to visit and accordingly plan your arrival at the place.

Rishikesh

Now it’s time for Rishikesh, Located in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, it is known as the "Gateway to the Garhwal Himalayas" and "Yoga Capital" of the World. Similar to Haridwar it is known as the pilgrimage town and regarded as one of the holiest places. The place also offers adventure activities such as River Rafting, Bungee jumping, etc. but our preference was not adventuring so we went to other important places such as:

Neel Kanth Mahadev Temple

The temple is situated at a height of 1330 meters and is located about 32 km from Rishikesh. The temple is one of the most revered holy shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and is a prominent 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.

Ram Jula & Lakshman Jula

Ram Jula is an iron suspension bridge across the river Ganges, built-in the year 1986, the bridge is one of the iconic landmarks of Rishikesh.

Lakshman Jula - Despite its location on the outskirts of the city, it is one of the iconic landmarks of Rishikesh, it was closed in 2019 due to repair but now it is operational. It is said that the Hindu deity Lakshmana crossed the Ganges on jute ropes where the bridge is built. Lakshman Jhula was completed in 1929.

Parmarth Niketan

Parmarth Niketan is situated in the lap of the lush Himalayas, along the banks of the Ganges. Swami Shukdevanandji Maharaj (1901–1965) founded the ashram in 1942. As the largest ashram in Rishikesh with over several hundred rooms, Parmarth Niketan provides a clean, pure and sacred atmosphere as well as abundant, beautiful gardens to thousands of pilgrims, who come from all corners of the Earth.

Ganga Arti at Triveni Ghat

It is the biggest and most famous ghat in Rishikesh at the banks of Ganges. Triveni Ghat remains overcrowded with devotees to take ritual baths to get cleansed from their sins. It is believed that the ghat was visited by Lord Krishna when he got hurt by the arrow of Jara – a hunter. Being the most venerated ghat in Rishikesh, Triveni Ghat is even used by devotees to perform the last rites and rituals of their loved ones.

the Star of the Trip

The ghat is famed for the Ganga aarti performed to the chants of Vedic hymns. The traditional aarti is a sight to behold. The atmosphere while forming aarti is just amazing, you just forget every stress and mind gets freshen up due to the purity of the atmosphere. You can also participate in aarti by contributing to your wish. They don’t demand money forcefully after aarti spiritual music is played and people dance there freely to enjoy the moment.

Mussoorie

Now after religious visit time came for leisure so we decided to visit Mussoorie to see hill station in the UK. It is about 35 kilometers (22 mi) from the state capital of Dehradun. It is in the foothills of the Garhwal Himalayan range and hence offers beautiful sightings of mountains layered with snow. Due to winter, the temperature was below 10 and that’s the charm of it. On the 20^th night, it was raining with lightning which pushed the temperature to below 6 degrees.

During the stay of 2 days, we only evaluated Dhanaulti, a place located 24 km away from Mussoorie. The Doon Valley and snow-covered Garhwal Himalayas can be viewed from there. We saw layers of snow still there on roads and on the mountain. Lovely weather complimented the place to make our trip the most successful one. During Dhanaulti finally, I clicked a few birds as well to get satisfaction because I cannot keep myself away from wildlife for long.

We missed a few 😞

Though we missed a few things such as Maya Devi temple, Rafting, Bungee Jumping, Kempty waterfall, Beatles Ashram, Rajaji National Park, etc but due to a short trip, we managed to cover a few best places and trust me all of them were just best.

Local Food treat

During the trip we also enjoyed local food at places such as Choti Wala, Gulab restaurant, and Kumar Sweets at Dehradun. Additionally local street food at various places like aloo tiki, Kachori, Samosa, Chole Bhature, GOTI Soda, Shikanji were amazing, wherever you go you just cannot miss out on local food.

I hope you enjoy now wildlife blog as well, leaving you with few clicks in DSLR section, do give your feedback on btwildart@gmail.com

Vote of Thanks: The blog cannot end without a vote of thanks the contribution of each one is crucial without which the journey is incomplete

Travel arrangement

Saurabh/Jogi (Mumbai Travelers) guys you and your team are just perfect, just because of you the trip was memorable. I was concerned due to parents along with me but you managed the whole trip from the booking of the hotel to car released all my worries. Many thanks and blessings to you from parents as well. Cheers!

Hotels

Cygnett Resort Grand Shiva at Rishikesh - Good & descent rooms, humble and helpful staff and good food.

Amatra Dunsvirk Court, Mussoorie – Very Good food, superb view since it is located on the highest point of Mussoorie. Very humble and ready to help staff.

Car Driver -

Naeem Bhai on the first day and Jitendra Ji for the rest of the trip, very helpful and caring, driving was very careful on ghats, many thanks.

A Message of the Day –