The ‘yoga capital of the world’ is Rishikesh, India. Located in north india tucked away in the mountains and set along the Ganges, Rishikesh is a beautiful place to meditate and get bendy. Many people come to Rishikesh to stay at an Ashram and learn yoga from one of the many guru’s. That originally was the plan for me too… unfortunately my ashram overbooked and we had to stay in a guest house near by allowing us to do drop in classes at many different studios and review them along with the vegan nosh.
Little Buddha:
located in Lakshman Jhula region the Little Buddha Cafe is always buzzing with backpackers due to its add in the lonely planet book. The little buddha has many vegan options. They offer tofu platters and sizzlers, vegan momo’s, pasta, pumpkin dishes, tofu pakoras and other Indian food too. Unfortunately the tofu masala (sounds soo good) has milk in the gravy. For a healthy option I recommend the Pumpkin Platter with steamed rice rather than fried.
Pyramid Cafe:
i’m not quite sure how anyone finds this place. Located in Lakshman Jhula a bit off the road and up a dark hill (there are signs) you eventually make your way to the Pyramid Cafe. The cafe also has a guest house and yoga studio. The vegan options on the menu include burritos, steamed vegetables with brown rice, salads, pakoras, and much more. The prices here are very fair and the large salad is a very good size. Tip: you can sub olive oil on the salad for soy sauce and limes if you wish.
60’s:
Located on the other side of Lakshman Jhula near where the tuk tuk’s drop you off. 60’s cafe is a bit tacky if not completely tacky. We were apprehensive about walking in imagining high prices and Beatles themed dishes. Both were true, but the menu swayed us. With the words vegan all over the menu and a whole page detailing why we should eat more bananas we grabbed a table overlooking an unobstructed view of the Ganges. They have many vegan dishes ranging from high protein pancakes, tofu scramble, stirfry, vegan pizza, and much more. The prices for some items are on the higher side of 200+ rupees but still fairly inexpensive. Colin had the Chinese stir-fried tofu and vegetables which was a large portion and I had the ‘Thats Amore’ smoothie of banana and dates which was fairly small but still tasty.
The Juice House:
Oh man. You’ve hit the jackpot with this one. Make sure to go for breakfast your very first day because you will be disappointed you missed a chance to go if you don’t. The juice house holds a special place in my heart. After a few weeks of disappointing indian winter fruit and many bananas I found the Juice House.The Juice House is located near Ram Jhula! The menu is great, lots of fresh juices, interesting combinations, soy milk shakes, soy milk chai tea (!!!), vegan cookies, and the real winner is the fruit salads. Great portion size and cut right in front of you topped with lots of shredded coconut you can opt to have the regular, or add muesli and soy milk. Tip: get the regular, you get more fruit! Also ask to sprinkle cinnamon on top.
