Wotae: 09.01.2019
Hello,
One last Masala Chai at the trusted Chai Walla around the corner, and then I was ready to go. I walked to the main road and headed straight to the gathering point 1 km away for a Vikram to Rishikesh. There was already one waiting next to me and asked me where I was going. That worked out well, as I didn't have to walk too far and saved time and energy.
The journey took an hour and I was already standing in "Tapovan," a suburb of Rishikesh. I quickly found my guesthouse where I was warmly greeted by the whole family, especially the 12-year-old Gun Gun (which is also the name of the guesthouse). She showed me everything. Of course, I immediately explored the local area and made acquaintance with a merchant from "Rajasthan" - nice small talk...
I immediately felt it again - there was a relaxed atmosphere in the air, it was very calm and peaceful here. And of course, you often come across foreign tourists here, many of them to practice yoga or to live in one of the temples or ashrams for some time. Down in the village, or rather at "Lakshman Yula," I reached the Ganges again, which here leaves the mountains and flows more gently. What I really liked was that the village itself is relatively car-free. A pedestrian bridge spans the Ganges here.
One kilometer downstream, you reach another pedestrian bridge, which I crossed the next day, and here is the "Ram Yula" temple. If you continue through the village downstream, you will reach the famous "Beatles Temple" at the end of the village. This is probably the main reason why this place became famous. They lived here in an ashram in the tiger reserve (which is why this ashram is no longer used). However, you can still visit it, but personally, I find it too much to pay 600 rupees for admission. One more positive thing to mention is that there are definitely German bakeries here. I discovered at least 6 "German Bakery" shops in the village.
Unfortunately, my time here also came to an end. I enjoyed the last day to the fullest and soaked up the wonderful atmosphere, strolling once again from "Lakshman Yula" to "Ram Yula" with some breaks by the Ganges.