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Ghats and Holy Places

Sapt Rishi Ashram and the seven streams of the Ganga at Haridwar

KumbhMela.info Editorial Team 4 min readUpdated Fri 16 Oct 2026

Sapt Rishi Ashram is one of Haridwar's oldest ashrams, said to stand where the Ganga divides into seven streams. The tradition, the ashram today, the debate over the streams and the area's place on the 2027 Kumbh map.

EvergreenChecked on Fri 16 Oct 2026

Sapt Rishi Ashram is one of the oldest ashrams in Haridwar, in the Sapt Sarovar area on the Ganga. According to Uttarakhand Tourism, it is said to stand where the river divides herself into seven streams, and it takes its name from the Sapt Rishis, the seven great sages of ancient India.

The story of the seven streams

The tradition joins two ideas. One is the Sapt Rishis, the seven sages whom Hindu tradition honours for their wisdom and their place in the scriptures. The Ministry of Tourism says the ashram is named after them. The other is the river. Uttarakhand Tourism says the ashram is said to stand at the site where the Ganga divides herself into seven streams.

The area’s name carries the same idea. Sapt means seven, and sarovar means a lake or a pool, so Sapt Sarovar is the place of seven waters. The official pages we read do not say why the river split, so we leave the reason to tradition.

An aerial view of Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar, with the Ganga channels, footbridges and crowded ghats.Photo: Thakur Dalip Singh, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Ganga's channels in the Sapt Sarovar area of Haridwar

The ashram today

Uttarakhand Tourism describes Sapt Rishi Ashram as a serene place for devotees looking for peace and spirituality, and says it runs a Sanskrit school. The Ministry of Tourism says visitors can take a dip in the Ganga in the morning or attend the evening Ganga aarti there, and that Har Ki Pauri is a short distance away. Neither page gives a founding date, a timetable or rules for visitors, so ask at the ashram.

The official Haridwar Kumbh 2027 directory lists Saptrishi Ashram on Sapt Sarovar Road. Other ashrams share the road, among them Shantikunj of the Gayatri Parivar, which the directory places on Sapt Sarovar Road in Motichur. Uttarakhand Tourism names Sapt Rishi Ashram with Shantikunj, Ma Anandamayi Ashram, Harihar Ashram, Bharat Sevashram Sangh and Vyas Ashram among the city’s ashrams.

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Are there still seven streams?

The seven streams are a matter of tradition, and how much water reaches the old channels has been argued over. In March 2016, during the Ardh Kumbh, seers at the Bhoomanand Ganga ghat in Sapt Sarovar asked the Uttarakhand government and Uttar Pradesh’s irrigation department for more water at the Sapt Rishi, Neel Dhara, Bhoopatwala and Khadkhadi ghats, The Tribune reported.

The saints said seven streams of the Ganga used to flow at Sapt Rishi, but that not one could then be seen. Speakers at the protest blamed water drawn off for the Ganga canal, building works and hydropower. One seer described the main stream of the river as the stretch from Neel Dhara to the bridge at Chandi Ghat. These were the views of the people quoted; we found no official survey of the channels.

Sapt Sarovar in a Kumbh year

For the 2027 Kumbh, the official map divides the mela area into sectors:

32sectors on the official 2027 mela map
Sector 18Saptsarovar, in the Pant Dweep zone
Sector 22Har Ki Pauri, in the same zone

The Pant Dweep zone also takes in Bhoopatwala and Bhimgoda.

The area has served the mela before. In the 2021 Kumbh traffic plans, the mela police listed Saptarishi among the parking areas for vehicles coming from Dehradun and Rishikesh. On Somwati Amavasya in February 2016, The Tribune reported devotees at temples in the Saptsarovar and Bhoopatwala area as well as at the main ghats.

The bathing days in the official 2027 list are all at Har Ki Pauri, and nothing has been announced about parking, routes or bathing arrangements at Sapt Sarovar for 2027. Amrit Snan days usually draw the most pilgrims; follow police and mela instructions on the day. See the Haridwar ghats guide for the main ghats, and where to stay for Haridwar Kumbh if you are looking at areas such as Bhoopatwala.

Plan your trip

How to reachTrains, buses, roads and the last stretch
Where to stayAreas, camps and what to check
First visitA simple order for getting ready
Ghats and placesWhere the bathing happens

Sources

9 sources · checked 16 Oct 2026
  1. Haridwar: Attractions (Sapt Rishi Ashram, Ashram Tour, Ganga Ghats) · Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Government of Uttarakhand ·
  2. Saptrishi Ashram, Haridwar · Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (Incredible India) ·
  3. Directory: Ashrams (Haridwar Kumbh 2027 official website) · Haridwar Kumbh Mela administration, Government of Uttarakhand ·
  4. Saints demand adequate water flow at Ganga ghats · The Tribune ·
  5. Map and Traffic Updates: Kumbh sectors and proposed akhara camping areas (Haridwar Kumbh 2027 official website) · Haridwar Kumbh Mela administration, Government of Uttarakhand ·
  6. Haridwar Mahakumbh: entry of small and large vehicles banned from 8 to 15 April, traffic plan issued · Aaj Tak ·
  7. Haridwar: heavy vehicles barred from Kumbh area from 8 to 15 April for Shahi Snan · Amar Ujala ·
  8. 10 lakh take dip in Ganga on Amavasya · The Tribune ·
  9. Snan and Events: Haridwar Kumbh 2027 (official website) · Haridwar Kumbh Mela administration, Government of Uttarakhand ·