Madhuban Ashram (ISKCON Temple)

Madhuban Ashram sits at Kailash Gate in Muni Ki Reti, on the road that climbs north from Rishikesh town towards Tapovan and Lakshman Jhula, only a short walk from the Ganga.

• It is a Radha-Krishna temple and residential ashram in the Gaudiya Vaishnava (Hare Krishna) devotional tradition, and most visitors — and most map services — find it listed as the "ISKCON temple, Rishikesh." In practice, though, it operates outside the international society: the property runs under the ISKCON New Vrindavan East Trust, and the formal ISKCON Rishikesh centre states publicly that Madhuban Ashram is currently not under ISKCON management, so travellers should treat the two as distinct even though the deities, the worship and the chanting belong to the same shared Gaudiya Vaishnava practice.
• The heart of the complex is the temple hall, where deities of Radha and Krishna are dressed and garlanded through the day in the manner of the Gaudiya lineage.
• Worship follows the familiar Vaishnava rhythm — an early Mangala aarti before dawn, darshan through the morning, a quiet midday break, and an evening aarti that is the most atmospheric time to arrive, when kirtan (call-and-response chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra) rolls through the hall to the beat of mridanga drums and kartal cymbals.
• Beyond the temple, the ashram serves as a calm base for practice: it is associated with Hatha yoga and meditation alongside the Vaishnava ideal of Karma yoga (selfless service), and its unhurried courtyards make a gentler alternative to Rishikesh's busier riverfront ashrams.
• For vegetarian travellers the ashram sits squarely within Rishikesh's ethic — this is a holy town that is entirely vegetarian and alcohol-free by law.
• Prasad here is pure-vegetarian and typically satvik, cooked in the Vaishnava manner without onion or garlic, offered first to the deities and then shared with devotees and guests; a simple prasad meal or a sanctified sweet is part of the experience rather than a transaction.
• There is no formal ticket, and the mood is devotional rather than touristic.
• All visitors are welcome regardless of faith, with the usual temple etiquette: remove your shoes before entering, dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered, silence your phone, and join or observe the aarti quietly rather than photographing the sanctum without asking.
• The ashram pairs naturally with a slow Muni Ki Reti–Tapovan itinerary — the Ganga ghats, Lakshman Jhula and the neighbouring ashrams — and rewards an unhurried, respectful visit.