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C O V E R
S T O R Y
A RETREAT IN RISHIKESH
DAWN JORGENSEN TRAVELS TO A CITY WITH 100 000 PEOPLE TO FIND SILENCE AND SOLITUDE
I step out of the small and somewhat
chaotic Dehradun airport in India and into
a sea of nameboards, one of them marked
for me.
While helping me into a weary-looking
car that is my ride to Rishikesh, my driver,
Amit, smiles warmly and says, “You are
most welcome.” We climb a winding road
through thick forest and vegetation,
passing brightly decorated trucks and
40 // MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE
tuk-tuks, passenger-laden motorbikes
and the occasional roadside monkey
during the 40-minute journey to my final
destination, and the ashram that will be
my home for the next 12 days.
Situated on the banks of the Ganges
River (or holy Mother Ganga as it’s called
locally) on the foothills of northern
India’s Himalayan Mountains, Rishikesh is
a place of ancient spiritual practices and
thousands of years of yoga, meditation
and Ayurveda. Known as the yoga capital
of the world, it is one of the holiest places
in Hinduism, and sages and saints have
visited here since ancient times in search
of higher knowledge.
I’m here in what’s turned into a year
of “eat, pray, yoga and self-love” in a
quest to step away from the madness
of digitised life and seek out a healthier