From Rishikesh we reached Haridwar by road in 2 hrs at around 11 a.m. After enquiring about the bus timing for Ramnagar, we dumped our belongings at a hotel near the bus stand, took our changing clothes and went for a dip in the Ganges at Harki-Pouri. Its around 15 minutes straight walk. The Ghat is near Mansa Devi Temple. The entire road is occupied by small shops selling puja items, sweets, snacks, etc. everything at reasonable rates. We enquired about Rabri and to our surprise it was there in many of the shops. After satisfying ourselves with the lip smacking Rabri we proceeded towards the Ghat. Even in the month of May Gangaji was full of water flowing at a high speed.
We crossed to the other side where it was less crowded. The Ghats are bordered by iron poles and chains which can be used while taking a dip. The water is ice-cold and it is difficult to be in water for long even during peak noon. No applying of soap or washing clothes. Adjacent to the ghat are the changing rooms. Later on we proceeded towards Mansa Devi temple where they charge Rs.54/- for the ropeway for only Mansa Devi Temple and Rs.210/- for a package tour to Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi Temples which is around 2 kms away. The package includes transportation from Mansa Devi to Chandi Devi Temple and ropeway travel to both the temples. Since there was lot of rush and chaos they closed the booking counter to Mansa Devi Temple and it was announced that the counter would open only after 2 hrs. Instead of wasting our time there we had our lunch complete with Rabri and went to our hotel room to rest.
We again started at 4 pm for Mansa Devi Temple where it was being announced that darshan would take atleast 4 hrs. The moment we booked our tickets they again closed the counters. We went to the waiting room where they give group numbers for the ropeway and waited till our group number was announced which took almost an hour or so and then we were shifted to another waiting room. Finally only after 2 hrs we could board the ropeway which hardly takes 2/3 minutes to reach the top.
Once at the top you have to stand in the queue for darshan which again is very long. Here also like many places touts have placed idols asking for offerings even before the main Mansa Devi idol. We could complete our darshan only by 7 pm and thereafter again wait in a long queue for return ropeway. We could not attend the evening Ganga Aarti as we were late for the same. After doing some shopping for Ganga Jal and other mementos on our way we rushed to our hotel to check out as we had to take a bus from the bus stand to Ramnagar. But on reaching the bus stand we came to know that we were given wrong timings and the bus which directly goes from Haridwar to Ramnagar left at 8 pm and we had to take a bus coming from Dehradun which reached at around 10 pm and we could not get seats together.