Few Things To Avoid If You Are Travelling To Haridwar, Uttarakhand

DATE: 12th November 2017

What are the few things which come to your mind when you hear the name Haridwar?

Let me help you with that, Ganges or Ganga our holy river, beautiful Ghats, Temples, Sadhus and the beautiful Arati which takes place every evening at the Har ki Pauri Ghat. This recent trip was my second time in Haridwar also known as Dev Bhoomi (Gods own land). To be quite honest a lot has changed over the years, although I was a fan of Haridwar but in my recent trip I had a lot of experiences which definitely was not pleasing and I am here to share them with all of you.

I started my Journey from Kolkata on 12th November 2017 that too in the Kumbha Express which leaves from Howrah at around 1 PM. I was taken aback by the fact that there was no Pantry car available when I boarded the train. But that was not a big deal then because I knew at least there are few significant stations where the train will stop and I will get something to eat. However, the train journey soon turned into a nightmare when I heard that it was running almost 5 hours late. Things took a worse turn when I came to know that the train was nearly 7 hours late by that time I was practically starving. The train finally reached Haridwar at around 11 P.m. while its right schedule was somewhere around 4 P.m. Because of my late arrival, I had to cancel my next day's trip. As a result, I got one more day on hand to spend in Haridwar and explore the City

I reached Haridwar station and found few foreign travelers were shouting outside the station I later came to know that one of their bags was missing which contained some necessary documents. Anyway, I was tired and moved on with my luggage to Bharat Sevashram where I heard that the rooms were cheap. Because I had to stay there just for a day I decided not to spend a significant amount on accommodation. Fortunately, the room was clean, but the bed sheets and the blankets were not. I did not pay much attention to them and completed my dinner and went to sleep.

PLACES TO VISIT IN HARIDWAR

Now that I had one extra day to spend in Haridwar thanks to Indian Railway, I planned to wake up early and click some photographs of the Ghats. Unfortunately, that plan failed because I woke up late next day so, I decided to take a small tour of the City.

There are quite a number of places for you to visit if you are a religious person. You can spend an entire day visiting different temples which include Chandi Devi, Mansa Devi, Maya Devi, Kankhal, Dudhadhari Barfani Temple, Sureshvari Devi Temple, Bharat Mata Mandir, Pawan Dham temple all located within the radius of the City and few slightly outside the town.

Amongst all the other places one particular place which caught my eye was the Patanjali Yogpeeth (Trust). Whether you are a fan of Baba Ramdev or not but I must inform you if you visit this place don't forget to try the Pera (sweet) sold at the canteen of the Patanjali Yogpeeth. I am pretty sure that these were some of the best Pedas that I consumed ever (Unfortunately I forgot the prices at this moment). Take a walk around the place, and you will love it for its peaceful environment if you want you can even participate in the Yoga session there as well.

It was almost evening and I decided not to miss the Arati which is one of the main attractions of Haridwar and takes place every evening at the Har ki Pauri Ghats which is also the main landmark of Haridwar.

This is one thing which you definitely want to experience if you are at the place. Trust me you want to reach the place early and book your place towards the front you do not want to stand at the back during Arati (if you want to know why go to the bottom of the article directly).

The one thing which I liked about the place is that winter clothes and blankets are quite cheap if you know how to bargain. (P.S:- Although few shops out there hang the fixed price sign but if you know how to bargain I am sure you will get a good deal out of it as well).

ACCOMMODATION

There are plenty of hotels available in Haridwar starting from as low as 300 Rupees. If you want to stay near the Ghats, you can find some cheap hotel rooms there as well if luxury and comfort is not your primary priority.

You can click the link and find some great deals here: (P.S.:- I am not getting paid for this link I just wanted to make sure that I have not left out any information).

HARIDWAR IS FOR FOODIES

If you are a foodie, then trust me you will love Haridwar. I have heard a lot about Mohan ji Puri wale, so I decided to give it a try. Located near Police Chowki, Har ki Pauri trusts me this is the best place if you love puris. The eatery remains congested almost all the time and if you are a hygienic person then this site is definitely not for you.

You can also visit Hoshiyar Puri, located near Upper Road, Ram Ghat. This is an affordable restaurant where you can have good fresh food served quite fast. You can also find various dishes here. Do not forget to taste the kheer. Visit once here if you want to eat North Indian food.

There are plenty of sweet shops out there as well which you should also try once if you are a foodie, but if you want to taste some good pedas, I highly recommend you to visit Patanjali Yogpeeth just like I mentioned above.

FEW THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD AVOID IF YOU ARE IN HARIDWAR

1> There are plenty of people who will surround you once you step out of the Haridwar station to take you to different hotels try to avoid them if you have an option. I am not saying all of them are there to loot you but if you can book your hotels before you visit the place you can avoid last minute terrible decisions.

2> There are plenty of hoax charitable trust members out there who roam in the Ghats with false bills. Try to know the person's background and details of his or her charitable trust before offering them money.

3> Some of the hotels near the Ghats serves worst quality food so check once before you start eating.

4> There are plenty of travel and Tourism offices in the City who provide vehicles for further journeys. Please do check more than one or two agencies and compare the prices before selecting any. Their prices vary a lot during off-seasons, and you can save a lot of money there.

5> There are some small wooden tables near the Har Ki Pauri Ghats which charges money atleast 50 rupees if you sit on them during the evening Arati. Reach the place early before 4 PM to avoid the rush and click good quality pictures.

HOW TO REACH HARIDWAR