How to reach Binsar

From the airport

Pantnagar Airport (PGH), between Rudrapur and Haldwani, is the nearest, about 150 km from Binsar; allow 4½ to 5½ hours by road. It has only a few flights a day, run by IndiGo from Delhi and from the new Noida International Airport at Jewar, so check the current schedule before planning a connection. Taxis for Haldwani, Nainital and Almora can be hired at the airport. After an afternoon landing you are unlikely to reach the forest gate before it shuts, so plan a night on the way. If the Pantnagar flights do not suit, fly to Delhi and take the overnight train to Kathgodam.

From the railway station

Kathgodam (KGM), the railhead below Nainital, is about 110 to 120 km from Binsar, 3½ to 4½ hours by road. The most useful train from Delhi is the overnight Ranikhet Express, which leaves Old Delhi at around 10 pm and reaches Kathgodam at about 5 am, putting you at the sanctuary by late morning. The Shatabdi from New Delhi arrives around midday, so leave the station promptly, especially in winter when the forest gate shuts earlier; the Uttarakhand Sampark Kranti arrives late in the evening and means a night near the station. Kathgodam also has daily trains from Dehradun, and the Bagh Express from Howrah via Lucknow. Taxis wait at the station and shared taxis run from Kathgodam and the Haldwani taxi stand. The quickest way on is a taxi straight through; otherwise take a shared taxi or bus to Almora and hire a taxi there.

By road

Binsar is reached through Almora, and Almora from the plains at Haldwani and Kathgodam. From Delhi the usual road runs east through Hapur and Moradabad to Rampur, then north past Rudrapur to Haldwani: about 380 to 395 km to Binsar, a long day of 9 to 12 hours. From Kathgodam the hill road climbs through Bhimtal (or Jeolikot) to Bhowali, drops past Kainchi Dham and Garampani to Khairna on the Kosi river, follows the Kosi past Kakrighat to Kwarab and then climbs to Almora: about 83 to 90 km, usually 2½ to 3½ hours. Pilgrim traffic at Kainchi Dham can hold you up at weekends, when the police run traffic plans that may send vehicles by other roads, with parking and shuttles around Bhowali and Bhimtal.

From Almora take the road towards Bageshwar, past Kasar Devi, for about 20 km to the Binsar turning. The forest check post is about 10 km below the KMVN Tourist Rest House, and a narrow road climbs through oak and rhododendron forest to the rest house and the lodges near the top, at around 2,400 m. Almora to Binsar is about 30 km, roughly an hour. No high pass is crossed; the weak point of the whole route is the landslide zone at Kwarab, about 13 km before Almora.

By bus

Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (Uttarakhand Roadways) runs overnight buses from Delhi's Anand Vihar ISBT to Almora, leaving in the evening (at the time of writing around 8 pm and 9 pm), with buses back to Delhi leaving Almora in the early evening. It also runs direct services between Almora and Dehradun, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Gurugram. In the foothills, most buses for Almora leave from the Haldwani roadways bus stand, with more from Kathgodam and Nainital. Buses go only as far as Almora.

Local transfers

No public bus runs up into the sanctuary, so the last 30 km from Almora is by taxi, hired in Almora or arranged in advance. At the forest check post you pay the sanctuary entry fee. The gate is open from 7 am to 6 pm in summer and from 8 am to 5 pm in winter, and you must pass it within those hours. Two-wheelers are not allowed beyond the check post, so leave a hired scooter or motorbike in Almora. Zero Point, the highest point in the sanctuary, is a walk of about 2 km from the Tourist Rest House.

Distances from major points

• Delhi to Binsar: about 380 to 395 km
• Pantnagar Airport to Binsar: about 150 km
• Haldwani to Binsar: about 115 to 120 km
• Kathgodam to Binsar: about 110 to 120 km
• Nainital to Binsar: about 94 to 96 km
• Kathgodam to Almora: about 83 to 90 km
• Almora to the Binsar turning: about 20 km
• Forest check post to the Tourist Rest House: about 9 to 10 km
• Almora to Binsar (Tourist Rest House): about 30 km
• Tourist Rest House to Zero Point: about 2 km on foot

Good to know

Binsar is a wildlife sanctuary of about 46 sq km on a forested ridge north-east of Almora, where oak and rhododendron forest rises to about 2,500 m and, on clear days, Zero Point looks along the high Himalaya from Kedarnath and Chaukhamba to Trisul, Nanda Devi and Panchachuli. There is no town inside: you stay at the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) Tourist Rest House or at one of a few private estates and lodges, so book ahead, especially for April to June. At the KMVN rest house electricity comes from a generator for about three hours in the evening, there are no geysers or room heaters, and non-vegetarian food is not allowed; carry a torch, a power bank and warm layers. There is no market in the sanctuary: Almora, the district town, has banks, ATMs and a full bazaar, so draw cash and buy what you need there, and if you reach Almora late in the day, spend the night there or at Kasar Devi and drive up in the morning. Beyond the entry fee paid at the gate you need no permit, and at about 2,400 m no acclimatisation is needed. The best months are March to June and October to December, and the rhododendrons flower in March and April.

Safety

Keep a spare half-day. The Kwarab stretch of the Haldwani to Almora highway has been a landslide danger zone since 2024. It was closed from late May 2026, and under a district order of 19 July 2026 cars, buses and other light and medium vehicles go round it on the Chausli-Kwarab link road, while the highway is open only to heavy vehicles, from 3 am to 8.30 am. Ask about it before you set out. From late June to September rain can block the road for hours, forest fires can break out in the dry weeks before the monsoon, and in some winters snow leaves the top stretch icy. Avoid the hill roads after dark.

Travel tips

• Plan buffer time for road delays, especially in monsoon and winter.
• Start early for long drives to avoid night stretches on mountain roads.
• Keep offline maps and cash as backup in low-network zones.
• If you are continuing to high altitude areas, acclimatize and hydrate well.