Rishikesh

About Rishikesh

Rishikesh is on the way to Badrinath and Kedarnath from Haridwar. It would take just a little more than half a day to cover the important places in Rishikesh. The weather remains very pleasant and cool throughout the year due to the cool Ganges and Himalayas surrounding it. Rishikesh offers lot of other adventurous activities like trekking, river rafting and is an important Yoga center. There are several temples nearby.

How to Reach

Rishikesh is only 24 kms from Haridwar and is well connected by road with all major cities.

Nearest railhead : Haridwar
Nearest Airport: Dehradun

Places to see

Lakshman Jhoola

Pic:Google

This is a hanging bridge across the Ganga river without any pillars. It is a very old bridge and is said to be originally built by Lakshman, Lord Rama’s brother in jute. Later, it was converted into an iron bridge. It is a very nice experience crossing this suspended bridge with the view of the Ganges below and the Himalayas surrounding it.

Ram Jhoola

This is a comparatively recently constructed suspended bridge across the Ganges and this place comes before Lakshman Jhoola. It is also known as Shivanand Jhoola. Walking down 2 kms one can reach the Lakshman Jhoola.

Triveni Ghat

Taking bath in this very popular bathing spot is said to be very auspicious since three mountain streams come together at his place. A bath here is said to relieve the devotee of all the sins committed till date. Pooja is done in the evening and lamps are set afloat in the Ganges after it.

13-Storey Building (Kailashanand Mission Ashram)

This building is on one side of the Lakshman Jhoola. Every floor of the building has small temples and shops. The view of Ganges and Himalayas from the topmost floor is breathtaking.

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Haridwar and the Ganges

About Haridwar
 Haridwar is considered to be one among the seven most holy pilgrimage cities as per the Hindu traditions. Haridwar actually means “Gateway to the Abode of Gods”. One has to pass through Haridwar to reach Kedarnath and Badrinath. The ideal period to be in Haridwar is during September to June. You surely will be able to spot groups of sadhus belonging to different mutts, clad in saffron clothes moving around Haridwar. Don’t forget to carry Ganga Jal (water) back with you…you get cans, bottles and even small copper vessels for this.

How to Reach

Haridwar is the place where the Ganges touches the plains after flowing through the Himalayas. It is easily accessible by road from the capital of India, Delhi and also other major cities in North India. The distance between Haridwar and Delhi is 200 kms. Share autos are available for moving around Haridwar.

Nearest Railhead : Haridwar
Nearest Airport : Dehradun (65 Kms)

Where to take the holy dip in Haridwar

Har-Ki-Pauri is the place to take bath at Haridwar as the Ganges enters the plains exactly over here. It is said to be the place where Lord Vishnu’s foot print is present on the wall. It is considered to be a very auspicious to take bath here and the Ganga Aarti is also performed here.

What to see –
 There are many old and new temples and tourist attractions in Haridwar.

Ganga Aarti :
 Ganga aarti is a sight surely not to be missed at Haridwar. It is performed daily at 7 pm. It is absolutely splendid to see aarti being performed simultaneously in all the temples in the banks of the Ganges. After the aarti, thousands of lamps are lit and floated in the Ganges.

Mansa Devi Temple :

This beautiful temple is situated on the top of the hill overlooking the Ganges. The goddess is said to be very powerful and a fulfiller of wishes of devotees. One can reach the temple either by climbing up the hill or through the Ropeway.

An extraordinary view of the Ganges and Haridwar is possible from the temple.

Chandi Devi Mandir :
 This is another temple of a goddess atop a hill on the other side of the Ganges. There is a ropeway here also like Mansa Devi Temple to go up. A superb view of Haridwar and Ganges can also be had from here.

Sapta Rishi Ashram :

This place is around 5 kms from Haridwar and is said to be the place where the Ganges splits into seven channels. The history goes on to say that Ganga split into seven parts so as to keep moving without disturbing the seven sages or Rishis who were doing meditation there.

Bharat Mata Mandir:

This is a very famous tourist attraction and a temple dedicated to Bharat Mata (Mother India). There are seven floors in this temple with each floor being dedicated to some special personalities like freedom fighters, saints etc. The ground floor has a statue of Mother India and a huge 3-D Map right in the centre.

Vaishno-Devi Temple :

This temple is an exact replica of the very famous Vaishnodevi temple in Jammu, India. One has to pass through small tunnels and caves like in the original temple to have darshan of Mata Vaishnodevi, another powerful goddess in India. This temple is on the way to Bharat Mata Mandir.

Of late, several new and fantasy temples have come up in Haridwar that are increasingly becoming famous tourist attractions.

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Tondanur Temples

About the Place

After leaving Srirangam, Ramanujacharya stayed for many years at Tondanur before travelling further to Melkote. Here, Ramanujacharya relieved the Jain king Bittideva’s daughter from evil spirits. When the king embraced Srivaishnavism, around 12,000 jain scholars reached the Narashima temple in Tondanur where Ramanuja was staying and asked the saint to enter into a debate with them regarding religion. When Ramanujacharya answered all their questions simultaneously taking the form of adishesha, all of them accepted him as their guru and they too embraced Srivaishnavism.

How to Reach
 Tondanur is just 8 kms from Pandavpura in Mandya District, Karnataka. Pandavpura is linked to the Bangalore-Mysore Highway. Also, Tondanur is just 20 kms from Melkote. While travelling from Melkote to Pandavpura, Tondanur is a diversion on the right side.

You need to pass through the village and sugarcane farms on both sides to reach the temples. It would be ideal to hire some private vehicle to visit these temples. Distance between Bangalore and Tondanur is about 130 kms.

                                                                            Lake

A lake was constructed at Tondanur during Ramanuja’s stay. It is popularly known as ‘Tirumala Sagara’ and also Moti-Talab meaning Pearl Lake. A dip in this lake is said to be very auspicious.

Temples in Tondanur
There are three ancient temples in Tondanur.

The first is Laxminarayana or Nambinarayana temple where the lord holds shanku, charka, gadha and padma in four hands. Nambi Narayana in this temple holds the Chanku on right and chakra on left, which is very rare. The lord is holding it so to perform smashrayana for Tondanur nambi.

Exactly opposite the temple is Gopalakrishnaswamy temple.

Lord Krishna looks splendid in the Gopalakrishnaswamy temple with his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama.

The third temple of Lord Yoga Narasimha is a bit away from these two temple and is on a small hillock.

The lake is close to the YogaNarasimha temple. Ramanujacharya looks splendid in shesha avataram in this temple. The priest also shows a small glass box with a bag inside that is said to be brought by Ramanujacharya when he came to Tondanur.

Temples in proximity

Melkote Cheluvanarayana swamy temple, Melkote Yoga Narasimhar temple
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