Is it Worth a visit to The Beatles Ashram Rishikesh? 5 Things to Consider

The Beatles Ashram Rishikesh is up high on a cliff overlooking the Ganges river. Spread over 14 acres of land. Surrounded by ‘ruins’ of Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation Ashram. This must have been a next level kind of trip. It’s unimaginably colossal. Riddled with living creatures and divine symbolism. Green lush nature takes over completely. Meditation huts popping out of every corner. A high vibration kind of Yogi palace. Good vibes. Sadness ponders the question of why it is no longer in use. A museum of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram. Made famous by The Beatles.

The Beatles Ashram Rishikesh Evokes Mixed Feelings

The Beatles Ashram takes you back in time. An opportunity to see how east met west. How spirituality spread across borders. The hippie movement inspired by the Beatles make love not war, drugs and free thinking. Transcendental Meditation (TM) and soul-searchers. Millennial born weirdos that are the offspring of this ‘lost’ generation.

The Beatles Ashram Rishikesh is for those ‘Die Hard’ fans, Nature Lovers & TM Followers

It is absolutely worth a visit. I am a rich Beatles Fan. I probably was a groupie in my past life. It’s a revolution I feel strong for.  Free-ing the nipple, make love, not war. All you need is love. Right? Talk about a revolution, this song was made in Rishikesh.  A revolution we are still fighting for today. To be free from material greed, consumerism, racism, war and social injustice. This place is a definite bucket list. The journey consumes a lot of energy. It’s a trek. Here are some things to consider and some pictures to persuade you.

1. Conserve Your Energy for your trip to The Beatles Ashram Rishikesh

It’s a big place to explore. It consumes a lot of energy. You are in the jungle. Museums are energy vampires. They suck the life out of you. We still love going to them. You tend to learn a lot at museums and this is one. It closed down for many years and only opened to the public in 2015. It’s a great spot and if you have time you can check out the beach by the Ganga.

• Preserve your energy- take 15 minutes to explore each section
• You need about 2-3 hours to explore the whole Ashram – A whole day or at least half a day- morning or afternoon
• 600 Rupees Entry Fee
• There is no shop to buy any drinks or snacks inside
• There is a street vendor outside – Make sure you fill up before you go in
• Learn more about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ‘Chaurasi Kuttiya Ashram’ 

“Reality Leaves a lot to the Imagination” John Lenon

2. Wear Long Pants or Take Mosquito Spray- It’s a Jungle out There

Don’t get too caught up in the Meditation Huts. We explored these huts for about an hour. Not realising there is a whole other part to the Ashram. We took Yoga pictures and meditated in almost every hut. It’s really beautiful. These meditation huts were built with stones from the Ganga. The whole atmosphere vibrates with nature. Watch out for the spiders. They are huge and sometimes go unnoticed.

• Wearing long pants is mandatory unless you like getting eaten alive by Mosquitos
• Mosquito Spray is a great idea I wish I thought of

Not a Beatle Fan- Graffiti and Art Lovers will Appreciate the mix of Art in Nature

It’s a beautiful place to explore art. There are random drawings everywhere. From art sketches to graffiti. The way they have revived the place through art gives a different perspective. Nature takes over but there is room for art and poetry. Spiritual symbolism is everywhere. I love spotting it. It exists in nature too.

4. Appreciate the Architecture or Style of ‘Sacred Geometry’

There was something very intrinsic about the way this place was built. Whether that was intentional or not is a story for another day. This is a great place to visit if you’re into landscaping and architecture. Although everything is overgrown. You have to use your imagination. The beautiful big trees overlapping the structured rooms. You can spend hours exploring.

5. Feel the Love of the Beatles Seep through the Recreated Art

There are Beatles Quotes written all over the walls. The Beatles were greatly influential. They influenced many people through their music. Some of their songs include traditional Indian instruments. Beautiful sounds and vibrations. To embrace love, freedom and break down cultural barriers. They also helped bring Transcendental Meditation to the West.

I  end this blog with one of the only videos I could find about this place. It’s amazing how the media influences society so much. How something pure can be seen as materialistic or greedy.  Society is unaccepting of change, even today. Meditation is so beneficial for body, mind and soul. It’s been suppressed in the west. Only reaching so many people. The Beatles Ashram Rishikesh is a must visit for all those who love history, spiritualism and the Revolutionary time of The Beatles.

Looking for more things to do in Rishikesh? There are many temples to explore. My favourite one is, Kunjapuri Temple.