Lily's Retreats & Stays Enquire

3,892 m · Gaumukh, Gangotri glacier · 258 km upstream of Lily's

The river you will
sleep beside is born
in ice

Scroll to descend. At the snout of the 30-kilometre Gangotri glacier, meltwater pours from an ice cave shaped like a cow's mouth - Gaumukh - and becomes the Bhagirathi. It is barely two degrees above freezing. Every stay at Lily's sits at the end of this fall.

River here
Bhagirathi - the Ganga's source stream
Water temp
≈ 2 °C at the ice cave
Still to fall
3,552 m before it reaches our gate
Snow-covered Himalayan peaks above the Gangotri valley
The Gangotri massif · source of the Bhagirathi

2,620 m · Harsil valley · 230 km upstream

Young, cold, and
in a hurry through
the deodar forests

Below Gangotri the river runs through Harsil - apple orchards, deodar cedar, and bharal grazing the slopes. This is the water that will pass your balcony in roughly three days' flow. Sadhus have walked this route to the source for two thousand years; the pilgrim road still follows the river the whole way.

Gradient
The river drops ~9 m every km on this stretch
Known for
Deodar cedar, Harsil apples, the Char Dham road
A glacial river winding through a high Himalayan valley at dawn
The upper Bhagirathi gorge at first light

475 m · Devprayag · 74 km upstream

Two rivers meet,
and take one name:
Ganga

At Devprayag the green Bhagirathi collides with the grey-blue Alaknanda - you can see the two colours running side by side before they blend. Only from this triangular point onward does the river carry the name Ganga. The Raghunath temple above the sangam has watched it happen for over a thousand years.

The meeting
Bhagirathi + Alaknanda → Ganga
From Lily's
A 2.5-hour drive up the pilgrim road - we arrange day trips
Devprayag town above the confluence where two rivers meet
Devprayag · the sangam where the Ganga is named

380 m · Shivpuri · 16 km upstream

The last wild miles:
Roller Coaster,
Golf Course, Club House

Between Shivpuri and Rishikesh the Ganga throws its final tantrum - a 16-kilometre run of Grade II–III rapids with names every rafting guide in India knows by heart. Guests who want the white water get a morning put-in five minutes from our gate; guests who don't can watch the rafts come through from the Rapids Suite balcony, chai in hand.

Season
Mid-Sept to June (the monsoon owns July–August)
From Lily's
We book certified operators only · gear included
Rafts on the turquoise Ganga below a riverside temple
Rafts finishing the Shivpuri run into Rishikesh
Tera Manzil temple and Lakshman Jhula on the Ganga at Rishikesh, golden hour

340 m · Tapovan, Rishikesh · Km 0

The mountains end.
Lily's begins.

The river leaves its gorge at Tapovan - the forest of practice - and slows for the first time in 258 kilometres. Our nine AC balcony rooms sit on the high bank above this bend: close enough to hear the rapids, far enough to hear nothing else. The 13-storey Tera Manzil temple and Lakshman Jhula are a short walk downstream.

Pottery retreat · 25–30 Sep

A six-day pottery retreat with Rishikesh Pottery Studio - instructors and volunteers on the floor at Lily's.

Open notes →

Oct 1–5 retreat

River & Stillness - practice, waterfall, and the evening aarti.

Open notes →

Guest slam book

How the river, the kitchen, and past guests describe Lily's.

Read the book →
Walking across Lakshman Jhula suspension bridge

Cross Lakshman Jhula on foot to the cafés and ashrams of the far bank - the whole of Rishikesh is walkable from our gate.

A priest raises a tiered flame lamp at the evening Ganga aarti

340 m · 19:00 · Ganga aarti, four hundred metres from your room

You have descended
with the river.
Stay a while at the bottom.

Every evening the ghat lights its lamps and sings the river downstream. We hold a place on the steps for guests. On site: a restaurant beside the waterfall stream, and a yoga hall for practice, sound healing, kirtan, and gatherings. Direct bookings include Dehradun airport pickup (45 min) and sunrise practice.

Book a stayPottery retreat · 25–30 Sep
Read the guest slam book River & Stillness · 1–5 Oct