Auto and taxi was on strike. I decided to rent a Scooty to visit Neelkanth Dham and then to Jhilmil Gufa. Rs. 250 was Scooty charges starting from 9 mornings till 9 nights. Petrol was extra as per the journey requirement. I filled the Scooty petrol tank with two liters of petrol.

9:40 am Chandan and I – The guide was at Laxman Jhula.

9:50 am at Garud Chatti.

10:45 we reached Neelkanth Dham.

There are two paths to reach Jhilmil Gufa from Neelkanth Dham. One is a 5 km trek near Neelkanth Mahadev temple, and the other is a dusty path approx. half a km before the temple. We selected the dusty path because with one’s own vehicle (motorbike/car), one can reach very near to Jhilmil Gufa.

Approx. 2 km of steep, dusty hill drive, we stop the vehicle near a village where there is hand made display board on the left side indicating the path towards Jhilmil Gufa and approx. 20 minutes time to reach the cave. Scooty was parked. Now onwards drive is not possible.

At 11 am, we started walking towards Jhilmil Gufa, passing via Hotel Ganga Darshan. Rajendra Ji, the caretaker of the hotel, was there alone. Upon the query, he requested us to continue following the muddy path within the jungle. The jungle area starts from here only. Nobody was there except we two and no villages were visible except one or two village houses on the other side of the hills.

At 11:25, we reached Jhilmil Gufa. 25 minutes approx. walking sometimes steep.

There are three caves. Each one is different from another in size and shape. We visited all three and had talks with Shri Shailesh Giri Ji – a sadhu inside the cave for a few minutes. Upon the query, he narrated to us the History of Jhilmil Gufa.

Alha Udal‘s (The King from Uttar Pradesh) Guru meditated within these caves years ago. The cave is dedicated to Guru Gorakshanath and was discovered by Saraswati Nijanand Swami Ji. 150 years of cave history he said is known to them. The cave is known as Jhilmil Gufa because Guru Jhilmila Ji also meditated within these caves years ago.

The jungle around the caves is known as Manikut Kajri Van. Elephants mostly live within these jungles.

After talks, donations, and prayers, we decided to leave, but the trek and the location memory will be remembered forever because the cave’s location is within a dense jungle, and peace, the utmost requirement, is there for sure. One should visit – I suggest.

Rishikesh to Neelkanth Mahadev Trek – Eight morning hours, Chandan and I started the journey from Ram Jhula. One trekking pole, two bottles of water each of us was carrying, and bread and butter. A blanket and woolen clothes because of winter days. Walking passing through Geeta Bhawan, Vanprasth Ashram, we reached the road that connects to Barrage (8 km), and Chilla (22 km).

The road is silent. Dense jungle on both sides of the road. Elephant dung on the road.

After 40 minutes of walking towards Chilla, we saw a left turn for the Neelkanth Mahadev temple. Manikut Parvat, it is, said Chandan, and the actual trek starts here only. A cemented steep path. Eight km was the distance written on the board.

At 9, we reached Shri Siddh Mauni Baba Gufa on the left side of the path. Upon request, we were shown Gufa (cave) by a baba. A very small entrance for one person to enter at a time. The cave is in oval shape and has good space for a few people to meditate. Dhuni is burning.

At 9:50, we had a stop at Nimbu Pani shop. This is Dhandlapani Village (upon the query) said the makeshift shop owner, Sanjay Rana. Neelkanth Temple is 5 km far from here. 3 km further, steep climbing and then a 2 km downward journey. After paying Rs. 10 per nimbu pani glass, we started our journey again.

Elephant dung we saw many times during our steep climb. Yes, Elephants are there in the jungles, even up in the mountains. The more we climbed up the more cold the temperature was. Maybe a 9 am start will be much better rather than 8 – a little early. On the way, we saw a few foreign tourists and locals climbing, but very few.

10:55, we stop at Pani Pau Village to have a cup of tea along with bread and butter. We were hungry. Mohan Singh Rawat is running the tea shop. We requested tea, which was very tasty. Rs. 7 per cup.

11:30, we reach Pundrasu Tanki. The steep climbing ends here only. Here you will find many dhabas. Though dhabas were not opened, but during the season that is Shravan months (July and August), they are packed with devotees, said Chandan.

Now we were going downwards. At 12 noon we were inside the temple area.

How many hours of trek from Ram Jhula, Rishikesh to Neelkanth Mahadev Temple?

Ram Jhula, Rishikesh to Neelkanth Mahadev Temple is 4 hour trek.

I am from the plains. If you are from the mountains, physically fit maybe you need three and a half hours only.

While returning the shared jeep is the best option. Rs. 60 per person. I was dropped at Laxman Jhula, Rishikesh. One hour journey by road.

If you are unable to do a trek of 8 km and still wish to do the trek, one of the other best ways is to reach Neelkanth Mahadev temple early morning by 9 or so via a shared jeep and start trekking from Neelkanth Mahadev towards Rishikesh. Then you have to do only 2 or 3 km of steep climbing, and the rest 5 km is a downward journey.

If one is visiting Rishikesh, I will say one should do Rishikesh to Neelkanth Mahadev trek or vice versa. Once you reach on top of Manikut Parvat, you can watch Rishikesh City along with Chandrabhaga and Ganga rivers. Lovely to watch. And the jungle trek – lovely.