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What are the darshan timings of Har Ki Pauri?
Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar is open for darshan Open all day · Ganga Aarti at sunset. Aarti is performed at Evening Ganga Aarti (approx. 6:30 PM). The temple is located at central Haridwar.
Timings can change on festivals, eclipses and special occasions. Please confirm with the temple before you travel.
What is Har Ki Pauri known for?
Har Ki Pauri is the most sacred bathing ghat on the Ganga at Haridwar. The evening Ganga Aarti here, with hundreds of diyas set afloat on the river, is among India's most cherished spiritual experiences. Legend holds that Lord Vishnu left His footprint here.
Why is Har Ki Pauri significant?
Har Ki Pauri is the ghat at which the Ganga is held to leave the mountains for the plains, and the point on the river regarded as the most sacred at Haridwar. Tradition holds that Vishnu left his footprint in the stone here, which gives the ghat its name, and the Brahma Kund at its centre is one of the four sites named in the account of the amrit. The Kumbh at Haridwar centres on this ghat, and the principal bathing takes place here.
Outside the Kumbh years it remains in continuous daily use — for snan at dawn, for the immersion of ashes, and for the evening aarti.
Which rituals and festivals are held at Har Ki Pauri?
Bathing in the Ganga at Brahma Kund is the central rite, undertaken at dawn by most pilgrims. The Ganga Aarti at sunset is the ghat's best-known observance: lamps are offered to the river from the steps and diyas in leaf bowls are set on the water. Ashes are immersed here, and shraddh and tarpan are performed through the year, particularly during Pitru Paksha.
Kartik Purnima, Somvati Amavasya, Ganga Dussehra and Makar Sankranti are the occasions the ghat is busiest. The Kanwar Yatra in Shravan brings pilgrims to draw Ganga water from here.
How do you reach Har Ki Pauri?
Har Ki Pauri is in central Haridwar, about two kilometres from Haridwar Junction railway station — a short auto or e-rickshaw ride, or a walk through the bazaar. Haridwar is roughly 220 kilometres from Delhi by road and is well served by train. The nearest airport is Jolly Grant at Dehradun, about 35 kilometres away.
The current in the Ganga here is strong and chains are fixed along the bathing steps for that reason; bathe holding them. For the evening aarti, the steps fill well before sunset. Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi, both reached by ropeway, are the usual additions to a Haridwar visit.