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.
Shri Bilkeshwar Mahadev Temple
An ancient temple of Lord Shiva situated amidst greenery, and surrounded by the trees, soothes your soul. At this temple, Maa Parvati does “Tapasya” for ages, and happy with her Tapasya, Lord Shiva blessed her. In return, Mata Parvati expressed her wish of being a wife of Lord Shiva.
You can visit “Gauri Kund” and it is believed that the water never dries. Afterwards, seek blessings of Lord Shiva and Nandi Ji, and if you have time, sit there for a while. While going back there is a small Hanuman Temple managed by a sage who stays there, must visit that and read Hanuman Chalisa. If you desire for your own house, it is believed that if you stand stone one after another with the wish, Lord Shiva and Maa Parvati grant your wish.
Maya Devi Temple
In Maya Devi Temple, the Heart of Mata Sati falled down and the temple is part of Shaktipeeth. Inside the temple gate, floors are prepared for the people to reside, they cook food together and serve to Devi Maya, then to the people.
Beside the temple there is an old peepal tree where you can lit diya and tie sacred thread. Most of us don’t know that the ancient name of Haridwar city was Mayapuri, in the name of Maya Devi.
Char Dham Temple
Haridwar’s Char Dham temple astonishes you in various ways. At the entrance of the temple, you will find a tree of Black Rudraksha which is rare to find. Moving forward there is a stone that floats in water, it is believed that this is the same stone used by Lord Ram while making the bridge from India to Sri Lanka. The temple has 4 floors, and each floor denotes the replica of Char Dham Yatra.
After seeking blessings, you will encounter with the government personnels – Uttarakhand Government who explain to you the authenticity of Rudrakash and various Stones. If you believe in stones, you can buy from here at a reasonable rate and bill from the Uttarakhand Government. You can also return the stones even after a year if you feel the stone is not worthy.
Mahamrityunjaya Temple
The temple of Lord Shiva is situated in a huge area and the carvings of the temple are so beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off. Inside the premises there are two temples of Lord Shiva, one where the Shiva Linga is made with Paras, thus called Parasnath, you are not allowed to touch the linga.
In another temple, you can offer water, belpatra, and flowers to Lord Shiva. In front of this temple, a statue of Shri Nandi Ji is situated who is watching his god, Lord Shiva. You can sit and meditate there and also click the pictures of beautiful carvings. The other part of this temple that you can’t miss is Rudraksha Tree where people take 108 circles, but we took only 3 circles around the sacred tree.
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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