India GOPlaces to visit near Rishikesh
Haridwar
Where the Ganga leaves the mountains for the plains stands one of Hinduism's great sacred cities: every evening Har Ki Pauri fills for the Ganga aarti, a river of lamps, bells and chanting. India's most stirring riverside ritual, and a host of the Kumbh Mela.
~20 km as the crow flies
Dehradun
The unhurried gateway to the hills, cradled in the Doon valley: Tibetan monasteries, leafy old boarding schools, litchi orchards and the dripping caverns of Robber's Cave. An easy way into the Himalaya, with Mussoorie and Rishikesh a short climb away.
~35 km as the crow flies
Mussoorie
The 'Queen of the Hills' spills down a Himalayan ridge above the Doon valley: a colonial Mall Road, the Camel's Back loop and snow peaks floating on a clear morning. Cool air, easy strolls and one of the north's favourite hill escapes, an hour above Dehradun.
~45 km as the crow flies
Gangotri
High in the Garhwal Himalaya, where the Ganga is worshipped at her source: a small stone temple, prayer flags and thin, cold air at the edge of the glaciers. One of Hinduism's holiest pilgrimages, and the trek to Gaumukh, the icy mouth where the river begins.
~120 km as the crow flies
Chandigarh
India's first planned city, drawn from scratch by Le Corbusier: numbered sectors, wide green avenues, cycle tracks and raw-concrete landmarks at the foot of the Shivaliks. The cleanest, calmest city in the north, plus Nek Chand's famous Rock Garden.
~160 km as the crow flies
Delhi
Eight capitals stacked on one plain, and you can walk between them: a 12th-century victory tower, the Mughal tomb that taught the Taj its shape, colonial New Delhi's avenues, and the spice lanes of Chandni Chowk. Most trips to North India start here. Give it two days and it stops being just an airport.
~190 km as the crow flies
Naggar
A quiet Himalayan village above the Kullu Valley, once a kingdom's capital: the Roerich family estate, ancient stone temples, and pine-scented calm at 1,800 metres. A different, slower India: mountain views, art and stillness, far from the crowds.
~250 km as the crow flies
Vrindavan
Krishna's boyhood country: some five thousand temples in a town of 85,000, the crush at Banke Bihari, the marble and light of Prem Mandir, quiet courtyards like Radha Raman where the ritual has not changed in centuries. Come in the cool months, and keep a hand on your glasses; the monkeys here are famous for taking them.
~280 km as the crow flies
Mathura
On the banks of the Yamuna, the birthplace of Krishna: a warren of temples, ghats and bell-bright lanes that erupt into colour at Holi. The devotional heart of the Braj country, and one of India's most joyful Holi celebrations.
~290 km as the crow flies
Govardhan
A low sandstone ridge nobody climbs, because the hill itself is what is worshipped: Krishna is said to have lifted it to shelter Braj, and the way to honour it is the 21 km walk around it. Tanks, sandstone pavilions and prasad stalls line the route; most people come over from Vrindavan or Mathura for the day.
~300 km as the crow flies
The full catalogue, hidden spots and districts on the map, plus “nearby” mode.
Open in India GO