How to reach Rishikesh from Delhi by bus, train, car or flight

This is one part of our Rishikesh guide.

TL;DR summary

• Delhi by bus: 5 to 6 h. About 240 to 252 km. AC coaches ₹700 to ₹1,200, state buses ₹300 to ₹400.
• Nearest airport: 20 km. Jolly Grant, Dehradun. A taxi to Rishikesh takes about 45 minutes.
• Rishikesh railway station: Yog Nagari. Code YNRK. Trains from Delhi take 7 to 9 hours, so many people use Haridwar.
• Haridwar to Rishikesh: 23 to 25 km. 30 to 60 minutes. Bus ₹30 to ₹50, sedan taxi ₹400 to ₹1,200.
• Kanwar Yatra 2026: 30 Jul to 11 Aug. All vehicles were banned on the Delhi to Haridwar highway from 4 to 12 August.
• Ram Jhula: Closed. Shut to everyone since about 25 July 2026. Repair is due to finish around December 2026.

Ways to reach Rishikesh by bus, train, car and flight: time and cost

How to reach Rishikesh comes down to one choice for most people: a daytime bus from Delhi, 5 to 6 hours over roughly 240 to 252 km, for about ₹700 to ₹1,200 in an AC coach. The town has no airport, and its long-distance trains are slow, so the other two good routes are the fast train to Haridwar plus a 23 to 25 km hop, or a flight into Jolly Grant airport at Dehradun, 20 km away.

Two things changed in 2026 and both matter on arrival. The Delhi to Dehradun expressway opened in April, and two of the town’s three footbridges are shut.

How to reach Rishikesh: the short answer for most travellers

• From Delhi: an AC bus in daylight. We’d choose it over the train unless you want the Shatabdi to Haridwar.
• From the south or west: fly to Dehradun and take a taxi for the last 20 km.
• With a car or heavy luggage: drive, or hire a taxi door to door. Operators list about ₹3,800 for a sedan from Delhi.
• From Chandigarh: a Volvo bus from ISBT Sector 43 runs straight through.

Delhi to Rishikesh bus: boarding points, fares and the drop

State buses and private coaches both run. In Delhi they board at ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Anand Vihar and Majnu ka Tilla, plus many private pickup points around the city, and they drop at the Rishikesh bus stand. Most journeys take 5 to 5.5 hours, and the quickest runs about 4. A state bus costs ₹300 to ₹400 and runs round the clock. An AC Volvo or Scania is ₹700 to ₹1,200.

For the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation’s own Volvo, check its site for the day’s fare and departure stand. The usual bus apps list the private coaches.

Delhi to Rishikesh train: Yog Nagari station or the Haridwar shortcut

Direct trains to Rishikesh are slow. The quick way by rail goes through Haridwar.

Rishikesh railway station: Yog Nagari (YNRK) and the older station

Yog Nagari Rishikesh station. Photo: Ravi Dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Yog Nagari Rishikesh opened in January 2021 and has three platforms. It sits in THDC Colony, about 2 km from the older Rishikesh station, which is the one taxi fare lists mean when they say “Rishikesh railway station”. Fewer than ten trains stop at Yog Nagari. In July 2026 the Railway Minister said Rishikesh will be developed as a feeder for Haridwar, which has more than 70 trains a day, so expect the choice to stay thin.

Delhi to Yog Nagari takes 7 hours 25 minutes to 8 hours 55 minutes. Listings give the Yoga Express (19031) arriving around midday and the Utkal Express (18477) arriving about 9:50 pm. Timings differ between listings, so confirm train numbers, times and seats on IRCTC the week you travel. IRCTC shows the fare for your class and date.

From the older station, taxi fare lists show ₹200 for a sedan to Ram Jhula (3 km) and ₹300 to Laxman Jhula (5 km). Yog Nagari is a little further out, so agree the fare before you get in.

Delhi to Haridwar by train, then 23 to 25 km on

Haridwar is where most Delhi trains stop, and the quick ones are:

• Dehradun Shatabdi (12017), daily: leaves New Delhi about 6:45 am and reaches Haridwar about 11:35 am, around 4 hours 50 minutes. Chair car only.
• Jan Shatabdi (12055): leaves New Delhi 3:20 pm and reaches Haridwar between 7:27 and 7:50 pm.
• Vande Bharat (22457), six days a week: leaves Anand Vihar Terminal at 5:50 pm and reaches Haridwar at 9:11 pm, about 3 hours 20 minutes. You then have 23 km left after dark.

Listings differ by a few minutes, so check IRCTC before you plan around any of them.

Haridwar to Rishikesh: bus, taxi and the 23 to 25 km hop

The road is 23 to 25 km and takes 30 to 60 minutes. Buses leave from the stand opposite Haridwar station about every 15 minutes between 5 am and 10 pm, cost ₹30 to ₹50 and stop at the Rishikesh bus stand. A sedan taxi is ₹400 to ₹1,200 depending on who quotes, so ask two. Pilgrim traffic makes the road slower in the Kanwar weeks (see the closures section).

Driving from Delhi to Rishikesh: what the new expressway changes

By road Rishikesh is 240 to 252 km from Delhi. The older route through Meerut and Haridwar takes 4 to 5.5 hours in normal traffic. The Delhi to Dehradun expressway, six lanes and 210 km, opened on 14 April 2026 and brought Delhi to Dehradun down to about 2.5 hours from 5 to 6.5.

It does not reach Rishikesh. The 50.7 km spur from Saharanpur to Haridwar was still under construction in the April reports, and Dehradun to Rishikesh is another 45 km, about 1 hour 20 minutes on ordinary roads. So we’d budget 4 to 5.5 hours for Delhi to Rishikesh and treat a quicker run as a bonus.

A car pays about ₹670 end to end, plaza by plaza, by FASTag. Reports from the April opening said no fuel pumps or charging points were working on the route itself, so top up at the exits near Baghpat, Baraut, Shamli and Saharanpur. For a taxi, operator lists show about ₹3,800 for a sedan and ₹5,500 for an SUV over the 240 km, so ask what the quote includes.

Rishikesh nearest airport: Jolly Grant at Dehradun and the ride in

The terminal at Jolly Grant airport, Dehradun. Photo: Anonymous8010, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Jolly Grant (DED) is 20 km from Rishikesh, 35 km from Haridwar and 25 km from Dehradun. It handled 18.71 lakh passengers in the year to March 2026 and has a terminal opened in February 2024. A taxi takes about 45 minutes to Laxman Jhula (25 km) and about 40 minutes to Ram Jhula (23 km). Sedan quotes run from ₹600 to ₹1,600, with ₹600 to ₹900 reported at the prepaid counter. Plan on a taxi from the terminal.

Air India Express flies Bengaluru to Dehradun non-stop in about 3 hours 10 minutes (the sample flight left at 11:55 am and landed at 3:05 pm), with fares on its calendar from about ₹7,550 to ₹9,750 through February 2027. IndiGo and Alliance Air also fly in from other cities. The winter timetable starts on 25 October 2026, so check each airline’s page for your date. From Delhi we’d take the bus or the Shatabdi instead, because the airport transfers eat most of what a flight saves.

Dehradun to Rishikesh by road: 45 km, about 1 hour 20 minutes

From Dehradun city the road is 45 km. A taxi is about ₹550, and buses run between the two towns. The expressway ends here, so this is the leg to add if you take the new road.

Reaching Rishikesh from Chandigarh, Mumbai and Bangalore

Chandigarh. Volvo buses run from ISBT Sector 43 to Rishikesh, listed at 5.5 to 6 hours and from about ₹700, some leaving before dawn. Trains also run, with the fastest listed at about 5.5 hours. A bus to Dehradun takes 4.5 to 5 hours and leaves you the 45 km on.

Mumbai. Fly to Dehradun if the airline shows a fare for your date, or fly to Delhi and take the Shatabdi or Vande Bharat to Haridwar. Air India Express’s own Mumbai to Dehradun page showed no fares for October 2026 to March 2027, so check before you plan around it.

Bangalore. The non-stop to Dehradun is the easy answer. The one direct train listed takes almost 50 hours, so we’d skip it.

From the bus stand or station to Tapovan, Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula

Triveni Ghat is about 1 km from the bus stand. Shared autos called vikrams run fixed routes between Laxman Jhula, Ram Jhula, Tapovan, Muni ki Reti and the market, about 6 am to 9 or 10 pm, and cost ₹10 to ₹30 a hop. A private auto from the bus stand to the bridges is ₹150 to ₹300. Taxis charge ₹11 a km for a sedan and ₹15 for an SUV, with a ₹300 minimum, and Ram Jhula to Laxman Jhula (3 km) comes to about ₹300. Between 11 pm and 6 am they add 25 percent, which is one reason to arrive in daylight.

Which side of the river your home is on decides where the driver can stop. Where to stay in Rishikesh compares Tapovan with the Swarg Ashram side. Tell your host your arrival time and ask for the exact drop point the week you travel.

Rishikesh bridges in 2026: what is open and what is shut

Rishikesh at sunset, with Ram Jhula across the river.

• Laxman Jhula: closed since July 2019. You cannot cross it.
• Bajrang Setu: the replacement, built beside it. Walkers have used it since early 2026, and two-wheelers were using its central deck by 30 July 2026. It has not been formally inaugurated. A fee of ₹100 an adult and ₹50 a child for the glass walkways was announced on 29 July 2026 with no start date, and the central section is free.
• Ram Jhula: closed to everyone, walkers included, since about 25 July 2026 for repair, with reopening targeted for December 2026.
• Janki Setu: takes walkers and two-wheelers, and it is the crossing to the Ram Jhula and Swarg Ashram side for now, along with boats.
• With luggage or a car: cars cannot cross the footbridges, so the Swarg Ashram side by car means the road over the barrage, which adds time.

When roads shut: monsoon, Kanwar Yatra and festival weeks

Kanwar Yatra. This pilgrimage takes over the Delhi to Haridwar highway. In 2026 it ran 30 July to 11 August, heavy vehicles were restricted from 30 July, and all vehicles were banned on the highway from 4 to 12 August. The Delhi-Meerut Expressway closed 7 to 12 August, and the advised alternatives were the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, the Delhi to Dehradun expressway and NH 9. Rishikesh itself stayed lively but manageable on the Tapovan side, with the worst driving from 7 to 11 August, roads normal from about 13 August and many roadside eateries going vegetarian-only. The Neelkanth road closes for long stretches. In 2027 Sawan Shivratri is on 31 July, so expect the last days of July to be tight. We’d arrive before the yatra starts or after the roads settle.

Monsoon. Rafting closes on 30 June every year and has restarted between 23 and 27 September. The Ganga crossed the warning level on 6 August 2026. A landslide on the Rishikesh to Neelkanth road on 13 August 2025 left two people missing, and the Badrinath highway has been blocked in the Tehri and Chamoli stretches in July and August. From July to September we wouldn’t fix a deadline for a day you must be somewhere, and we’d ask your host before heading up the highway.

Festival weeks. The International Yoga Festival runs 9 to 15 March 2027 at Parmarth Niketan. Haridwar’s Ardh Kumbh bathing days in 2027 are 6 and 8 March and 14 April. We’d book seats early and avoid a Haridwar connection on those days. Best time to visit Rishikesh has the months.

Best way to reach Rishikesh if you work: arrive the day before calls

Choose a route that gets you in during daylight. A morning bus or the 6:45 am Shatabdi puts you in town by early afternoon. A late train such as the Utkal Express (9:50 pm) or the Vande Bharat to Haridwar (9:11 pm) leaves you with a night ride. With calls booked, arrive the day before them and leave the next morning empty. Download your tickets, offline maps and call links on wifi before you leave. Once you are in, the Rishikesh itinerary puts the sights in order.

Going on from Rishikesh: Shivpuri, Devprayag, Neelkanth and more

Devprayag, 70 km up the road.

Distances are from Rishikesh town, so add or subtract 2 to 5 km for Tapovan or Swarg Ashram. Things to do in Rishikesh covers each place in full.

• Shivpuri: 16 km up the Badrinath road, a rafting start point. Take a taxi and agree the fare first.
• Devprayag: 70 to 74 km on the Badrinath highway, at the meeting of two rivers, 830 m high. Regular buses leave from the Rishikesh bus stand. Allow well over an hour and a half each way.
• Neelkanth Mahadev: 32 km by road, 1 to 1.5 hours each way, through Rajaji Tiger Reserve. A shared jeep is ₹80 to ₹250 a seat and a round-trip taxi about ₹2,200 to ₹2,800. The 12 to 14 km forest walk starts at Swarg Ashram and is in the treks guide.
• Kunjapuri: 25 to 30 km, 45 to 60 minutes, by taxi. For sunrise leave about 4:30 am and book the car the evening before.
• Haridwar: 23 to 25 km, 30 to 60 minutes, by the bus or taxi described above. It lies south of Rishikesh, so reach it from Rishikesh and not along the hill road.
• Dehradun: 45 km, about 1 hour 20 minutes, by bus or taxi.
• Mussoorie: about 75 km, 2 to 2.3 hours, and best reached via Dehradun, which is 26 km below it. There is no reason to go through Rishikesh to get there.

Booking Indian buses and trains as a foreigner

Many Indian bus apps ask for an Indian mobile number. You can often add an email for ticket delivery or use your host’s number, and counters and travel agents are the fallback. redBus, AbhiBus, MakeMyTrip and ixigo all list Rishikesh buses. For trains, IRCTC’s site and the station counters are where to check what a foreign card or passport can book on the day.

Frequently asked questions about getting to Rishikesh