For those in search of spiritual succor, Rishikesh has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. In the sixties, ash-covered sadhus were joined by bedraggled hippies; now they rub shoulders with kombucha-swigging yoga devotees. Ashrams continue to offer a stripped-to-basics lifestyle in monastic quiet, while in the evenings, aarti ceremonies set the Ganges alight with floating candles as pilgrims dip in the water and say their prayers on the ghats.

More recently, Rishikesh has attracted a new crowd via its booming trade in adventure activities. Rafting, camping, bungee jumping, paintballing and ziplining take place against a backdrop of steep wooded hills, where hikes can take you through villages and turmeric fields, into sal forests home to rhesus macaques, wild elephants and leopards. Below, the Ganges runs glacier-blue, fed by Himalayan mountain streams.

Among a certain subsection of visitor, Rishikesh is most famous for its Beatles heritage. The fab four rocked up here in 1968 – Ringo reportedly with a suitcase full of baked beans – and proceeded to write most of the White Album and Abbey Road. The ashram where they stayed is now long-defunct and a little spooky, its meditation domes strangled by pipal trees and vines, but the Forest Department is in the process of tidying it up. It’s a pivotal site in rock-and-roll history, and the stories are legendary.

Rishikesh town itself is a reflection of its multiple identities: a jumble of New Age gem shops; massage parlors; adventure travel agencies and banana-pancake cafés. Not everyone loves it – it’s neither peaceful nor ‘authentic’ in any traditional sense – but it’s good fun in its own way. Further out, however, is where you’ll find the real delights of Rishikesh: beautiful lodges in absolutely gorgeous mountain surroundings.