Ganges River From Delhi: Garhmukteshwar

I was a bit short on time in India and did not have time to fly to Varanasi to see the Ganges River. I was upset I wasn’t able to see it, but after a little bit of research, I found that it was possible to see the Ganges River from Delhi in the city of Garhmukteshwar, which is two hours away. The staff at my hotel arranged for a taxi to take me to and from Garhmukteshwar in the morning for about $80 round trip. Sure, it was a bit expensive, but seeing how it was two hours both ways, I didn’t mind.

When I entered the taxi I had some trash in my hand and the driver asked me if I wanted him to dispose of it. I told him I would wait until we arrived, but he smiled, grabbed the trash and replied “No no no my friend, let me show you Delhi style.” He proceeded to roll down the window and toss out the trash as he drove. I was in shock, but thought it was funny how nonchalantly he threw the trash out.

We continued forward listening to Hindu tunes nonstop. The ride was far from scenic, but I enjoyed it.

Halfway to the town, we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch, which was about as local as it gets. There were flies everywhere, sauce in dirty metal buckets, but the food was actually pretty good. After lunch he treated me to a cup of hot tea, which I found strange seeing how hot it was outside.

We hopped back in the car and continued forward and about an hour until we reached Garhmukteshwar. We walked towards the river and encountered a group of men who agreed to take me on a boat ride for just $8.

The ride itself was amazing; I was honored to be in the presence of such a holy river. When I looked around I saw people bathing in the river, drinking the water, and even dead bodies being immersed in the river, all at the same time!

My boat driver asked me to take a bath in the river. He repeated, “Very nice my friend, you take bath here.” I smiled and kindly refused. As adventurous as I am, I was not getting into that water haha. Shortly after, my guide gave me combination of flowers, crackers, and some incents to burn and place on top of the water as an offering.

 

The ride lasted about an hour and afterwards I did some exploring around the town. Along the way, I came across a man who painted my forehead and gave me some flowers. I didn’t know the exact significance of it all, but I just went along with it.

The town of Garthmuktestwar didn’t have much to offer outside the river, but it was a pleasant trip away from the chaotic Delhi. As I made my way back to the taxi, I couldn’t help but notice wild monkeys roaming the streets. They were everywhere, swinging from building to building. We had to wait for them to clear the street before we could even leave the city.

On the ride back, we stopped for some tea. At this particular tea shop I noticed a huge pile of trash nearby. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, it was literally a landfill next to the highway. In some parts of India, they use these landfills to just burn trash. I thought it was a weird location to have a tea shop.

Later we got back in the taxi and the driver handed me a book and when I opened it, I saw hand written messages from everyone that he has ever driven. He handed me a pen and I began writing my message. When I returned his book back he smiled and thanked me for my kind words.

Riding back to Delhi, I felt accomplished. I had been waiting to see the Ganges River my entire life and my dream finally came true.