By road
~215-225 km from Delhi
North India · Uttarakhand
Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Where the Ganga enters the plains · ~215-225 km from Delhi
Getting there
By rail
Haridwar Junction (HW), its own major station in the city
By air
Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun, ~35-40 km
Best time to visit
October to March; any evening for Har ki Pauri aarti
Don't miss
Har ki Pauri
Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi temples
Daksh Mahadev
Things to do
Ganga aarti at Har ki Pauri
Ghat baths
Akhara visits
Where to eat
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: Livefree2013 · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Modest wear, slip-off sandals, a securable bag in crowds
A quieter corner
Chandi Devi by ropeway at opening time, before the queues
Before you go
One of the Sapta Puri and one of the four Kumbh Mela cities -- the gateway where the Ganga leaves the mountains; the Kanwar Yatra (July-August) closes roads to most traffic.
About Haridwar
- Riverside
Where it is
Haridwar is a city in Uttarakhand where the Ganges emerges from the Shivalik hills onto the northern plains, downstream of Rishikesh and close to the border with Uttar Pradesh.
History
Haridwar, whose name means gateway to Vishnu, has been one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage cities for many centuries and is one of the seven sacred cities, the Sapta Puri. It is one of the four sites of the Kumbh Mela, held here every twelve years, with an Ardh Kumbh in between.
People
Haridwar's people speak Hindi and Urdu, and its priestly families, the pandas, have kept genealogy registers of visiting pilgrim families for generations. Ashrams, dharamshalas and the akharas of Hindu ascetic orders line the riverbanks.
Known for
- The evening Ganga aarti at Har ki Pauri
- The Kumbh Mela
- Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi temples
- Holy dips in the Ganges
- The Kanwar Yatra in the monsoon
Did you know?
By tradition, Har ki Pauri is one of the four places where drops of amrita, the nectar of immortality, fell to earth, which is why Haridwar hosts the Kumbh Mela.
Shrines and sites
- Har Ki Pauri and the evening Ganga Aarti
- Mansa Devi Temple
- Chandi Devi Temple
- Maya Devi Temple
Traditions
- Hindu
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.