According to Hindu Mythology Haridwar is the place where the Yakshas and the Devas got the spectacle of Lord Vishnu. It is the sacred place which is venerated as the gateway to Lord Vishnu. In the ancient years, Haridwar was known by various names like Mayapuri, Gangadwar and Tapovan. Haridwar is among the four places where once after every twelve years Kumbha Mela is celebrated. According to the Hindu mythology, Haridwar is the holy spot where Amrit (nectar), the drink of gods that grants immortality fell.

Haridwar district is located in the southwest part of state of Uttarakhand. Its latitude and longitude are 29.96 degree north and 78.16 degree east respectively. It is situated between Shivalik Hills in the North and North East and Ganga River in the South.

According to the census of 2001, Haridwar has a population of 2, 95,213. There are more males than females in the region and the literacy rate in Haridwar is 70 % and the literacy rate among males is more than the literacy rate of females and the population under the age of six in the region is equal to 6 percent.

There are several premium institutes in the region like Indian Institute of Technology, Roorke, College of Engineering Roorke, Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya and a lot more. Besides the institutes of higher education there are also several schools like the Delhi Public School and Kendriya Vidyalaya which looks into the need of primary education of the children of the region.

Tourism in Hardwar
Haridwar is the heart of the pilgrimage centers of Uttarakhand. Haridwar is also called Ganga-Dwara, because the holy Ganges enters the plains here. The popular centers of pilgrimage of Haridwar are namely the Gangadwara, Kushwart, Bilwa Teerth, Neel Parvat and Kankhal. Some of the popular temples of the region are Vaishno Devi temple, Gauri Shankar Temple and Bharat Mata temple. There are several spiritual places in Haridwar which gives solace and mental peace to the visitors. Among these are the Anandamayee Ma Ashram and the Daksha Mahadev temple.

Chila Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the popular places of adventure. There are many places around the region like Neel Dhara Pakshi Vihar, Bhimgoda Tank, JaiRam Ashram, Sapt Rishi Ashram and Sapt Sarovar, Parad Shivling, Doodhadhari Barfani Temple and Sureshwari Devi Temple which satisfies a visitor to the fullest extent.

How to reach Haridwar
By Air:
The nearest airport is the Jolly Grant airport, Dehradun. Daily schedules of two flights of Deccan airlines head from Indira Gandhi international airport, Delhi.

By Train:
There are frequent trains connected from the major cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, Howrah, Varanasi, Allahabad, Ujjain, Amritsar, Lucknow and so on.

By Road:
Haridwar situated on the main highway no. 45 is well connected to all major cities and states that are Agra(386km), Ambala(168km), Badrinath(325km), Delhi(214km), Dehradun(52km), Kedarnath (250 km), Saharanpur (81 km), Nainital (286 km).

Haridwar is the holy place of pilgrim where many religious festivals are celebrated and devotees congregate here from all parts of India. Its most noteworthy festivals are the Kumbha mela that is held once after every twelve years. This festival rotates midst the four regions viz. Haridwar, Allahabad, Ujjain and Nasik. The Ardh mela or half mela is held after every six years. Both the festivals will take part in Haridwar in the forthcoming year 2010.

The general yearly festivals that are celebrated in Hyderabad are Baisakhi in the moth of April, Kanwar Mela in July and Somwati Amavasya in July. Kartik Purnima is celebrated 15 days after Diwali on the first night of the full moon day in November.