Haridwar (హరిద్వార్)
Today: Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Haridwar, "the gateway of the Lord," is where the Ganga finally leaves the mountains and rushes out onto the great plains of Bharatavarsha. Every evening at the Har Ki Pauri ghat, priests swing huge flaming lamps in the Ganga aarti while thousands of tiny leaf-boats with diyas go bobbing down the river - one of the most magical sights you will ever see. Haridwar is also one of the four places where the enormous Kumbh Mela gathers, when in many tellings drops of amrita, the nectar of immortality, once fell here.