The “Yoga Capital of the World”, Rishikesh was our October family holiday last year. It was a choice very unlike us. I am into yoga but my family not so much, so a family holiday in Rishikesh was an unlikely choice but somehow after much research we all realised we needed a detox and the decision was sealed.

Taj Rishikesh

Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, with the holy Ganges skirting the sides, Taj Rishikesh makes for one of the most beautiful and serene properties I have been to recently.

Taj Rishikesh

It’s 30 kilometres away from the city of Rishikesh, in a village called Singthali. The road was still being built when we landed so it was a partially bumpy ride. It took us 1.30 min to reach there from the Dehradun airport.

The one thing you notice after reaching the resort is the terraced topography as it meanders 300 feet, right down to the pebbled banks of the Ganges. Apparently, this is a gateway location to the Char Dham pilgrimage sites of Kedarnath, Badrinath and also Hemkunt Sahib. This therefore makes for a great place for pilgrims to stay.

Welcome At Taj Rishikesh

Spread over 12.5 acres, this is an eco friendly resort. We stayed in the junior suite overlooking the Ganges. There are also King rooms and villas that you can pick to stay.

Junior Suite King Bed

The resort has six Junior Suites and ours came with a huge balcony and breathtaking view of the Ganges. It was large and we used extra beds to fit the kids in. 

Junior Suite

View from my room

Few things that set the resort apart;

Their outdoor heated pool overlooking the mountains is not only scenic but unique as they don’t use chlorine at all.  The pool is filled with Ganga water is purified with Himalayan salts itself. When you enter this pool, you come out feeling detoxed. 

Infinity Pool with Ganga Water and no chlorine At Taj Rishikesh

Lounging by the pool side

You notice that even the filtered drinking water you have their makes you feel light and has a lovely taste to it. The 4 nights that we were there, we hardly exercised, ate a lot and still came back losing weight. Makes you rethink the quality of air and water in the metros.

The pahadi food also tastes out of the world even though they hardly use extra spices to flavour the food.

Pahadi Thali

Every morning you can go for a complimentary yoga class and a meditation class in the evening. 

Me practicing morning yoga

There is also Ganga aarti by the banks of the river every evening.

Ganga aarti by the banks of the river

As a family we got a lot of time to bond and be close to nature. You can see my kids and hubby trying to skip stones on water. Where else can I get them this kind of carefree fun?

The boys trying their hand at skipping stones

Apart from these there are experiences that you can book with the Taj;

 Devprayag Experience- Taj will organize a holy bath at Sangam (the confluence of Bagirathi, Alaknanda and Saraswati) followed by a Satvik (a vegetarian Indian menu) tiffin lunch.

Jiva Spa

Their spa is just below the meditation garden.  The spa has signature experiences, Indian therapies, holistic natural therapies, scrubs & wraps etc. You can also enrol for 3 days to a week long detox treatments. 

The Kerala Spa room

Enjoying my spa therapy

DINING

The property has three restaurants.

The All Day Dining Restaurant Rock Flour, the Panorama Bar with beautiful views of the mountains and the valley and the open-air Pizza and salad bar near the pool. 

All day dining

High Tea cart

 

If you are looking for a detoxing getaway to come back refreshed then this property is definitely a wonderful choice. When we went here last October, they hadn’t gotten their liquor license but had applied for one. 

disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. All the views are my own and personal.