Beatles Ashram - Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India - Beatlemania! on Waymarking.com

"The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram is located in a beautiful spot within the Rajaji National Park with the river Ganga flowing quietly behind it. It got the world's attention when it briefly housed the band members of the legendary English rock band The Beatles in 1968. But with time everyone forgot that, and the ashram turned into a ruin after it was abandoned in 1997.

After being ignored for years, Uttarakhand's Forest Department has finally converted the ashram into an eco-friendly tourism destination. Nature walks, bird watching, and a visit to the ashram are on offer for an entry fee of Rs 150 for Indian nationals, and Rs 600 for foreigners.

Reports suggest that apart from nature walk and bird watching tours, which have already commenced, the place might soon have a cafeteria as well. Even though the ashram has been given a facelift, the artwork on the walls of the yoga hall have remained untouched, and continue to be the biggest draw for tourists. It was in 2012 that a bunch of travelling artists, including Canadian artist Pan Trinity Das, painted the walls with pop art and beautiful black-and-white portraits of The Beatles, alongside those of prominent spiritual leaders like the Dalai Lama. The forest officials have decided not to tamper with this, except for repainting some of the walls which have been overrun with graffiti.

The ashram acquires special significance when you consider that the pop group ended up being pretty prolific during their stay there. Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison of The Beatles visited it in February 1968 to learn transcendental meditation. While Starr left in 10 days, followed by McCartney in three weeks, John Lennon and George Harrison stayed on for eight weeks. This is the period when they are said to have written 48 songs, many of which made it to the band's famous White Album."

Source: (visit link)

Location: Swarg Ashram, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand 249304, India Type of location: Beatles history Connection to The Beatles: Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison of The Beatles visited Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram in February 1968 to learn transcendental meditation. While Starr left in 10 days, followed by McCartney in three weeks, John Lennon and George Harrison stayed on for eight weeks. This is the period when they are said to have written 48 songs, many of which made it to the band's famous White Album.

Visit Instructions:
Post a unique photo of the location, taken at the time of visit.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/23/2012 JeanPierre12 visited it