Purnanand Ghat (Ganga Aarti)

Purnanand Ghat is a serene stretch of the Ganga riverfront in Muni-Ki-Reti, on the right bank close to Janki Setu (Janki Jhula), the graceful pedestrian suspension bridge that spans the Ganga from the Muni-Ki-Reti (Kailash Gate) west bank across to the Swarg Ashram / Parmarth Niketan side on the far east bank.

• It sits well upstream of Rishikesh's celebrated Triveni Ghat and a short walk from the busy Parmarth Niketan riverfront, and it draws travellers precisely because it is quieter than either.
• Here the river is still fresh from the Himalaya — cold, jade-green and fast — and the low steps meet the water beneath a horizon of forested foothills, giving the ghat an intimate, contemplative character that many visitors find missing at the larger, more crowded aarti venues downstream.
• The ghat is best known for its evening Ganga Aarti, a lamp-offering ritual to the river goddess performed daily around dusk.
• What distinguishes Purnanand Ghat is that its aarti is often led by women — a locally noted feature that lends the ceremony a distinctive tone of devotion and inclusion.
• As the light fades, oil lamps and camphor flames are circled to the ringing of bells and the chanting of "Jai Jai Maa Ganga," while small leaf-boats of flowers and diyas are floated onto the current.
• Because the gathering is modest in size, visitors can sit close, watch each step of the ritual unhurried, and even take part rather than jostling at the back of a large crowd.
• Rishikesh is one of India's foremost yoga and pilgrimage towns, and Muni-Ki-Reti — literally "the sands of the sages" — is dense with ashrams and meditation centres, so the neighbourhood around the ghat carries a calm, spiritual register.
• The whole town is vegetarian and alcohol-free by long-standing local convention and civic rule, which makes it an easy, wholesome base for families and solo travellers alike.
• Visitors should treat the ghat as an active sacred space: dress modestly, remove footwear near the steps, keep noise low during the aarti, ask before photographing people mid-prayer, and never enter the swift river to bathe or swim, as the Himalayan current is powerful and the bed drops away quickly.
• For vegetarian travellers the setting could hardly be simpler, because there is no non-vegetarian food anywhere in Rishikesh.
• Muni-Ki-Reti and nearby Tapovan (a short walk north along the same west bank, toward Lakshman Jhula) are lined with pure-vegetarian thali kitchens, satvik ashram-style eateries — many cooking without onion and garlic — and relaxed cafes serving South Indian tiffin, north Indian thalis, herbal chai and simple bakery fare.
• A visit pairs naturally with a slow riverside walk, a crossing of Janki Setu for the views, and the town's wider circuit of Triveni Ghat, Parmarth Niketan and the ashram lanes.