Rishikesh, the World Capital of Yoga, has been one of India's holiest and most spiritual centres for thousands of years. Rishikesh is a magical city on the blue banks of the holy Ganges river and nestled under the gaze of the mystical Himalayas. Rishikesh – known as the birthplace of yoga – is located at the foothills of the Himalayas along the sacred Ganges river. It is a haven for travellers looking for spirituality and solitude. To get there, one can fly into Haridwar Airport in Dehradun or take a bus, taxi or train from the bustling Indian capital city, Delhi. It is seven hours away by road from New Delhi.
After the arrival of the Beatles in the ’60s, the small river town saw an influx of hippie travellers, some of whom have transcended to Hare Rama Hare Krishna tribes, and to this day dance around the street in excitement chanting ancient Hindu verses in their orange garments, wearing pigtails at the back of their head. Spirituality is mostly at sale in this town with hundreds of yoga centres, ashrams, horoscope readers, palm readers and psychics. It is believed that meditation in Rishikesh brings one closer to attainment of moksha, as does a dip in the holy river that flows through it (River Ganga). Rishikesh is home to the 133-year-old Kailash Ashram Brahmavidyapitham, an institution dedicated to preserve and promote traditional Vedantic studies.
Although Rishikesh is famous for yoga schools, the scope of yoga education in Rishikesh has now been expanded to Ayurveda too. There are many schools in Rishikesh which provide Ayurveda and Yoga teacher training programs. It’s a pretty little town spread across beautiful crystal green waters, a place to chill and relax and venture into some yoga. The town is alive with western travellers, sadhus, yogis, monkeys (lots of monkeys), lazy cows, goats and dogs. It’s always nice to sit along the sacred river to witness a monkey-dog fight as they tussle over a stick, a sight most entertaining in these parts of town.
More importantly, it’s a town abundant with yoga classes, from Ashtanga to Hatha, Iyenger to Kundalini; various ashrams, gurujis and schools offer different levels of yoga training. For ages, Rishikesh has been known to be the hub of yoga and meditation. It is from India that yoga was taught and spread to other countries all over the world by various yoga masters. This place has a lot of masters with a lot of wisdom on the offer when it comes to yoga. And when you have so much on the offer, why go to any other place?
Rishikesh could be a jewel of associate entry into the deep Himalaya and a gateway for those seeking to travel deep into their spiritual practice.
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India is a vast country and a mystery to most. Those who live in it, those who now live outside of India or those who are just visiting. We, at NRIClub™, serve as a centralized hub of information for the residents, non-residents and travellers who are not familiar with various aspects of this great country.
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