Haridwar travel guide

Haridwar is one of Uttarakhand's highlights. This guide keeps every fact sourced. It covers sights, food and day trips.

Come in the cooler months if you can. Give it a few unhurried days. The sections below help you plan.

Every place name links to a source. The figures come from trusted sites. Plan your trip with confidence.

Use this guide as a starting point. Mix the big sights with slow time. The best trips leave room to wander.

Each headline sight has its own detailed guide.

Haridwar is best in the cool, dry months. Summers can be hot and busy. The monsoon brings rain and lush green. Shoulder months bring fewer crowds. Check local festival dates as well.

Reference: Climate of India.

Time your trip for extra colour.

Haridwar is well linked by road and rail. The nearest airport and station serve it. Autos and app cabs cover the area.

Within the city, app cabs and autos are easiest. Old quarters reward exploring on foot. Day trips are best by hired car. Buses and trains link the wider region cheaply.

🚕 Getting around locally

• 1Ride-hailing appsUber and Ola are cheap and reliable.
• 2Auto-rickshawsAgree a fare, or insist on the meter.
• 3Metro or local trainsFast where the network reaches.
• 4On footOld quarters are best explored walking.
• 5Cycle & e-rickshawsHandy for short old-city hops.
• 6Day-hire taxiBest value for day trips and far sights.

More in our India transport guide.

Rough per-person daily ranges, in rupees.

Guide: Incredible India. Prices vary by season.

Beyond the big sights, here is how to feel the city.

• 1Har Ki Pauri AartiThe daily evening river prayer.
• 2Chandi Devi TempleA hilltop shrine by ropeway.
• 3Mansa Devi TempleA wish-granting cable-car shrine.
• 4Maya Devi TempleAn ancient Siddhapith temple.
• 5Ganga bathingA dawn dip in the river.
• 6Neel Dhara bird viharBirdwatching at the barrage.
• 7Rajaji National ParkElephant-and-tiger safaris.
• 8Sapt Rishi AshramThe seven sages' site.
• 9Pawan DhamA mirror-decorated temple.
• 10Kankhal templesDaksh Mahadev and legend.
• 11Bharat Mata MandirA multi-storey 'Mother India' temple.
• 12Shantikunj AshramA spiritual and yoga centre.
• 13Ganga aarti boatsFloating lamp offerings.
• 14Vaishno Devi replicaA cave-temple recreation.
• 15Chandi Devi ropewayA cable car to a hill shrine.
• 16Mansa Devi ropewayA wish-fulfilling temple ride.
• 17Har Ki PauriThe main bathing ghat.
• 18Maya Devi TempleAn ancient Shakti shrine.

Short on time? Prioritise your days like this.

With more time, slow down and wander. Mix the big sights with cafes and lanes. The best of Haridwar rewards a gentle pace.

A little history and culture, in brief.

A terracotta culture lived here from about 1700 BCE.

The traveller Xuanzang recorded Haridwar in 629 CE.

Har Ki Pauri ghat dates to the 1st century BCE.

The municipality was constituted in 1868.

Haridwar marks where the Ganges leaves the hills.

It is among Hinduism's seven holiest cities.

Pilgrims bathe at Har Ki Pauri daily.

It hosts the vast Kumbh Mela by rotation.

Haridwar is a holy city in Uttarakhand.

The Ganges enters the plains here.

Pilgrims bathe at Har Ki Pauri.

The evening Ganga aarti draws thousands.

It is a gateway to the Char Dham.

The Kumbh Mela recurs here.

Rishikesh lies just upriver.

Haridwar has a busy railway station.

Dehradun airport is about 35 km away.

November to March is most pleasant.

Summers are hot before the monsoon.

Autos and e-rickshaws serve the ghats.

Sources: Haridwar — Wikipedia · Uttarakhand Tourism · Har Ki Pauri · UP Tourism.

English is widely understood, but a few words help.

Regional languages also apply; see the India guide.