• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 2041 0

the best are room nos. 110 through 115, which enjoy attractive forest views (no. 114 is the biggest room). The hotel conducts courtesy pick-ups from the Mall (about 10 min. away) throughout the day. If this old charmer is full, or you’d rather be in the heart of town, consider Park Plaza Sylverton (www.parkplaza.com; from Rs 7,000 double), a good and very popular option with Delhites—located right on the Mall, it does offer some of the best Doon Valley views (ask for a room with one), but we prefer the more characterful stately mansion Kasmanda Palace Hotel ( 0135/263-2424 or -3949; www.welcomheritagehotels.com; doubles from Rs 4,000; you can negotiate a 20% discount on a double room in low season). The well-preserved former holiday palace of the Maharajah of Kasmanda, it’s packed with antiques, animal skins, and hunting trophies, including an elephant’s-foot piano stool. Ask for rooms with views of the Doon Valley, but be warned that you’ll have to put up with stuffed animal heads mounted on the walls and a liberal use of gaudy floral fabrics; service can also be very laid-back. On the budget front, there are tons of choices, of which Padmani Nivas (Library, The Mall. 0135/2631093;www.hotelpadmininivas.com; doubles from Rs 1,300) is arguably the best—almost next to the Mall, it screens off most of the chaos with its cocoon of greenery and has great views with one side overlooking the valley; food (vegetarian only) is also good.

Note: The summer months (Apr–June) and October are extremely popular with domestic tourists, and hotels everywhere in the hills tend to cave under the strain of rampant business, and what would otherwise be a quiet environ can turn into a nightmare for those looking for a peaceful retreat.

RISHIKESH

238km (148 miles) NE of Delhi

The Beatles, who came here during the 1960s to visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (a visit that inspired much of Sgt. Pepper), put Rishikesh on the map, and today the town is full of ashrams and yoga schools catering to Westerners who want to fine-tune their spiritual tool kits. Sadhus (holy men) in red and saffron robes, hippies in tie-dyed cheesecloth, and backpackers with plenty of time (and plenty of First World credit) gather on the banks of the Ganga to talk about the evils of the West and the failure of capitalism. By day, it’s a spiritual Disneyland, where the commercial excesses of packaged meditation hang heavily about the concrete ashrams, bedecked with gaudy statues of Vishnu and Shiva. The place to concentrate your time is around the Lakhsman Jhula area, where there are plenty of simple eateries and stores selling all kinds of devotional paraphernalia; books and CDs in particular are worth browsing for. To get to the far side of the Ganga, where the most interesting ghats, ashrams, and people are concentrated, you’ll need to cross the suspension bridge on foot. Here you can undertake any and every sort of self-improvement course, from yoga and reiki to cooking and music. A visit here in time for the sunset Ganga Aarti on the ghat of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram is highly recommended (see “The Real Happy Clappies,” below)—to the accompaniment of hypnotic prayers and harmonious singing, Rishikesh undergoes a magical transformation, reminding all that this really is a spiritual retreat.

Soul Searching: Top Ashrams

Most genuine spiritual retreats shy from any kind of media attention, which while understandable means that it is hard for the newcomer to differentiate between the great masters and masters of fraud. All over India, and in Rishikesh particularly, ashrams have increasingly begun to cater to Western aspirations for spirituality, doling out a mere part of the magnificent ancient Indian concept of Yoga, namely, the physical exercises known as yogasanas. Combine these with deep-breathing techniques and meditation and you have a package ready to be delivered, but it’s worth noting that this is far from completing a journey (and not considered as even necessary by the serious adherent) along the spiritual path. It can nevertheless become a useful stepping-stone