How to reach Haridwar – when to visit and where to stay

How to reach Haridwar: Haridwar, the religious town of Uttarakhand, is can be reached by road, rail and air. It is also the gateway to Char Dham of Uttarakhand

• By Rail : Haridwar has a small but beautiful railway station connected with major cities of North India. You can look for train from your city in IRCTC website.
• By Air: The nearest airport, Jolly Grant airport, is located at Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand. The road distance between Dehradun to Haridwar is 53 KM. It takes around 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Haridwar by car. Also the nearest International Airport is at New Delhi which is 217 KM from Haridwar by road.
• By road: Haridwar has a very good connectivity from New Delhi, the capital of India. You can reach Haridwar from New Delhi in around 3.5 hrs.

Where to stay at Haridwar: There are lot of budget hotels near Haridwar station and bus stand. You can get standard non-AC rooms between Rs 700 – Rs 900. There are number of hotels at Har ki Pauri, the most well known place of Haridwar. These hotels are bit costly compared to the hotels near Station because of their location and Ganges view. Reviewing many of these hotels, I stayed at Hotel Teerth. The room tariff was Rs 3000 per night (2022) including GST. The rooms may not be very luxurious but have great river view from each and every rooms. All rooms have Ganga facing private balcony where you can stay for hours.

Best time to visit Haridwar: October to February is the best time to visit Haridwar. During summer, the days are hot particularly if you are travelling outside. However, late at night, temperature falls sharply.

Places to visit from Haridwar: As the name suggests, Haridwar is the gateway to both Har and Hari. If you are going to Chardham – Kedarnath-Badrinath-Gangotri-Yamunotri, then you can reach Haridwar and take car or bus from here.

Also people can visit Rishikesh and Mussouri from here by car. Most of the trekkers spend a day at Haridwar and start fresh for mountains.