How to reach Rishikesh

From the airport

The nearest airport is Jolly Grant Airport (DED), which serves Dehradun and lies about 21 km from Rishikesh. It has several flights a day from Delhi and direct flights from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur and a few other cities; routes change with the season, so check current schedules. Prepaid and ordinary taxis are available at the terminal, and the drive into Rishikesh takes about 40 minutes, a little longer to Tapovan or Laxman Jhula.

Most international travellers land at Delhi (Indira Gandhi International). The simplest onward option is a connecting flight to Dehradun; otherwise Rishikesh is about 240 km and 5 to 7 hours by road, or you can take a train to Haridwar or Rishikesh.

From the railway station

Rishikesh has two main stations. Most long-distance trains now use Yog Nagari Rishikesh (YNRK), on the west side of town. The daily Yoga Express leaves Delhi Junction (Old Delhi) at about 5 am and arrives around 12:30 pm. The Utkal Express (via Hazrat Nizamuddin) arrives late in the evening; the Doon Express from Howrah and the Hemkunt Express from Jammu arrive in the morning. The older Rishikesh station (RKSH) has a handful of trains, mostly slow passenger trains. From either station, autos and taxis reach Ram Jhula or Tapovan (5 to 8 km) in 15 to 30 minutes.

The faster Delhi trains stop at Haridwar Junction (HW), about 25 km away: the daily Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi from New Delhi and the Vande Bharat from Anand Vihar (not Thursdays) take 3½ to 5 hours. A taxi from Haridwar takes 30 minutes to an hour. The Rishikesh–Karnaprayag railway is still being built, so no trains run into the hills yet.

By road

Rishikesh sits where the Ganga leaves the hills, at the end of the plains road from Delhi. From Delhi it is about 230 to 240 km: take the Delhi–Meerut Expressway, then the highway past Muzaffarnagar and Roorkee to Haridwar, and finally the 25 km or so from Haridwar up to Rishikesh. Allow 5 to 7 hours by car, and more on weekends and holiday evenings, when the Haridwar–Rishikesh stretch backs up. The Delhi–Dehradun Expressway via Baghpat and Saharanpur, opened in April 2026, is another way in via Dehradun, from where Rishikesh is a further 45 to 50 km (1 to 1½ hours) past Jolly Grant Airport; ask your driver which way is quicker on the day.

The whole approach crosses the plains and foothills, with no passes to close in winter; traffic and crowds cause the delays. In the Hindu month of Sawan (July–August) the Kanwar Yatra brings diversions on the Delhi–Haridwar highway. From late April or early May, the Char Dham pilgrimage season fills the roads out of Rishikesh. In December and January, dense fog on the plains can slow early-morning driving. North of the town the mountain roads begin: the Badrinath road by Devprayag, Srinagar and Rudraprayag, and the Gangotri road by Narendra Nagar, Chamba and Uttarkashi.

By bus

Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) runs frequent ordinary and luxury buses to Rishikesh from Delhi's Kashmere Gate ISBT, taking 5 to 7 hours depending on traffic; some of its Delhi buses continue through Rishikesh to hill towns such as Uttarkashi, Guptkashi and Gopeshwar. UTC also links Rishikesh with Dehradun (about 1¼ hours), Haridwar (about 45 minutes), Chandigarh (Sector 43, via Paonta Sahib) and cities such as Agra, Lucknow and Amritsar. Buses use the main bus station (ISBT), on the south side of the Chandrabhaga bridge.

For the hills, UTC and private operators, including the Garhwal Motor Owners Union (GMOU), run early-morning buses from Rishikesh towards Srinagar, Uttarkashi, Gangotri and Joshimath. Buses for Joshimath leave at around 5 to 5:30 am and the last usually goes by about 7 am; buses to Uttarkashi run from early morning into the afternoon. Seats are limited, so arrive half an hour early or book online where the operator offers it.

Local transfers

Arrive in Rishikesh the day before your trek starts. Drives towards Auli, Joshimath and Gangotri usually leave early, often between 5:30 and 6 am, because they take 8 to 12 hours. If you are making your own way into the hills, shared jeeps leave from the taxi stand at Natraj Chowk, about 1 km from the bus station, and shared autos (vikrams) run between the town, Ram Jhula and Tapovan. Pack your trek bag the night before and eat a light breakfast before the winding road.

Distances from major points

• Delhi to Rishikesh (via Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Roorkee and Haridwar): about 230 to 240 km, 5 to 7 hours
• Haridwar to Rishikesh: about 25 km, 30 minutes to 1 hour
• Dehradun to Rishikesh: about 45 to 50 km, 1 to 1½ hours
• Jolly Grant Airport to Rishikesh: about 21 km, about 40 minutes
• Rishikesh to Rudraprayag (Badrinath road): about 140 km
• Rishikesh to Uttarkashi (Gangotri road, via Chamba): about 160 to 170 km, 5 to 6 hours
• Rishikesh to Joshimath: about 250 km, 8 to 9 hours

Good to know

Rishikesh, at about 340 m, is the usual starting and finishing town for Garhwal treks. Tapovan, about 5 km north-east of the centre, has many guesthouses; if you are catching a dawn bus or shared jeep yourself, a room near the bus station or Natraj Chowk makes the early start easier. Rishikesh is a vegetarian town and the sale of alcohol is banned. If your trip goes to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri or Hemkund Sahib, the state requires free pilgrim registration, online or at the counters in Rishikesh (Transit Camp and the Gurudwara). AIIMS Rishikesh, a large government hospital, is on the southern side of town.

Safety

At about 340 m, Rishikesh itself poses no altitude concern, but the roads north climb quickly into landslide country. In the monsoon, from late June to mid-September, slips can block the Badrinath and Gangotri roads for hours or sometimes days. Keep a spare day after your trek, and book your journey home for the next day rather than the evening you return. May and June are hot, often close to 40°C, so carry plenty of water for the drive. Check road conditions locally before you set out.

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.