Hospitals and emergency aid in Rishikesh

For some minor health problems, you can go to any Ayurvedic doctor in Tapovan or Ram Jhula. They can prescribe you ayurvedic treatments and even allopathic medicines like paracetamol and antibiotics, should the situation require. Such consultation may cost you from 50 to 200 rupees. If you have more serious situations, you need to go to any of the Rishikesh hospitals that are located in the center of the city. Most often, foreigners go to Bhardwaj Hospital. It has its own labs, x-ray room, and ambulance service. The cost of the consultation and medicines are generally not high in India, somewhere between 50 and 200 rupees. In Rishikesh and Haridwar, there are many specialized clinics, like the one treating eye diseases, heart problems, there is a dental hospital as well, though I have received both negative and positive reviews of dentist experience in India. 

You are not required to have health insurance to go to India. Usually, costs of treatment with local doctors are low, so insurance might not be necessary. Certainly, it will help to treat serious situations like accidents and hospitalization, so you might get one, especially if you plan to go hike in the mountains, do rafting or perform other high-risk activities. 

If during your visit to India you start suspecting that you might have contracted ameba or some other local parasite, it’s better to look for treatment immediately in Rishikesh rather than waiting for your return home. Local doctors have experience and expertise in their local tropical diseases and may address your situation quickly and efficiently, while in European countries you might have to look for specialized centers of tropical diseases that might even lack adequate medicines to treat your case.