What's on in Rishikesh, India through the year

Busy — Winter break in India, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  No alcohol or meat in town

  1 Jan – 31 DecClosures

  Rishikesh is a pilgrimage town and both are banned inside it, so the cafes are vegetarian and the nearest bar is down in Haridwar or Dehradun. Plan the evenings around chai and the aarti. Source ↗

Still on: Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually)), Winter fog on the road up (15 Dec – 31 Jan (usually))

Busy — Maha Shivratri, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Maha Shivratri

  14 Feb – 14 Mar · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Shiva's night draws walking pilgrims up to Neelkanth Mahadev through the hills behind the town, and the ghats and the bridges are shoulder to shoulder from the afternoon before. Source ↗

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))

Busy — Maha Shivratri, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  International Yoga Festival

  1–22 Mar · usuallyMajor festivalBook early

  A week of teaching on the Parmarth Niketan ghat followed by the state's own programme, drawing well over a thousand people from dozens of countries. The Ram Jhula ashrams are full and rates go up with it. Source ↗

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Maha Shivratri (14 Feb – 14 Mar (usually)), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Char Dham yatra season, Summer vacation (Kerala / far south) in India

• Rule

  Char Dham registration required

  15 Apr – 15 Nov · usuallyBook earlyClosures

  Uttarakhand caps daily numbers at each shrine and every pilgrim registers online or at a counter first; police turn back vehicles without it. Slots for the first weeks after the doors open go quickly. Source ↗

• Opening

  Char Dham yatra season

  19 Apr – 13 NovPilgrimage seasonCrowdedBook early

  The four Himalayan shrines open on dates fixed by the priests in late April and close in the second week of November, and Rishikesh is where the whole pilgrimage staged from. Registration is compulsory and the town is at its busiest in May and June. Source ↗

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Char Dham yatra season, Summer vacation (north & east) in India

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Char Dham registration required (15 Apr – 15 Nov (usually)), Char Dham yatra season (19 Apr – 13 Nov), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Char Dham yatra season, Summer vacation (north & east) in India

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Char Dham registration required (15 Apr – 15 Nov (usually)), Char Dham yatra season (19 Apr – 13 Nov), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Char Dham yatra season, Kanwar Yatra

• Closure

  Rafting season closed

  1 Jul – 15 Sep · usually

  Commercial rafting on the Ganga shuts on 30 June every year and does not restart until the monsoon flow drops, usually some time in September. The operators at Shivpuri and Brahmapuri close with it. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Monsoon and landslide season

  1 Jul – 15 Sep · usuallyClosures

  The hill roads north towards Devprayag and Uttarkashi slip and close in the heavy weeks, and the river runs brown and high past the ghats. The town itself keeps going; the valleys above it do not. Source ↗

• Festival

  Kanwar Yatra

  30 Jul – 11 AugPilgrimage seasonCrowdedClosuresRisk

  Millions of pilgrims walk the Haridwar-Rishikesh road through Shravan to carry Ganga water home, and the highway is closed to other traffic for stretches of it. The most disrupted weeks of the year for getting anywhere by road. Source ↗

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Char Dham registration required (15 Apr – 15 Nov (usually)), Char Dham yatra season (19 Apr – 13 Nov)

Peak crowds — Char Dham yatra season, Kanwar Yatra

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Char Dham registration required (15 Apr – 15 Nov (usually)), Char Dham yatra season (19 Apr – 13 Nov), Rafting season closed (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)), Monsoon and landslide season (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)), Kanwar Yatra (30 Jul – 11 Aug)

Busy — Char Dham yatra season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Opening

  Rafting and camp season reopens

  15 Sep – 30 Jun · usuallyDry season

  The rafting operators reopen once the flow settles in mid-September and run to the end of June. October and November are the clearest months of the season, with the Shivalik ridges sharp from the bridges. Source ↗

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Char Dham registration required (15 Apr – 15 Nov (usually)), Char Dham yatra season (19 Apr – 13 Nov), Rafting season closed (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually)), Monsoon and landslide season (1 Jul – 15 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Char Dham yatra season, Autumn break (Dussehra / Diwali) in India

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Char Dham registration required (15 Apr – 15 Nov (usually)), Char Dham yatra season (19 Apr – 13 Nov), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))

Busy — Char Dham yatra season

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Char Dham registration required (15 Apr – 15 Nov (usually)), Char Dham yatra season (19 Apr – 13 Nov), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))

Busy — Winter break in India, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Winter fog on the road up

  15 Dec – 31 Jan · usuallyFog seasonClosures

  The plains between Delhi and Haridwar go under dense fog for days at a stretch in the cold weeks, and the overnight trains and buses run hours late. The hills above Rishikesh usually sit above it. Source ↗

Still on: No alcohol or meat in town (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Rafting and camp season reopens (15 Sep – 30 Jun (usually))