Haridwar stands for Dwar of Hari or Gateway to God, so it is a holy city under the municipal board in the Haridwar District of Uttarakhand. Haridwar is also regarded as one of the seven holiest places to the Hindus. The Haridwar district came into existence on 28 December 1988 as part of Saharanpur Divisional Commissionary of Uttar Pradesh State and eventually became part of the newly formed Uttarakhand (renamed Uttaranchal), the 27th state in the Republic of India on 9th November, 2000.

The River Ganga enters the Indo-Gangetic Plain of North India for the first time at Haridwar after flowing 253 km from its source at Gaumukh at 3,139 m (10,300 ft) altitude on the Great Himalayas.

According to Hindu scriptures, Haridwar is one among the four sites (i.e. Ujjain, Haridwar, Nasik and Allahabad) where drops of the elixir of immortality, Amrit, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher, in which it was being carried away by the celestial bird Garuda, after the Samudra manthan. At these places, the Kumbha Mela is celebrated once every 3 years in any of these 4 places. After a period of 12 years, the Maha Kumbha Mela is celebrated on the 12th year at Prayag in Allahabad. Millions of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists congregate here from all over the world to celebrate the event. They perform ritualistic bathing on the banks of the river Ganga.

The Brahma Kund at Har ki Pauri (footsteps of the Lord) is the spot where the Amrit fell and is considered to be the most sacred ghat of Haridwar. Thousands of devotees and pilgrims flock here during festivals or snan from all over India to take a holy dip. This act is considered to be the equivalent of washing away one's sins to attain Moksha.

Now the place is a major industrial destination of state  besides its religious importance.