HARIDWAR:- Gateway of God’s
As soon as the name of Haridwar comes, the spirit of spirituality starts awakening in the mind, the picture of Baba Bholenath starts coming in the mind. Even it is the city of Bholenath, I had reached Haridwar railway station at 5 am in the morning, although I had taken a ticket from Delhi to Dehradun, but I was too eager to visit Haridwar, so I picked up my bag and got off the train. Since, it was the month of February, winter was also at its peak, but with a strong desire to visit Haridwar in my mind, I left the railway station, as soon as I came out, it felt as if someone had thrown snow balls on the face, the cold winds made some. This is how he was welcomed me in Haridwar.
I quickly put on my cap and walked out of the station on the road, a tea shop was open near the entry gate, so I thought I would ask about budget hotels or lodges drinking tea from them, the owner of the tea shop told me that there are many hotels and lodges around here. By then Surya Maharaj had also started opening his eyes, enjoying the cool breeze of the winter morning, I set out on foot to find the hotel, the train I had caught from delhi was around 12 o’clock in the night, so my sleep It was also not done properly, so my first task was to take a hotel and settle my routine and get out quickly and visit Haridwar. I found the hotel near the railway station. Hotel Shivmurti which is near Shivmurti Chowk. For which I had to pay 600 rupees, the room was fine with the view of the city from the balcony.
Around 12 o’clock I went out to eat, although the hotel had restaurant facilities but it was a bit expensive. So I set out after walking a short distance, I went to a hotel and enjoyed pure vegetarian food there, that too for 80 rupees only, let me tell you one thing Haridwar is a paradise for vegetarian eaters. Now the food was finished, so I came back to the hotel and then with the help of Google Baba started looking for the nearby places, first I had to go to “Har Ki Pauri” so I decided to leave in the evening. I reached Har Ki Pauri around 6:30 pm in the evening, that too on foot from my hotel which is located at a distance of about 1.8 km. When I came out of my hotel, it was about to sunset, instead of sunlight, the street lights in the streets and alleys were lit. There were many restaurants, street food, and puja samagri shops on both sides of the road, from where the aroma of burning of beautiful incense sticks was coming from somewhere, and in the midst of all this, light rain started coming. I thought I should just keep walking, I reached the banks of the river Ganges, where medium light from the windows of hotels built on the banks of the river was falling on the continuous flowing waves of Mother Ganga.
I just took out my camera and started capturing these beautiful moments. there was a road bridge to reach opposite side of the river, crossing which I came to another side, on this side there was a ghat on the bank of the river, I kept on moving forward with the help of this ghat. After walking for a while, I reached Har Ki Pauri there was a lot of crowd. between the two ghats River Ganga was flowing pulsatingly, it was an unforgettable feeling. Sitting here on the shore, I got lost in the sound of bells coming from the temples, the scent of incense and incense sticks as well as the noise of the flowing waters of Maa Ganga, when suddenly the rain intensified and I had to come back to my hotel. The next day I left for my next stop after seeing many more places which was Rishikesh.
Significance of Haridwar :- The city of Haridwar is also known as Mayapuri, Kapila, Mokshadwar and Gangadwar. The city finds mention in many ancient Hindu epics. The history of this city is present from the time of King Vikramaditya. It is known for its world famous religious centers and tourist attractions. Most of the religious places located here are situated on the banks of the holy river Ganges.
Nearby places of Haridwar :- The most important and holy place here is Har-ki-Pauri, which is also known as Brahmakund. This is the place where the river Ganges leaves the mountains and enters the plains. There are many footprints on the ghats of the river, which are believed to belong to the Hindu god Vishnu. Many devotees come here to perform various rituals such as ‘mundan’ and ‘asthi visarjan’. It is believed that by immersing the ashes here one attains salvation. After every 12 years a ‘Kumbh Mela’ is organized here. Devotees from all over the world come here to participate in this grand religious festival.
Famous religious places: – Maya Devi, Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi temples, Vaishno Devi Temple, and Bharat Mata Temple, are located in many other famous religious places here. Bharat Mata Temple is dedicated to Bharat Mata and is a main tourist attraction in Haridwar. This temple was built by the great religious guru Swami Satyamitranand Giri. The temple has eight storeys, each of which is dedicated to several Hindu deities and freedom fighters. Travelers can see the statues of many great freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Veer Savarkar and Subhash Chandra Bose etc. in this temple. Apart from these temples, Sapta Rishi Ashram, Temple of Shravanathji, Chilla Wildlife Sanctuary, Daksha Mahadev Temple, and Gau Ghat also attract tourists in large numbers. Sapta Rishi Ashram is known for its great religious importance. According to Hindu Puranas, this ashram has been built at the place where the Sapta Rishis or seven great sages, Atri, Kashyapa, Jamadagni, Bharadwaj, Vashistha, Vishwamitra, and Gautam Rishi used to meditate. While in Haridwar, tourists can participate in various festivals such as Ram Navami, Buddha Purnima, Kanwar Mela, and Diwali. Kanwar Mela is organized every year and during this time about two to three crore people visit Haridwar.
How to reach Haridwar: – Travelers can reach Haridwar by air, rail or road. The nearest domestic airport to this place is Jolly Grant Airport which is located about 45 km away. It is also connected to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport by regular flights.
The nearest railway station is Haridwar railway station, which is well connected to all the major cities of India. It can also be reached by buses from different parts of the country. Apart from this, buses are available from New Delhi to Haridwar at regular intervals.
Haridwar Weather:- Haridwar experiences extreme heat in summer and extreme cold in winter and humidity in the monsoon season. Monsoon is not a good time to visit Haridwar as the weather is very uncomfortable during this time. The best time to visit Haridwar is from September to June as the weather is pleasant here.
The footsteps 