Rishikesh - Capital Of Yoga

Rishikesh is an anciant small spiritual town in the northern state of India, uttrakhand. Scenically located all along the holy river ganges, Rishikesh catapulted to Western fame when the Beatles dropped by for a visit to do yoga and meditation at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram (now closed), the town is still known in the world as “capital of yoga”. Rishikesh is also the Gateway to the Himalayas. The Char Dham Yatra (Four Shrines Sacred Journey) in to the deep himalayan range ideally begins from Rishikesh.

According to mythology, the sage Raibhya Rishi sat on the banks of the Ganges and performed severe penance. He was rewarded when the lord Vishnu appeared in the form of Rishikesh, thus giving the place its present name. Over the ages, saints have meditated at this peaceful spot with the soaring mountains looking down and the sacred Ganges flowing beside. One of the most prominent religious leaders in modern times, Adi Shankaracharya, traversed this land in the 9th century AD.

The Shankaracharya pilgrimage into the hills was later codified into the great pilgrim circuit, and gave a heightened sense of sacredness to this land of the gods. Ever since, Rishikesh has been the stepping-stone and the first destination on a list of holy shrines and sites stretching across the lofty Himalayas.



Habitat

Nestled in Himalayas, India, with other state Himachal Pradesh to the west and Uttar Pradesh to the south and also the international borders of Tibet and Nepal to the north and the east, the state of Uttrakhand is one of the India's richest when it comes to ecological riches.

The mighty Himalayas tower over this region- nearly 88% of which is mountainous- and glaciers in the upper snowbound reaches of the mountains give rise to some of northern India's most important rivers – the Ganga and Yamuna, and their many tributaries. Among the highest peaks of the area are Nandadevi, Kamet and Kedarnath.

Where as the more northern parts of the state are cold, comparatively treeless areas near or above the snowline, the middle ranges have a dense cover of coniferous forests. The lower hills, known as the terai, are part of the Shivaliks and have thick forests of deciduous trees. All through the forests - and even in regions where the climate is too hostile to support trees- are a wide variety of shrubs and wildflowers. Especially important, from an environmental point of view, is the stunning `Valley of Flowers' beyond Joshimath.

The fauna of Uttaranchal runs the gamut from alpine creatures like the rare musk deer, the snow leopard and the Himalayan black bear, to animals more characteristic of the Indian plains - tigers, leopards, elephants, hyenas, brown bears and sloth bears. The state has twelve PAs (Protected Areas), including the Corbett National Park, the Valley of Flowers, the Nandadevi National Park, the Binsar Sanctuary and the Rajaji National Park. All in all, about 34,359 sq km of land in Uttrakhand is protected by environment laws. One of India's most successful people's action movements centred around environment, the Chipko-movement, was started in Uttrakhand way back in 1973 and has since spread to other parts of India.