Haridwar to Rishikesh Distance 2026: Road, Train, Bus and Travel Time

Haridwar to Rishikesh distance: Rishikesh is about 24 km upstream from Haridwar, according to the Dehradun district website. By road it is 23–28 km, depending on where you start and finish: about 23 km from Har Ki Pauri to Rishikesh ISBT, 25 km from Haridwar railway station to Rishikesh ISBT and 28 km from Har Ki Pauri to the Lakshman Jhula area. With no traffic the drive takes about 25–35 minutes. The district site says a taxi takes about half an hour and a bus about 45 minutes. The railway distance is 23 km, and the daily trains take 55 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes.

Last checked: 24 October 2026. The official figures come from the Dehradun and Haridwar district websites (Government of Uttarakhand). The road distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM) on 24 October 2026, with the start and end points named in the table, and are rounded. Train times come from Indian Railways timetable data shown on erail.in, cross-checked on ConfirmTkt. This guide is not based on a personal visit. Weekend, festival and Char Dham season traffic can easily double the road time, so check a live map before you leave.

Haridwar to Rishikesh distance at a glance

Why do websites give 20, 24 or 25 km? Each one measures between different points. Haridwar and Rishikesh are both spread out along the Ganga, so the distance from the ghat at Har Ki Pauri is shorter than from the railway station, and Tapovan (Lakshman Jhula) is about 4–5 km beyond central Rishikesh. The old figure of “20 km” on many sites is shorter than any road route we measured.

Haridwar to Rishikesh by road

The main road runs north from Haridwar past Motichur and Raiwala and reaches Rishikesh at Nepali Farm, where the Rishikesh bypass leads to the ISBT and the town. On OpenStreetMap this road is marked as NH-34, the national highway that used to be called NH-58. The four-lane Muzaffarnagar–Nepali Farm highway is already open and serves Haridwar and Rishikesh (Construction World, 6 July 2026, on NHAI projects).

The second route uses the Chilla road on the east bank of the Ganga, through the edge of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, and reaches the Lakshman Jhula and Swargashram side of Rishikesh. We measured it at about 33 km from Har Ki Pauri to the Lakshman Jhula area, against about 28 km on the main highway. It is longer and slower on the map, so use it only if the highway is jammed or you are staying on the east bank.

Where the road gets slow

• Weekends and holidays: on Sunday 4 October 2026, after a long weekend, vehicles queued on the Haridwar–Rishikesh highway from Rodi Belwala to the Pantdweep parking (Hindustan, 4 October 2026).
• Road resurfacing in Haridwar: on Friday 23 October 2026 half of the highway in Haridwar was closed for asphalting, and traffic queued from the Sarvanand Ghat bridge to the Rodi Belwala police post; an ambulance was stuck in the jam (Hindustan, 23 October 2026).
• Mansa Devi level crossing: the junction where the Haridwar–Rishikesh highway meets the Haridwar bypass has become a jam point. About 36 trains a day cross there, and vehicles get stuck on the track when the gate cannot close (Hindustan, 22 October 2026; Dainik Bhaskar, 23 October 2026). Police said they will post regular traffic duty there.
• Kanwar Yatra (July–August): heavy vehicles were banned from entering Haridwar when the 2026 yatra began on 30 July (Times of India, 30 July 2026), and diversions apply on the approach roads.
• Ardh Kumbh 2027 (January–April 2027): see the section below. Expect diversions and parking rules on bathing days.

Taxi fare

We do not quote a taxi fare here. The latest maximum-fare order from Uttarakhand’s State Transport Authority on the Transport Department website is dated 15 July 2022. In February 2026 the Transport Department proposed raising bus and taxi fares before the Char Dham season, with the decision left to a State Transport Authority meeting (ETV Bharat and Dainik Jagran, 20 February 2026). We could not confirm the outcome, and no newer rate list was on the department’s website when we checked on 24 October 2026. Agree the fare with the driver before you start, and ask whether parking and tolls are included.

Haridwar to Rishikesh by train

Rishikesh has two stations: the old terminal Rishikesh (RKSH) near the town centre and Yog Nagari Rishikesh (YNRK), the newer station where the long-distance trains end. Both are 23 km from Haridwar Junction (HW) by rail. These are the trains that run every day in the timetable data on 24 October 2026:

Rishikesh to Haridwar, daily: 18478 Kalinga Utkal Express (YNRK 05:35 → HW 06:44), 54482 Passenger (RKSH 07:45 → 08:55), 54464 Rishikesh–Chandausi Passenger (RKSH 12:20 → 13:42), 14816 Rishikesh–Sri Ganganagar Express (RKSH 12:45 → 14:10), 19032 Yoga Express (YNRK 14:55 → 15:49), 14609 Hemkunt Express (YNRK 17:20 → 18:18), 14887 Rishikesh–Barmer Express (RKSH 19:40 → 21:05) and 13010 Doon Express (YNRK 20:55 → 22:03).

Several weekly and special trains also run on this stretch, for example to Indore, Prayagraj, Udaipur, Jammu Tawi and Thiruvananthapuram, plus festival specials in October and November 2026. Long-distance trains are often late by the time they reach Haridwar. ConfirmTkt shows an average delay of 89 minutes at Haridwar for 18477, so for the short hop a passenger train or the road is usually more reliable. The unreserved (general) fare in the erail.in fare table is ₹10 on passenger trains and ₹30 on express trains. Confirm it on the UTS app or at the counter.

Haridwar to Rishikesh by bus

Buses run between Haridwar and Rishikesh. In Haridwar the roadways bus station is next to the railway station. In Rishikesh the buses stop at the ISBT. The Dehradun district site puts the bus ride at about 45 minutes. We could not read a current Haridwar–Rishikesh fare on the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) booking portal (utconline.uk.gov.in), so no bus fare is given. Ask at the counter or the conductor.

Possible bus strike: a one-day protest by the Uttarakhand Roadways employees’ union disrupted buses at the Rishikesh bus stand on 23 October 2026, and the union has warned of an indefinite strike from 30 October 2026 if its demands are not met (Hindustan, 23 October 2026). Around that date, check before you rely on a roadways bus. Trains and taxis are the alternatives.

Haridwar to Rishikesh from Jolly Grant Airport

Jolly Grant Airport (Dehradun) is the nearest airport to both towns. It is 37 km from Haridwar (Haridwar district website) and about 35 km from Rishikesh (Dehradun district website). If you fly in, you do not need to go to Haridwar first to reach Rishikesh.

What is changing on this route (2026–2029)

• Haridwar Ardh Kumbh 2027: the mela runs from January to April 2027 with 10 main bathing days: 14 January, 6 February, 11 February, 20 February, 6 March (Amrit Snan), 8 March (Amrit Snan), 7 April, 14 April (Amrit Snan), 15 April and 20 April 2027 (mela administration via PTI/Business Standard, 15 April 2026). Expect heavy traffic and diversions between Haridwar and Rishikesh around these dates.
• Haridwar bypass and Delhi–Dehradun spur: NHAI’s 15 km Haridwar Bypass (Package-I) was about 77% complete in July 2026. It runs from Bahadrabad to near the Chandi Devi temple on NH-34 and is meant to keep through traffic away from Har Ki Pauri and Chandi Chowk. The 51 km Spur to Haridwar from the Delhi–Dehradun Economic Corridor was about 92% complete (Construction World, 6 July 2026). Both are due before the Ardh Kumbh.
• Rishikesh–Karnaprayag railway: this 125 km line will start from Rishikesh and continue into the Garhwal hills. Completion is targeted for December 2029, and overall progress was 78% in August 2026 (The Indian Express, 28 August and 22 October 2026). It does not change the Haridwar–Rishikesh trip yet.
• Electric buses in Rishikesh: about 25 e-buses are planned for Rishikesh under an urban development project funded by Germany’s KfW bank (Dainik Jagran, 10 January 2026). We found no start date.

Tips for the trip

• Start early in the morning on weekends and holidays. The recent jams reported in October 2026 were on the Haridwar stretch near Rodi Belwala and Har Ki Pauri and at the Mansa Devi crossing.
• If you are going to Tapovan, Lakshman Jhula or a rafting camp, add about 4–5 km and 5–10 minutes (without traffic) beyond central Rishikesh. See our guide to river rafting in Rishikesh.
• In the monsoon (roughly July to September), check district and police advisories before you travel.

Going further from Haridwar or Rishikesh

• Haridwar to Kainchi Dham distance (train + taxi via Kathgodam)
• Neem Karoli Baba ashrams in India, including one on the Haridwar–Rishikesh road
• Nainital to Neem Karoli Baba (Kainchi Dham) distance
• Auli, Uttarakhand
• Jim Corbett National Park ticket prices and places to visit near Jim Corbett

FAQ

How far is Rishikesh from Haridwar?

About 24 km, according to the Dehradun district website. By road it is about 23 km from Har Ki Pauri to Rishikesh ISBT and about 25 km from Haridwar railway station (OSRM, 24 October 2026).

How long does it take to go from Haridwar to Rishikesh?

About 25–35 minutes by car with no traffic, about 45 minutes by bus (district website), and 55 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes by train. On weekends and festival days the road can take much longer.

Is there a train from Haridwar to Rishikesh?

Yes. Eight trains run daily from Haridwar Junction to Rishikesh (RKSH) or Yog Nagari Rishikesh (YNRK). The first leaves at 05:10 (54481 Passenger) and the last at 20:18 (18477 Kalinga Utkal Express), per the timetable data checked on 24 October 2026.

What is the aerial distance between Haridwar and Rishikesh?

About 21 km in a straight line from Har Ki Pauri to Triveni Ghat, and about 23 km from Haridwar railway station to Rishikesh ISBT, calculated from map coordinates.

Which is better, the highway or the Chilla road?

For central Rishikesh, the highway via Raiwala and Nepali Farm is shorter (about 23–25 km). The Chilla road on the east bank is about 33 km to the Lakshman Jhula area and slower on the map. It helps mainly when the highway is jammed or you are staying on the east bank.

Which is the nearest airport?

Jolly Grant Airport, Dehradun: 37 km from Haridwar and about 35 km from Rishikesh (district websites).