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Book My RishikeshRISHIKESH, TRUSTED
Marigold flower offering held out over the Ganga, with Trayambakeshwar Temple, Laxman Jhula bridge and misty hills across the river
First Hello · 1 Day, 0 Nights (13–14 hours)

Meet the soul of
Rishikesh in a day.

Perfect for the traveller passing through with a single day to spare: enough time to actually feel the place, not just photograph it.

From Rs. 4,999 / person

The price shown is the price you pay. Book and pay online now, no confirmation needed first.

Best for

Travelers short on time who want a meaningful introduction to Rishikesh.

Meals are yours to choose, on purpose. Rishikesh's cafés are part of the experience, and locking you into a set breakfast, lunch and dinner would work against the very freedom this trip is selling. Tell your host the mood, and they'll walk you to the right spot. You pay only for what you order.

Choose your day

Your chosen day is noted on your booking, and your host confirms it with you.

Day 1 · Sunrise to aarti

One day, and every reason people fall for Rishikesh.

Most people plan a week here and never manage to see all of this. You get it in one day: sunrise yoga and a sacred dip while the town is still quiet, the rapids or a hidden waterfall by mid-morning, temples and market lanes through the afternoon, then the river turns to fire at the Parmarth aarti. However long you end up staying in Rishikesh, this is the day that convinces you to.

  • Yoga & Breathwork by the Ganga
  • Waterfall or White Water Rafting
  • Beatles Ashram & Bhootnath Temple
  • Evening Guided Meditation
  • 06:00 – 07:30 AM Included

    Yoga & Breathwork at Sai Ghat

    An all-levels practice as the river wakes up, near the Gangamata statue at Sai Ghat. Never done yoga? Come anyway — you are guided through it, not left at the back to work it out.

  • 07:30 – 08:00 AM Included

    Sacred Ganga Dip at Freedom Ghat

    A five-minute walk across Laxman Jhula to Freedom Ghat for the dip: bracing, humbling, unforgettable, the river the way locals meet it.

  • 08:00 – 09:00 AMYour own time

    Free Time

    The hour is yours. Optional, book separately: a Dry Cupping Session, a One-on-One Fitness Session, or Sound Healing.

  • 09:00 AMOwn choice · host recommends the best spots

    Breakfast (Guest Choice)

    Your own choice: your host points you to the best breakfast spots nearby.

  • 10:00 AM – 01:00 PMRishikesh moment Included

    Your morning: the rapids or the waterfall

    Pick one when you book, and your host arranges it. Rafting: a taxi collects you and a professional crew runs the river — cold spray, big laughs, the best kind of adrenaline. Secret Waterfall: past the first fall, then the upper fall, to a quiet third most visitors never reach, everyone walking out together with your host.

    You choose one

    • White Water Rafting
    • orSecret Waterfall

    Pick either one when you book, and your host arranges it. You can still change your mind on WhatsApp before you arrive.

  • 01:00 – 02:00 PMOwn choice · host recommends the best spots

    Lunch Break

    Your own choice: your host recommends the cafes locals actually eat at.

  • 02:30 – 03:30 PM Included

    Beatles Ashram Visit

    Wander the graffiti-covered meditation halls where the White Album took shape. Your host comes with you. Entry is included for Indian guests. International guests pay Rs. 1,000 at the gate — your host covers the rest.

  • 03:30 – 04:30 PM Included

    Bhootnath Temple Visit

    A scenic walk via Ram Jhula brings you to the storeyed Shiva temple for the best quiet view of the valley, with your host beside you.

  • 04:30 – 05:30 PM Included

    Local Market Walk (toward the aarti)

    Tapovan's lanes on your way to the river: singing bowls, woollens, and small finds that end up meaning the most.

  • 05:30 – 07:00 PMRishikesh moment Included

    Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Ghat

    Fire, song, and the river as the sun goes down at Parmarth Ghat — the evening's natural home after Bhootnath, and your host knows exactly where to sit. Optional, from 7:00 PM: Evening Satsang with Sadhvi Bhagawati at Parmarth Niketan.

  • 07:30 – 08:00 PMOptional Included

    Guided Evening Meditation at Sai Ghat

    Optional, and included if you want it: the ghat empties, the lamps settle, and your host arranges a quiet guided meditation by the water to close the day. Say the word on the day — or head straight to dinner instead.

  • 08:00 PMOwn choice · host recommends the best spots

    Dinner & Host Sign-off

    Dinner at a spot your host recommends, then your host signs off for the day. Ask before they go — what's on tonight, and which café has live music. It changes night to night, especially on weekends.

Timings are indicative and can shift a little with weather, traffic, or river conditions — your host manages the exact flow on the day.

Book my trip

You’ve just read your whole trip, hour by hour. If it already feels like yours, it can be. The price you see is the price you pay, and we take care of the rest. 🙏

Why guests pick this one

What you’ll remember

  • Morning yoga & a sacred Ganga dip
  • Your choice of morning: white water rafting or the secret waterfall
  • Evening Ganga Aarti at Parmarth Ghat

Keep this trip for later, or send it to whoever you’re travelling with.

The fine print, upfront

What’s included,
what’s not

Included
  • Everything in the day you pick, from the morning practice to the evening finale
  • Sunrise yoga and breathwork, then a sacred dip in the Ganga
  • White water rafting or the Secret Waterfall, whichever you choose
  • The Beatles Ashram, Bhootnath Temple and the Ganga aarti at Parmarth
  • A guided meditation by the river to close the day, if you want it
  • Your host with you at every activity. They meet you after the morning practice
Not included
  • Your meals. You eat where you like, and your host will tell you where is good
  • Beatles Ashram entry if you are visiting from abroad. Rs. 1,000 in cash at the gate. Indian guests are covered
  • Somewhere to sleep. First Hello is one day, start to finish
  • Getting yourself to Rishikesh. Say the word and your host arranges it, whether that is your airport pickup and drop or a pickup from Delhi, Haridwar or the railway station
  • Shopping, and anything you add later like a massage, a trek or a ceremony

Anything extra is an optional add-on at a fixed price shown upfront, at booking or any time during your stay.

Who takes you

You are given a host, not a helpline.

Rishikesh is easy to visit and hard to do well. The difference is somebody local who is actually with you, and you will know exactly who that is before you arrive.

One person, your whole trip
Not a different guide each day. The same host from the morning you arrive to the morning you leave.
You get their name the evening before
Their photo, their name and their own number reach you on WhatsApp and on your dashboard, before you travel.
With you at everything
Every activity, and the transport between them. Not a booking agent who hands you over to somebody else.
An emergency number that is ours
Not your guide's. Ours, day or night, the whole time you are here.

Want to ask something before you book? Message us on WhatsApp. A person answers, usually within the hour.

Before you book

The questions people actually ask us.

What's actually included in the price?

On a package: the trip itself (your host, the activities on the schedule, and getting you to them). Find Your Flow and Live Like a Local also include a hostel bed for every night; First Hello is a single day with no night in it. Meals aren't included on packages: you eat where you like and pay for it there. On a wellness retreat, everything is in: your room for the whole stay, all satvik meals every day, and the programme itself. The retreat pages list a few optional sessions you can book separately if you want them, and add-ons are the same: optional, each with a fixed price shown before you book. Nothing optional is ever added without you choosing it. The one thing to carry cash for is the Beatles Ashram gate: entry is included for Indian guests, and international guests pay Rs. 1,000 at the gate. Your host covers everything else there.

Is the stay included, or extra?

It depends on the trip. Find Your Flow and Live Like a Local include a hostel bed for every night, already in the price. And if you'd rather have a hotel room, we take the value of that included bed off the total first, so you only pay the difference. On a wellness retreat the stay is fixed and fully included: one property, the whole group together, nothing to choose and nothing to add. First Hello is a single day and has no night in it. On Build my trip nothing is assumed: you pick the nights and the room yourself.

Is food included?

On a wellness retreat, yes, all of it. Satvik breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, cooked for the group, with no extra ordering and nothing to settle at the end. On a package, no: your host points you at the cafés and the places locals actually eat, and you pay for your own food there. That's a deliberate choice. Half the pleasure of Rishikesh is eating your way along the river, and we'd rather not put you on a fixed menu for it.

What happens if the balance isn't paid in time?

Talk to us before the deadline rather than after it, and it very rarely becomes a problem. If the balance isn't paid by then we may have to release your dates, and what comes back to you at that point follows the same refund windows as any other cancellation, which is one more reason not to leave it late. A card that won't go through, a bank being difficult, a genuinely bad week: message your host and we'll work it out with you.

What's your cancellation policy?

Three windows, identical for packages, retreats and classes. Cancel 7 or more days before arrival and everything you paid us comes back. Cancel 3 to 6 days before and half comes back. Inside the last 3 days there's no refund. Those windows are counted in whole days on India's calendar rather than to the hour, so the day that falls exactly 3 days before you arrive is a half-refund day right through to midnight. The payment deadline sits inside that same day, at 2 PM India time. They are close neighbours, but two different lines, and we'd rather spell that out than have you discover it. Two things beyond that. If you book when your arrival is already inside that window, the booking is non-refundable from the moment you pay, and we tell you so at checkout rather than afterwards. And if we're ever the ones cancelling your trip, everything you paid comes back whatever the date. On the form it comes back in: money you paid on your own card returns to that card, usually in seven to ten business days, while anything paid with gift-card credit comes back as credit in your account. A gift card was bought on somebody else's card, and Razorpay can only refund the card that paid.

Read the full cancellation policy

Can I keep the trip private, just my own group?

Yes. Choose the private travel style at checkout and the day is yours alone: nobody else joining your rafting, nobody else sharing your host. It adds a flat surcharge for the whole booking rather than per person, because what you're buying is your host's undivided day, and that costs the same whether one of you turns up or six. The amount is shown before you pay.

Sixty more answers. Or just ask us.

Getting around

How you'll get there

By default, your host walks you to nearby experiences. Rishikesh's lanes don't take a taxi or car, so anywhere farther means a scooty, either your host rides with you or you add a scooty rental yourself.

On foot (the default)

  • Sai Ghat & the evening Ganga Aarti
  • Cafés & markets in Tapovan

By scooty

  • Secret Waterfall visit
  • Beatles Ashram

By taxi (out of town only)

  • White Water Rafting pickup
  • Haridwar & Har Ki Pauri
  • Devprayag
  • Airport transfers
  • Neelkanth Temple
Solo, a couple, or your own group of up to 6. One host, just for you.

You're only ever grouped with other travellers if you ask to be, and you'll be asked at checkout. More than 6 of you? Message us and we'll set it up so you all travel together, same host, same days.

Bigger group? We'll arrange it. Talk to us
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Ready when you are

Ready for First Hello?

Every day of this journey is planned by a host who lives here and has walked it himself. Pick your date, add the extras that speak to you, and he handles the rest.

Book this trip What is included

The price shown is the price you pay. Book and pay online now, no confirmation needed first, never with hidden charges.

This journey follows a set plan, just for your own group. Want it built from scratch instead? Build my trip.