No... It's not what you think. No partying for us...
Haridwar is an incredibly holy city (no meat and no alcohol allowed) where pilgrims from all over India come to bathe in the Holy Ganges, and take part in the evening Ganga Aarti. This is a daily religious ceremony where priests perform a "puja" to the gods. After cleansing themselves in the water and having a jolly good time of it (NB - you don't want to know whats in that river), the pilgrims join in the ceremony by floating candle-lit offerings to the gods on the river.
We went along to watch the event, but first spent the day meandering around the city's fascinating streets and markets. Virtually every blink of the eye is a colourful "Kodak moment" in Haridwar, so we will let Erik's pictures tell the story.
Haridwar is an incredibly holy city (no meat and no alcohol allowed) where pilgrims from all over India come to bathe in the Holy Ganges, and take part in the evening Ganga Aarti. This is a daily religious ceremony where priests perform a "puja" to the gods. After cleansing themselves in the water and having a jolly good time of it (NB - you don't want to know whats in that river), the pilgrims join in the ceremony by floating candle-lit offerings to the gods on the river.
We went along to watch the event, but first spent the day meandering around the city's fascinating streets and markets. Virtually every blink of the eye is a colourful "Kodak moment" in Haridwar, so we will let Erik's pictures tell the story.
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| Great bazaars |
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| Getting one's head shaved is part of the cleansing |
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| A lady being helped in her cleansing |
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| The crowds start to gather around the temples |
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| The deity graveyard |
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| More cleansing - looks more like fun |
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| Colourful saris by the thousands |
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| Almost sunset - time for the ceremony to start |
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