Glasshouse on the Ganges…..–where Ganges is clean - the way it should be everywhere

A weekend break – away from the city – a must for those who love nature. We took the Dehradun Shatabdi from Delhi and got off at Haridwar, from where Glasshouse is a 2 hour drive. We reached the property by lunch time- though the drive was tough- specially some patches as the road had been completely destroyed by rains and landslides.

We stayed at a lovely place called the Glasshouse on the Ganges (A Neemrana property). The place came highly recommended from friends who went there about 2 years back. The property lives upto its name- its made mainly of glass and is situated bang on the Ganges. Most of the rooms have a view of the river and the mountains and is something completely different from the places I have been to so far. But the property can definitely do something to its maintenance levels …..the carromboard in the common room is in shambles. However, we spent all our time on the river beach – so it was ok!!

The river beach of the property is small but perfect (good things come in small packages after all!). it is so much better than a sea beach as the water is not salty. The weather was perfect and thank god it did not rain while we were there – so we could maximize the time we spent on the beach.

We also went to the Rishikesh town and had lunch at the famous restaurant – “Chotiwala”. It was nothing exceptional as it has kind of lost its old charm over the years and even the menu now includes pastas and pizzas (catering to the huge tourist inflow from the west). I remember going there as a child and really enjoying the traditional Indian food minus the shahi paneer and dal makhni .

But , overall, a lovely trip – we plan to skip Rishikesh next time and just spend all our time at the Glasshouse…just when we are ready for our next “complete break to unwind”!