High Bank Peasant Cottage Hotel

I stayed here for just under a week, and was quite pleased. From what I can gather, this is the nicest place in the High Banks (also known as "Tapovan Hill") area. The owner and staff were always available, and quite friendly.

Since High Banks isn't "officially" Rishikesh, you can get an egg omlet here for breakfast (I declined) or enjoy a basic toast / cereal / fruit repast.

The hotel is made up of two buildings and I stayed in both. The rooms in the older building (which is on the right) are noticably less "luxe" (which is a relative term anyway) than rooms in the new building (on the left, over the reception room). Stay in the new/left building to enjoy great views of the Ganga. Yoga also takes place on the 2nd floor of the new building @ 8:30A and 5:00P dailly.

The rooms in the older building were basic - H/C water, wash basin, toilet. Decent beds, A/C, and a fan. The rooms in the new building had nicer bathrooms, A/C with a remote control, more furniture (dresser, table, chairs, etc.) and were airy and full of light. There was no daily "maid service" which probably won't matter to you - It seems that most people staying here were around for no more than a night or two.

High Banks (the area, not the hotel) is pretty much a self-contained community of Westerners. Very few Indian nationals stay here - I saw mostly Israelis, Brits, with a few French and Americans thrown in for good measure. You'll find a book store, 3-4 veg/non-veg restaraunts, and a couple of massage places (Try "Divine Auyurvedic" - they do great work), and 1 clothing store with mostly nepalese stuff.

Be prepared to walk 10-15 minutes to town, 20-25 minutes to Laxman Jhula, and 20 20-25 minutes to Ram Jhula. You can also (normally) grab an autorickshaw from the bottom of High Banks to these places for about 50 RS.

Unique Quality: Make sure to climb the stairs to top of newer building to enjoy great views of the Ganga and Rishikesh - I don't know how many photographs I took from this vantage point.

H.B.P.C also has a "truly" high speed internet connection and wireless. While the the connection wasn't always "up", when it was it was light years faster the the surrounding internet cafes which boasted only 115K connections.

HPBC can arrange transport for you to local sights and to other areas of U.P. (I hired an AC car to take me to Haridwar, about 45 minutes away for 700 rupees)