RISHIKESH
The cafe strip above Laxman Jhula genuinely delivers on river views for the price of a coffee — but menus are nearly identical shop to shop (banana pancake, Israeli shakshuka, Italian pasta) and quality varies more with kitchen turnover than branding, so don't assume the busiest-looking cafe is the best one.
Tapovan's riverside cafe strip has its roots in the hippie-trail era following the Beatles' 1968 visit, when Western travelers seeking cheap food and community gathering spots prompted the opening of early German bakeries and simple travelers' cafes near Laxman Jhula. Because Rishikesh is a designated holy city where the local municipality prohibits meat and alcohol sales, the cafe culture that developed here is distinctively vegetarian and alcohol-free, evolving over the decades from basic bakeries into today's multi-cuisine rooftop cafes catering to yoga students, rafters and long-term backpackers with unobstructed Ganges and Himalayan-foothill views.
