On my journey in India, I landed in Rishikesh, the unofficial yoga capital of the world. I made some mistakes and I want to share them so you don’t make the same ones.
1. You need a plan when you travel to Rishikesh.
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| Programs could be closed, full, or not available for weeks so it’s best to plan out travel to Rishikesh. |
I am a flow-with-the-wind sort of traveler. I heard Rishikesh had yoga. I wanted to do yoga. So I
went, assuming everything I could want would be waiting for me.
There are always yoga classes you can drop into for a few days if that’s all you want. But I wanted to stay in an ashram, or maybe do a yoga retreat for a few weeks, and study Ayurveda. These are all things that are very common and available in Rishikesh, but you usually need to book them at least a few weeks in advance. Everything I wanted to do, I would have to wait at least a month for.
So if you want to really study something (rather than just taking a drop-in class here or there), search what places you want to go and apply or register for them weeks in advance.
2. Know what to expect with the ashrams in Rishikesh.
Ashrams abound in Rishikesh
I was surprised at how expensive the ashrams were. All of my meditation courses with Buddhist retreats were donation based and I imagined yoga ashrams would be similar. But they are definitely. Even the ashrams want to make money off you and I believe most of them are making a profit rather than just making enough to maintain. Here is what ensued with the ashrams I visited:
Parmarth Niketan Ashram:
The cost was 600r plus accommodation and yoga classes, adding up to over 1000r per day (around $15). They offered an attractive course, but it averaged 2500r ($25) per day. If you are traveling India for a month or so, that’s not so bad, but I was looking for an ashram to stay in for at least a month so this was too much.
Sivananda Ashram:
I believe Sivananda is donation-based, but they were totally full for the coming month (and I was there in off season). Everyone I met recommended Sivananda though, so try to register asap if you are planning a trip to Rishikesh.
Ved Niketan Ashram:
200r ($3.50) per day including yoga and food. Heck yea! I came to Rishikesh mentally and financially prepared for this sort of situation so this is where I stayed.
They said food was included, but then it turned out not to be – no worries. Still a good deal. The room was quite dirty (I actually got a respiratory illness from a one hour nap). Despite a long day, I spent a few hours cleaning my first night because I didn’t want to sleep with so much dust in the air. Someone, the room was like an oven too so even when it was chilly outside, it remained almost unbearably hot even with the fan at high speed (this was in August though).
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| The Sivananda Ashram was beautiful, but fully booked. |
Other Ashrams in Rishikesh:
There are a host of other ashrams in Rishikesh. Unfortunately, all of the ones I found were more expensive than these and I couldn’t afford them if I was planning to stay for at least a month. Perhaps there were some in the surrounding areas that I hadn’t found.
Overall, the ashram situation in Rishikesh was pretty disappointing. Rishikesh has really become a tourist city and I think that results in organizations, even ashrams, getting more expensive and more superficial. I still want to stay in an ashram somewhere, but I probably won’t in Rishikesh.
3. Don’t expect anything too exotic.
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| Image Credit: Naina.com |
I came expecting to find mysterious, ancient forms of yoga and meditation. Vedic astrologers, palm readers, and more would be around every corner with insights and lessons I would never be able to find outside of India. That was not a good expectation to have.
There was tons of yoga, but it was almost all Hatha, Vinyasa, or Ashtanga. I didn’t see any Kundalini, Nada, Kriya, Tantra, or Nidra Yoga, which is the sort I was looking for. Granted, I was there during off season so these might pop up come October.
There were Vedic astrologers, palm readers, and Ayurvedic doctors and they’ll all offer you a consultation, but you have to go searching to find anyone who will actually teach you their ways. Again, this might improve during high season.
Also, bring earplugs, because every single motorcycle honks at every other motorcycle and every cow. The use of the word “every” is not an exaggeration.
4. Know off season and high season in Rishikesh.
5. Don’t travel to Rishikesh during Savan (in July).
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| The usually tranquil city becomes wild during the Savan. |
6. Don’t get lost in Rishikesh, especially in the Ram Joula neighborhood.
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This little alley was the only route to my guest house. |
On my first day, I went wandering around Rishikesh. When I tried to get back to my hotel, I found it to be impossible. I had it pinned on Google Maps and I literally circled around it 2 or 3 times, less than .2k from it the entire time. But there were always spikes walls overly dense forests between me and my guest house. After 2 hours of this, I called my hotel and requested that they send someone to pick me up. Within 5 minutes, I was back.
There are little gaps between buildings that might seem like unused alleys, but those could very well be the only way to get to or from one location.
I felt very safe though, so if you do get lost, it’s not particularly dangerous.
7. Watch out for the cow poop.
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| Cows freely saunter in the streets in Rishikesh. |
There were tons of Spanish tourists when I was in Rishikesh so I had the pleasure of referring to the
cow poop festively as “caca de baca.” It rings like a song.
The cows are a lovely addition to the street. There are sometime more cows that humans on a road and they are so gentle and sweet. I really did love them.
But they shit everywhere.
So watch out.
8. Watch out for monkeys trying to steal from you.
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| The monkeys have a food presence: your food. |
I was walking with a girl who had a bag of chips and this monkey came running at her. Fortunately rather than trying to keep them, she just threw the bag at him. I’d recommend this approach if a monkey is trying to steal your stuff. I thought it was funny that him and his friends all had the same bag of chips that they must have stole from other tourists.
At another point, my guest house was raided by monkeys. I don’t know what they wanted, but the cleaning lady jumped into my room for protection as I was showering.
The monkey’s are generally quite cute and amusing. But sometimes they might try to hijack you.
