Ashram Tour of Rishikesh

Discover why Rishikesh is one of the holiest places in India by exploring the city's ashrams, or Hindu spiritual retreats. Visit the abandoned ashram where the Beatles stayed and wrote some of their most famous songs.

Itinerary

Your walking tour of the ashrams of Rishikesh will begin at the Sivananda ashram, near the Ram Jhula bridge. Learn about the origins of these spiritual centres where people from around the world gather to practice meditation and yoga, and gain insight into the daily lives of teachers and students living there.

Explore various ashrams in Rishikesh, each with unique doctrines set by their founding guru. Visit Vanprastha, Swarg, and Parmarth Niketan, where the Ganga Aarti ceremony is performed every evening.

A tour of Rishikesh's ashrams includes a visit to the well-known Chaurasi Kutia, or the Beatles Ashram. Here, in the Himalayan foothills, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr spent time with the guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in 1968, practicing yoga and meditation. They wrote over thirty songs at this retreat, marking a productive period in their career.

After years of abandonment, the ashram remains in ruins, now overgrown yet transformed into a shrine for Beatles fans. The walking tour concludes after visiting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram.