I had been to Haridwar several times, but this time I had made a budgeted trip to Haridwar from Delhi. I went to Haridwar with 4 friends, I am a bit confused about what I should call them, because I met with them in the society park. You can say, we became yoga friends for the trip.
We boarded a bus from Rajeev Chowk, Gurgaon for Haridwar, if you book the bus 2 days before, you will get a better price. We booked a bus from MMTP – Make My Trip and it cost only 500/-, it was an overnight journey. We reached Haridwar at 7:15 am, the distance from the drop point to “Har ki Pauri” was walkable.
Har Ki Pauri Ganga Snan/Bath
If you are planning for a one day trip, then you don’t need to book a room at a hotel. You can book dharamshala which is available on an hourly basis. If you want a more budgeted trip, then you can freshen-up in “Sulabh-Sauchalaya” which costs only 10/-. Afterwards, take a dip in the holy Ganga river.
Nowadays, the water is so neat and clean, but the level of water is dipping. We were there for more than one hour. Actually, I wanted to spend the whole day at Ganga ji, but of course we had some other plans.
Mansa Devi Temple
After taking a dip at Ganga Ji, we decided to eat something to gain strength. The “Chotiwala Restaurant” at Ganga ghat offers good food at an affordable price. There are two options to reach Mansa Devi, either by stairs or via ropeway. I had spiritual friends, so we decided to go by stairs, which was around 850. It was pleasant weather, while on our way we kept our bags at the store and bought Prashad for ourselves. The bag he kept at his store was safe and free of cost.
One of our friends got very tired so we took a short – short break and reached the destination. Our darshan went well and the rush was a bit less as compared to other festival days. We reached back and drank “Jaljeera” which was not that good.
Chandi Devi Temple
We were very tired, thus, we decided to go Chandi Devi Temple by Ropeway. We took rikshaw to reach the place where ropeway services are available. The prices are mentioned below:
- Chandi Devi Temple: Rs. 220/- (To & Fro)
- Mansa Devi Temple: Rs. 220/- (To & Fro)
- Both Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi – Rs. 419 (To & Fro)
I stand in a queue for the ticket, the price is mentioned above. The seating arrangement was very good, after taking the ticket, the queue entry is a must, otherwise your number will not come. The announcement is made for the number mentioned in your ticket and you have to reach the entry gate on the basis of announcements. Afterwards there was a short queue for the ropeway, the journey went well. The queue was less and our darshan went well.
Anjana Devi Temple
Anjana Devi is mother of Lord Hanuman, the distance from Chandi Devi is quite less, so we thought to take blessings of Mata Anjana. I had been to Chandi Devi earlier, but I never knew about Anjana Devi Temple. The idol is so beautiful that I can’t take my eyes off it. Mata was sitting with baby Hanuman in her lap.
There was also a big statue of Lord Hanuman, we took blessings of both and went for the ropeway.
Evening Ganga Aarti
We took the auto and reached Har Ki Pauri, our last destination. We had our lunch at the same restaurant, “Chotiwala”. The timing was enough, so one of our friends decided to take a dip at ganga ji. The evening aarti held at Har Ki Pauri, LEDs were also installed for a better view. We made a pledge before Aarti to clean Ganga by not throwing waste.
Final Thought
After aarti we decided to do some shopping and sat at Har Ki Pauri, as our bus timing was 8:30 pm. We reached the pick-up point before time to avoid last time chaos. Guys, if you are staying in Delhi-NCR and planning for a day trip on the weekend, then plan a trip to Haridwar. You won’t believe our trip cost Rs. 2000/- (approximately) and I can forget this memorable trip.
Pack your bag and explore the unexplored places with Hema…
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