About Haridwar District
Haridwar district is where the Ganges first reaches the plains after its Himalayan journey — a spot of immense religious significance. The city of Haridwar (population ~300,000) is the district headquarters, home to the iconic Har Ki Pauri ghat and the nightly Ganga Aarti.
Popular Places in Haridwar District
Har Ki Pauri & Ganga Aarti
The most sacred ghat in Haridwar — the nightly fire aarti at Har Ki Pauri is one of India's most spectacular spiritual experiences. See our detailed Haridwar pilgrimage guide for complete information.
Rajaji National Park
The Chilla range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve is within Haridwar district. Home to Asian elephants (700+), tigers, leopards and over 400 bird species. Jeep safaris available from the Chilla gate.
Bharat Mata Temple
A unique temple near Har Ki Pauri with 8 floors, each dedicated to different aspects of Indian heritage — geographical India on ground floor, figures of freedom fighters above, then the Hindu gods, and finally cosmic deities at the top. A modern temple that is both spiritual and educational.
Shantikunj Ashram
Headquarters of All World Gayatri Pariwar — a spiritual organisation. A vast campus with temples, meditation halls and gardens on the banks of the Ganges. Open to all visitors.
Mansa Devi & Chandi Devi
Two hilltop Shakti temples accessible by cable car — an important part of the Haridwar pilgrimage circuit. See Haridwar pilgrimage guide for details.
Haridwar–Rishikesh Corridor
Haridwar and Rishikesh (25 km) are usually visited together as a 2–3 day itinerary — pilgrimage in Haridwar combined with yoga, adventure and more temples in Rishikesh.
History of Haridwar District
Haridwar — "Gateway to Hari (Vishnu)" or "Gateway to Hara (Shiva)" depending on the tradition — is one of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) of Hinduism and among the oldest continuously inhabited urban settlements on the Indian subcontinent. The city stands at the precise point where the Ganges river leaves the Himalayan foothills and enters the Indo-Gangetic Plain — a transition that has given this location extraordinary religious significance for over 3,000 years.
The earliest references to Haridwar appear in the Skanda Purana and Vishnu Purana, where it is called Gangadwara (Gateway of the Ganga) or Mayapuri. The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), who visited India between 629–645 CE, described the city as Mo-yu-lo and noted its importance as a Hindu pilgrimage centre. Even in this early period, the Har Ki Pauri ghat (then called Brahmakund) was a centre of ritual bathing and worship.
By the medieval period, Haridwar had grown into a major centre of religious commerce and learning. The Kumbh Mela — held every 12 years at Haridwar when Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries — is one of the world's largest human gatherings. Historical records indicate the Kumbh Mela has been held at Haridwar for at least 1,200 years. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang's account and later medieval inscriptions confirm the deep antiquity of these pilgrimage traditions.
Haridwar came under Mughal influence during the medieval period — Emperor Akbar is said to have visited Haridwar and the area was administered as part of the Mughal subah (province) of Agra. The Shivalik hills above Haridwar — where the Mansa Devi and Chandi Devi temples stand — were controlled by local Garhwal rajas who maintained a degree of autonomy from Mughal authority by virtue of their mountain terrain.
The British East India Company took administrative control of Haridwar after the defeat of the Marathas in 1803. Under British rule, the city underwent significant infrastructure development — the Upper Ganges Canal, which branches off at Haridwar and irrigates much of western UP and Haryana, was engineered between 1842 and 1854 under Proby Cautley. The canal headworks at Haridwar remain a marvel of Victorian engineering and fundamentally changed agriculture across the Gangetic Plain. The British also organised the Kumbh Mela more systematically, building roads, camps and medical facilities to manage the enormous crowds.
In 1988, Haridwar district was carved from Saharanpur district (UP) as a separate administrative unit. After Uttarakhand's formation in 2000, Haridwar became part of the new state, though its cultural, commercial and logistical connections with the UP plains remain stronger than with many parts of the hill state. The Kumbh Mela of 2021 — held during the COVID-19 pandemic with considerable controversy — drew approximately 25 million pilgrims and reaffirmed Haridwar's position as the spiritual heart of northern India's Hindu pilgrimage network.
How to Reach Haridwar
- By Train: Haridwar Junction — major railway hub with trains from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata
- By Road: 250 km from Delhi via NH-58 (5–6 hours)
- By Air: Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun (35 km)