Haridwar, Rishikesh and Tehri

It was Diwali time, and I decided to visit the north to take a break from the Delhi smog and the city rush! This is how my trip went.

Kaliyari Sharif

I visited this place on the way to Haridwar via Roorkee. It is a dargah, a place of religious significance for the Muslims though many are unaware about it. It was not a clean place though.

Haridwar

It is a pious place for the Hindus, and has religious significance. The place is beautiful in its own unique way- I mean, even if the Ganga is black, even if there are people half-naked, making you feel uncomfortable, you will definitely like it. It is different, and memorable, definitely. If you are a foreigner, you might take some time to settle down and realize what is going on, but if you are an Indian, then we know we are used to it. (No offence Indians, I love my nation too.)

Rishikesh

Unfortunately, I reached this place late at night and decided to take a stroll to the Ram jhula and the Laxman jhula. Jhula in Hindi means swings and I thought they were some swings for children when I first heard their names. Instead, they turned out to be bridges across the Ganga, supported by ropes! It was really beautiful and adventurous, and due to lack of light, I could only click the picture above.

Tehri

So, this beautiful place has a big problem- water. The quality of water in most of the Himalayan mountains is very fine, trust me, I have visited a dozen of them, but here the water was horrible. It was yellowish-green. The only fine thing in Tehri was the Tehri lake! It is manmade, built in the construction of Tehri Dam.

Now, Tehri has a very peculiar history. Earlier, Tehri was situated on the banks of river Bhagirathi, where this dam was planned to be built. So THDC, the company which had constructed the dam for hydroelectricity generation, displaced the entire city to the top of the mountain, now called New Tehri. Old Tehri is somewhere 220-250 meters below the lake.

The flowers in the guest house we stayed were very colourful, so I decided to click them too!

I also managed to click a monkey from my verandah on the way somewhere! (Though I am scared of monkeys, you will find a lot of them in the mountains, especially Rishikesh.)

Roadways

I decided to take the long way back to Delhi. I took the very dangerous, narrow, and yet adventurous road to Mussourie, which is a delight for tourists seeking calm and cool. On the way, I spotted a cherry-blossom! I couldn't stop myself from not talking this picture.

I also took some other clicks on the way, and they are worth a glance.

(Himalayas, India)