Haridwar to Rishikesh is a one-hour drive, so technically you can make a day trip to Rishikesh from Haridwar. But to cover all the good locations and spots at both the locations, you need at least 2 days.

Haridwar: Best places to visit are Mansa Devi Temple, Harki Pauri, Ganga Arti, Chandi Devi temple

Rishikesh: Best places to visit are Lakshman Jhula, Triveni Ghat, Shivpuri for rafting and camping, Namaste Cafe, Neer Ghar waterfall, The Beatles Ashram.

Here is a suggested itinerary for a 2-day trip from Delhi to Haridwar:-

Day 1: Reach Haridwar from Delhi, check into hotel, witness the evening Arti and take a temple tour.

Day 2: Visit Har ki Pauri for a dip in the Holy Ganga. Visit Mansa Devi temple, Chandi Devi temple and return to Delhi.

One should ideally have at least 1 full day for Haridwar, and two days for visiting both Haridwar and Rishikesh.

Haridwar is surrounded by a number of landmarks and significant temples. Some of the top attractions here are Har Ki Pauri, Mansa Devi Temple, Shantikunj, Chandi Devi Temple and Chilla Range. Har Ki Pauri, a famous ghat on the banks of river Ganga is good to stop by to watch the religious rituals, prayers and for taking a dip in the water. The Ganga aarti performed everyday should not be missed by the tourists. The Chilla Wildlife Sanctuary nestled on the east banks of river Ganga is another popular tourist attraction. Ma Anandamayi Ashram dedicated to Sri Ma Anandamayi, Rajaji National Park, Pawan Dham and Ganga temple are the other top attractions.

For buying religious and ornamental items, Bara Bazaar is the place to stop over. Besides the religious paraphernalia, another popular selling item that sells like hot cakes here are the Ayurvedic medicines. Vendors claim that these medicines are made from original seeds found at Haridwar. Jwalapur Market is another popular shopping hub among the locals and tourists. People come to buy fresh vegetables, fruits, sweets and a variety of souvenirs. An alternative place to Bara Bazaar is the Moti Bazar market. Along with religious items, one can find here an eclectic range of accessories particularly, colorful bangles, glasses and junk jewelleries.

Best Time to visit Haridwar is months of October till December and February till Mid March.Travellers will find pleasant climate, less crowd compared to summer season and reasonable packages of hotels during this period.The mercury falls between 15 till 32 Degree in these months,making it ideal time to visit Haridwar. During the summers especially in months of May and June Haridwar sees major spikes in inflow of tourists starting their Chardham journey from Haridwar hence heavy crowd and traffic jams are common during the period.

Famous things to buy in Haridwar are

• FANCY CARVED STONE IDOLS,
• BEADS
• LOCAL HERBS
• COPPER AND BRASS PUJA UTENSILS,
• COLOURFUL GLASS BANGLES
• CANE BASKETS
• KITCHEN SET TOYS
• PICKLES
• AYURVEDA MEDICINES
• GEMS AND STONES
• RUDRAKASH BEAD
• LOCAL PICKLES &MURABBA
• SQUASH AND JAMS OF LOCAL FRUITS

Haridwar is famous for its temples namely Mansa Devi Temple,Chandi Devi Temple and ghats especially the Har-Ki-Pauri ghat where devotees takes dip in Ganga to accomplish salvation.Ganga Aarti Haridwar is performed at Har Ki Pauri Ghat in Haridwar daily in morning and evening which attracts large crowd.

Climate in Haridwar is categorized into three seasons Summer, Winter and Monsoon.

Haridwar in Summer:

In summer ( April- June ) the temperature of Haridwar varies from 35-45 Degree during day time while the evening temperature is around 20 Degree with cool breeze from river Ganga which flows from mid of the city making the climate pleasant.

Haridwar in Winter:

In winters(November-February) the temperature of Haridwar varies from 10-18 Degree during daytime while the evening temperature falls below 5 Degree.

Haridwar in Monsoon:

In Monsoon season from July to September Haridwar sees heavy rains with hot and humid climate.During day time humidity is high,making day activities a challenge, while the evenings are pleasant.

The images of Kulhar milk, crispy samosas, puris and more comes into the mind of a food lover upon thinking of Haridwar. The lanes of the city teems with some of the oldest food joints that you would have ever walked into. Try out milk kulhar from Pandit Sevaram Sharma Doodh Wale, sweet samosas Mathura Walo Ki Pracheen Dukan and kachoris at Kashyap Kachori Bhandar. One cannot leave Hardiwar without digging into a plate of chole bhature from Bhagwati Chole Bhandar. Mohan Ji Puri Wale is another popular food joint famous for Poori-Sabji, Samosa-Chatni and Lassi. The other places that are interesting to check out are Hoshiyar puri, Raghuvanshi Bhojanalay and Mashoor Mathura Wale.

The 'Panch Tirth' (Five Pilgrimages) within Haridwar which are Gangadwara (Har-ki-pauri), Kushwart (Ghat), Kankhal, Bilwa Teerth (Mansa Devi) and Neel Parvat (Chandi Devi) are the important and popular pilgrimage centres in the City. Besides that, there are several other temples and ashrams located in and around that are great to explore. Bharat Mata Mandir, set up by Swami Satyamitranand Giri is one such popular temple. Thronged by tons of travellers across the globe, the place is known for its intricate designs and magnificent structure. The other famous places include Daksha Mahadev temple, Vaishno Devi temple and Vishnu Ghat.

Trekking in Haridwar is one of the best ways to explore the city streets, forests and hills. Some of the places that are good for hiking are Valley of flowers, Gaumukh in Gangotri Glacier and Auli Kuari pass. One can consider trekking at Kunjapuri in neighbouring town, Rishikesh besides exploring Jhilmil Gufa, Nilkanth Mahadev Temple, Neer Gaddu waterfall, Garud chatti waterfall, Phool chatti . The best time to trek to Valley of Flowers, a meadow located at an altitude of about eleven thousand feet, is during the month of July, August and September.

Strictly Not.Consumption of alcohol and Non Veg is banned in Haridwar and is a punishable offence

Haridwar and Rishikesh are located at distance of 28 kms/ 1hr from each other.Haridwar is a old religious holy city with temples,ghats and Ganga Aarti in Har-Ki-Pauri ghat being major attraction. Rishikesh is a more lively place with plenty of yoga & meditation centers flocked with foreigners and plenty of adventure activities options like Rafting, Camping, Bungee Jumping along with old heritage tourist attractions namely Ram Jhula, Parmarth Niketan, Bharat Mata Mandir, Beatles Ashram.

Ganga Aarti Haridwar Timings

Yes. Jolly Grant Airport is located at 18 kms /30 mins distance from Haridwar while the Delhi Airport ( Domestic/ International Airport) is located at distance 225 Kms/5-6 Hrs.

Haridwar being an old ancient holy city remains flooded with Hindu devotees from across India and world throughout the year and one can witness rush in Haridwar during the events like Kumbh Mela, Ganga Dusshera, Kawad Mela and somvati amavasya mela etc.

In December temperature of Haridwar varies between 10-18 Degrees during the day and 5 Degree during the night.While the noon are normally sunny and pleasant,the evenings are chilling. With proper winter wears one can visit Haridwar in December.

In December temperature of Haridwar varies between 10-18 Degrees during the day and 5 Degree during the night

Taxi from Haridwar to Rishikesh normally charges INR 1000 for a small car, INR 1800 for SUV.The rates varies during the summer or long weekends.

Haridwar is well connected by railway networks with major destinations of India.Trains to Haridwar run on regular basis.Haridwar Junction Railway Station (IR station code : HW)sees frequent trains to Delhi (5 hours),Dehradun (1 hour). There are also a few trains per day to Rishikesh.The Haridwar railway station is located on the south side of town, less than 2kms to Har-ki-Pauri.

During the Sawan period (the fifth month of the Hindu calendar and it falls in the period between July and August every year), lakhs of Lord Shiva devotees (Kawar) visit to Haridwar for collecting the holy water of river Ganga. This period is also known as Kawar Season.Major roads are blocked due to heavy crowd.If possible one can avoid travelling to Haridwar during July.

Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest Airport to Haridwar located at distance of 18 kms/30 mins from city center.Taxis are easily available for transfer from Jolly Grant Airport to Haridwar.Jolly Grant Airport is well connected to Mumbai with daily flights.

Haridwar is located in Uttarakhand state at distance of 225 Kms/5 Hrs from Delhi and 60kms/1Hr from Capital city of Uttarakhand Dehradun.

Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest Airport to Haridwar located at distance of 18 kms/30 mins from city center.Taxis are easily available for transfer from Jolly Grant Airport to Haridwar.Jolly Grant Airport is well connected with approx 20 daily flights from airports of Delhi,Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pantnagar.

Mussoorie from Haridwar is at distance of 96 kms and usually takes 2.30 hrs by road due to heavy traffic on the road.Though there are many state transport buses between Mussoorie to Haridwar but the most convenient, fastest and cheapest way to reach is to take a taxi from Haridwar to Mussoorie.

Haridwar is not a hill station.Haridwar is a old religious holy city with temples,ghats and Ganga Aarti in Har-Ki-Pauri ghat being major attraction located on the plain area.One can travel to hill stations of Mussoorie(96 Kms ), Dhanaulti (108 kms ), Auli (330 Kms ), Nainital (230 Kms ), Chopta(200 kms ) from haridwar.

Jeans,Trousers, Tshirts and Shirts are fine for men.For women, sarees, salwars suits or kurtis/pants should be fine.Dress modestly if you plan to visit religious places.During spring and Autumn light woollens, sweat shirt and shrugs will add to the comforts.

Haridwar from Nainital is at distance of 230 kms and usually takes 7-9 hrs by road. There are following other modes of travelling from Haridwar to Nainital.

By Air- There is direct connecting flight from Jolly Grant Airport (Nearest Airport 18 Kms from Haridwar) to Pantnagar ( Nearest Airport to Nainital )which usually takes 45 mins and drive from Pantnagar Aiport to Nainital takes 1.5 Hrs/ 70 Kms.

By Train- There are direct connecting trains between Haridwar Railway Station and Kathgodam ( Nearest Railway Station to Nainital ) which usaully takes 6 hrs and drive from Kathgodam to Nainital takes 1 Hrs/ 40 Kms.

At a mere distance of 62 kilometres, Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest airport to Haridwar.

One can go to Haridwar via Air, Train and By Road. Details are as follows

Reaching Haridwar By Flight :

Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest Airport to Haridwar located at distance of 18 kms/30 mins from city center.Taxis are easily available for transfer from Jolly Grant Airport to Haridwar.Jolly Grant Airport is well connected with approx 20 daily flights from airports of Delhi,Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pantnagar.

Reaching Haridwar By Train :

Reaching Haridwar By Road :

Distance Charts:

Best month to visit Haridwar is months of October till December and February till Mid March.Travellers will find pleasant climate, less crowd compared to summer season and reasonable packages of hotels during this period.The mercury falls between 15 till 32 Degree in these months,making it ideal time to visit Haridwar.

Haridwar ia an ancient holy city hence there is no active nightlife in this religious city.However there are list of activities one can do in Haridwar at night.

• Visit to Har-Ki-Pauri Ghat
• Taste famous Milk Sweets ( Rabri, Faluda)
• Taste Famous Kulhar Milk
• Taste Lassi
• Stroll in Market
• Late Evening Trek to Mansa Devi temple

Haridwar is in much low altitude as compared to other hill stations in Uttarakhand, however, it receives snowfall during the months of december and january.

Yes, Haridwar is a safe place to visit. However, while taking a trip to Haridwar certain precautions should be adhered to like driving safely on the hills, avoid taking too much cash, avoid smoking in forested or hilly areas.

Haridwar offers a mix of North Indian and Tibetan foods. A portion of the famous dishes are Aloo ke Gutke, Jhangora ki Kheer, Bal Mithai, Singodi, Gul Gula, Bhang Jeera, Malta Juice, Rose Juice, authentic momos and others.

The good thing about Haridwar is that it is at the top of the hills so you one gets the feeling that he is at height although Nainital is s ituated at a higher altitude than Haridwar. Conclusion : Both the places have their own uniqueness and beauty but Nainital is more beautiful and offers much more than Haridwar.

Some of the fun-filled and adventurous things to do in Haridwar are:

Safari in Rajaji National Park in Haridwar

Trek to Mansa Devi Temple

Trek to Chandi Devi Temple

June is considered as the hottest month with Haridwar temperature soaring as high as 48 degree so require light cotton clothes to counter the summer

Yes, it is absolutely safe to travel to Haridwar.Being the holy city travelling in locals at nights also is absolutely safe avoid carrying too much cash and wearing excessive jwellery to avoid the unwanted attention

Yes, it is safe to drive at night being connected with major highways

Yes, some of the travel agents provide customized packages as per your needs. However, it also depends on the destination, number of people, etc.

Yes, most of the Haridwar travel agents book the hotels and flight tickets on your behalf. This cost is mostly included in the package cost.

Some of the travel agents in Haridwar allow you to modify the booking dates; however, this includes certain charges. It is recommended to clarify with the respective travel agent before booking.