Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city, known primarily for the evening Aarti at Hari-ki-pauri and it's many temples. Apart from the Aarti, there's actually very little to say about Haridwar. So I've decide to dish out some awards for the temples.
The most tourist friendly award goes to Mansa Devi Mandir (on top of the hill) for the most useful amount of information in English such as , "Entry", "This way" and "Exit":
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The most beautiful award goes to Doodhadhari Ashram for it's marble construction and towering spires:
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The most interesting mandir award goes to Pawan Dham. The interiors and idols are made of glass:
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The most number of sadhus (a kind of ascetic) award goes to Hari-ki-pauri for the ever present legion of sadhus:
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The most poorly thought out temple goes to Bharat Mata Mandir, which is supposed to be a tribute to Mother India. I thought it was a confusing mishmash of idols and statues of national heroes:
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Overall, I don't think I'll visit Haridwar again. It's primarily a city of temples and therefore not really tourist friendly. There's only so many temples anyone would want to visit, and there's a lot of them. If you're prepared to explore the city, you may find the odd temple to your liking.
