Triveni Ghat and the evening aarti
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Aarti at sunset – About an hour
- Needs
- 1 hour
Turn for the guide’s part →
Licensed tour guides · Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
Hire a tour guide in Rishikesh
A licensed guide in Rishikesh is ₹1,500 for a full day of eight hours and ₹900 for a half day of four, in English — 10 languages are available, from ₹1,200 to ₹3,000 a day. This page carries all 5 of the city's main monuments with their entry fees and opening hours, a half-day and a full-day itinerary, and the licence basis you can check before you pay.
Full day · 8 hours
₹1,500
Half day · 4 hours
₹900
Languages
10 available
Monuments covered
5
Guiding in Rishikesh
What a guide is actually for in Rishikesh
Rishikesh has almost no ticketed monuments, which makes it the odd one out on this list and changes what a guide does entirely. There is nothing to queue for and nothing to explain the ticket tiers of. What there is: a town of working ashrams with their own rules and timetables, two aartis at opposite ends of the day, a riverfront with a rafting industry on it, and a set of distinctions — ashram, temple, ghat, akhara — that a visitor cannot read without help.
Orientation. The town sits where the Ganges leaves the Himalaya. Triveni Ghat is in the main bazaar at the southern end. Ram Jhula and Lakshman Jhula are footbridges two and four kilometres upstream, with Swarg Ashram and Parmarth Niketan on the far bank between them. The Beatles Ashram is just above Ram Jhula on the east side.
What it costs
Guide rates in Rishikesh
The fee below is for an English-speaking guide. The guide fee is set by language rather than by city, so the ten-language table underneath applies in Rishikesh exactly as it does in Delhi. The vehicle half of a bundled day is the site's published 4 hr / 40 km and 8 hr / 80 km rental package — every total here is two published rates added together.
Half day
4 hours, 40 km included
₹900guide only
With a vehicle and driver
- Sedan (Swift Dzire / Honda Amaze) — 4 seats
- ₹2,400
- SUV (Ertiga / Innova) — 6–7 seats
- ₹3,100
- Innova Crysta — 7 seats
- ₹3,700
Guide ₹900 plus the published 4 hr / 40 km rental package. Monument entry tickets are paid at the gate and are not included.
Full day
8 hours, 80 km included
₹1,500guide only
With a vehicle and driver
- Sedan (Swift Dzire / Honda Amaze) — 4 seats
- ₹4,000
- SUV (Ertiga / Innova) — 6–7 seats
- ₹5,000
- Innova Crysta — 7 seats
- ₹6,000
Guide ₹1,500 plus the published 8 hr / 80 km rental package. Monument entry tickets are paid at the gate and are not included.
The half-day guide fee is 60% of the day rate, rounded up to the nearest ₹50. Monument entry is extra and listed by monument below.
All ten languages, in Rishikesh
| Language | Half day | Full day | Who it serves | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi हिन्दी | ₹750 | ₹1,200 | Domestic travellers from across India, and NRI families returning with relatives | Hindi in Rishikesh |
| English English | ₹900 | ₹1,500 | United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa | English in Rishikesh |
| Russian Русский | ₹1,500 | ₹2,500 | Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Armenia | Russian in Rishikesh |
| French Français | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | France, Belgium, Switzerland, Québec, Morocco, Tunisia | French in Rishikesh |
| German Deutsch | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland, South Tyrol | German in Rishikesh |
| Italian Italiano | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Italy, Italian-speaking Switzerland, San Marino | Italian in Rishikesh |
| Portuguese Português | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique | Portuguese in Rishikesh |
| Spanish Español | ₹1,700 | ₹2,800 | Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, United States (Hispanic travellers) | Spanish in Rishikesh |
| Japanese 日本語 | ₹1,800 | ₹3,000 | Japan — independent travellers and organised group tours | Japanese in Rishikesh |
| Mandarin 中文 | ₹1,800 | ₹3,000 | Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia | Mandarin in Rishikesh |
What you will see
Rishikesh's monuments, and what they cost at the gate
Every figure is taken from this site's own published guide to that monument, linked from each card and row. None of them closes for a weekly rest day.
Rishikesh monuments · 1 of 5
Triveni Ghat and the evening aarti
- Entry — Indian
- Free
- Entry — foreign
- Free
- Hours
- Aarti at sunset – About an hour
- Time needed
- 1 hour
Turn a card for the guide’s part
Triveni Ghat and the evening aarti
The town’s own aarti, in the main bazaar — busier with pilgrims and less staged than the ashram ceremony upstream
Parmarth Niketan Ganga aarti
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Aarti at sunset – About an hour
- Needs
- 1 hour
Turn for the guide’s part →
Parmarth Niketan Ganga aarti
On the ghat steps of the ashram at Swarg Ashram, between the two footbridges
Lakshman Jhula and Ram Jhula
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Daylight hours – —
- Needs
- 1.5–2 hours to walk both banks
Turn for the guide’s part →
Lakshman Jhula and Ram Jhula
The two suspension footbridges the town is organised around, with the temple complexes at each end
Beatles Ashram (Chaurasi Kutia)
- Hours
- 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Needs
- 1.5 hours
Turn for the guide’s part →
Beatles Ashram (Chaurasi Kutia)
The abandoned Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ashram inside the Rajaji reserve boundary, with the painted meditation domes. A forest-department ticket is issued at the gate.
Neelkanth Mahadev
- Hours
- 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Needs
- 4 hours including the drive
Turn for the guide’s part →
Neelkanth Mahadev
32 km up a hill road, about an hour and a half each way. A working pilgrimage temple rather than a sight.
| Monument | Entry — Indian | Entry — foreign | Hours | Closed | Time needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triveni Ghat and the evening aarti | Free | Free | Aarti at sunset – About an hour | Open all days | 1 hour |
| Parmarth Niketan Ganga aarti | Free | Free | Aarti at sunset – About an hour | Open all days | 1 hour |
| Lakshman Jhula and Ram Jhula | Free | Free | Daylight hours – — | Open all days | 1.5–2 hours to walk both banks |
| Beatles Ashram (Chaurasi Kutia) | Not published | Not published | 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Open all days | 1.5 hours |
| Neelkanth Mahadev | Not published | Not published | 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Open all days | 4 hours including the drive |
3 of 5 carry a published entry fee. Where one is not shown it is because this site holds no verified figure for it, and a gap is better than an unchecked number.
The shape of the day
A half day and a full day in Rishikesh
Both plans are written against this city's own monument opening hours, which is why the start times are what they are.
Half day · ₹900 guide
The two bridges and the evening aarti
Rishikesh’s half day belongs at the end of the afternoon, because the aarti is at sunset and everything else is a walk.
- 15:00
Hotel pickup
Guide and car. Most of what follows is on foot, and the car leapfrogs between the bridges.
- 15:30
Beatles Ashram
Ninety minutes. The painted domes, the lecture hall, and what the 1968 visit actually was, as against what it has become — which is the part a guide is for here.
- 17:00
Ram Jhula and Swarg Ashram
Across the footbridge and along the far bank. Ashram, temple, ghat and akhara are four different things and this walk passes all four.
- 18:00
Ganga aarti at Parmarth Niketan
On the steps, an hour. Your guide tells you where to sit and what is happening rather than leaving you to guess.
- 19:15
Drop
The 4 hr / 40 km package covers the afternoon.
Full day · ₹1,500 guide
Rishikesh and Haridwar — the river from both ends
A full day here is best spent on the two towns together: Rishikesh is where the Ganges leaves the mountains and Haridwar is where it reaches the plain, twenty-five kilometres apart and completely different places.
- 08:00
Hotel pickup
An early start to get the walking done before the heat.
- 08:30
Lakshman Jhula and the east bank temples
The bridge, the Tera Manzil temple, and the lanes behind it before the shops open.
- 10:00
Beatles Ashram
Opens at 10:00. Ninety minutes inside the Chaurasi Kutia compound.
- 11:45
Ram Jhula and Swarg Ashram
The second bridge and the ashram bank — Parmarth Niketan, Gita Bhawan, the bookshops and the ghats.
- 13:00
Lunch
Vegetarian, and no alcohol anywhere in town — both are rules here rather than preferences, and your guide will have mentioned it before you ask. Paid separately.
- 14:30
Drive to Haridwar
Twenty-five kilometres, about forty-five minutes.
- 15:30
Har Ki Pauri and the Haridwar bazaar
The ghat where the Ganges is formally received onto the plain, and the market behind it.
- 17:45
Ganga aarti at Har Ki Pauri
The larger of the two aartis, and the one most pilgrims come for.
- 19:30
Drop at hotel
The 8 hr / 80 km package covers Rishikesh plus the Haridwar leg within the included distance.
The fare, stated plainly
What is in the price and what is not
What the fare covers
- A Ministry-of-Tourism licensed Regional Level Guide for the Northern Region
- The guide’s licence card photographed and sent on WhatsApp at confirmation, before anything is paid
- An AC vehicle with a driver on the published rental package, if you take the bundled rate
- Driver waiting at every stop for the full package duration — no re-booking between sights
- Fuel, tolls within the package distance, parking at the monuments, and the driver’s allowance
- Ticket-counter help: which tier to buy, which gate to use, and which queue is the short one
What it does not
- Monument entry tickets, paid at the gate — the Rishikesh figures are in the table on this page
- Meals, shopping and any optional activity during the day
- Distance beyond the package’s included kilometres, at the published per-km rate
- Guide and driver gratuity, customary but never compulsory
- Monument camera or video charges where the monument levies them
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
Regional Level Guide (RLG)
- Language examined in
- Ten languages
- Licensing region
- Northern Region
- Full day · 8 hours
- ₹1,500
- Half day · 4 hours
- ₹900
Every licence card carries a photograph, a licence number, the issuing region and the languages the holder is examined in. We send a photograph of the card on WhatsApp when a booking is confirmed, before you pay anything, so you can check the number, the region and the language against the guide who meets you.
The credential
What a government guide licence is, and how to check one
A Regional Level Guide licence is issued by the Ministry of Tourism after a written examination, an interview and a training course run through the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management. It is issued for a tourism region, not for the whole country, and it names the foreign languages the holder is examined in.
Archaeological Survey of India monuments admit licensed guides and turn away unlicensed ones at the ticket gate. An unlicensed "guide" who approaches you outside the Taj Mahal or Amber Fort cannot accompany you inside, which is why the pitch is always made in the car park.
In Rishikesh: Northern Region — Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh
Questions people ask
Guides in Rishikesh
FAQs
Very little. The bridges, the ghats, the aartis and the ashram riverfronts are all free. The Beatles Ashram at Chaurasi Kutia issues a forest-department ticket at the gate, and rafting and other activities are priced by the operator. This is the only city on this list where the guide fee is most of what a guided day costs, because there are almost no entry tickets to add to it.
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Book a licensed guide in Rishikesh
Send your dates, the language you want and whether you need half a day or a full one. We come back with a licensed guide, a photograph of their licence card, and the total in writing before anything is paid — from ₹900 for a half day in English.
We send the guide’s licence card before you pay anything. Nothing is charged to confirm.