How to Get to Rishikesh from Delhi: Flights, Trains and Taxis

The fastest way to get to Rishikesh from Delhi is a one-hour domestic flight to Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, then a taxi of about 45 minutes. You can also take a train to Haridwar or a taxi for the whole 240 km (150 miles), which takes six to seven hours.

Which route suits you depends on when you land, how much luggage you carry and how tired you feel after the long-haul flight. Our guide to yoga in Rishikesh covers the town itself. Here we focus on the last leg: Delhi airport to the yoga mat.

How to get to Rishikesh from Delhi: which route is fastest?

Flying to Dehradun is fastest, the train is the calm middle option, and a private taxi is the simplest door-to-door choice. The overnight bus is slowest but suits travellers on a tight budget.

The times come from our own guide for students. Traffic around Delhi can add an hour or more to any road journey, so treat them as a fair day, not a promise. Compared with a taxi, the flight saves hours, but it adds a second check-in.

How does the Delhi to Dehradun flight work after a long-haul arrival?

You land at Delhi, pass passport control, collect your bags, pass customs and then check in again for the Delhi to Dehradun flight. Leave at least three hours between the two flights.

Delhi airport has three terminals. International flights arrive at Terminal 3. If your domestic flight also leaves from T3, the airport asks you to follow the yellow signs for domestic transfer and stay inside the building, as its international-to-domestic transfer page explains. If it leaves from T1 or T2, a free shuttle runs between the terminals every 20 minutes. Then you enter at the departures level and check in again.

Jolly Grant Airport sits 25 km south-east of Dehradun city, according to the Airports Authority of India, which runs it. That location helps you. The airport lies on the Rishikesh side of Dehradun, roughly 20 km from the town, so you never need to go into the city at all. Taxis are the easy way on from the airport.

Can you take the train from Delhi to Rishikesh?

Yes. Most travellers take an express train from Delhi to Haridwar, which takes four to five hours, and then a taxi for the last 25 km. Rishikesh also has its own station, Yog Nagari Rishikesh.

The train is comfortable once you're on it, but the start takes planning. Delhi has several large stations, and trains to Haridwar leave from more than one of them. So check which station your ticket names. Book a reserved seat early through the official Indian Railways booking site (IRCTC), because popular trains can fill up weeks ahead.

If you land at Terminal 3 and want the train, the Airport Express metro line runs from the terminal to New Delhi Railway Station in about 20 to 25 minutes. Delhi Airport's metro page lists the current hours. Still, after a night flight, dragging a suitcase through a busy station is hard work. Many students keep the train for the return journey, when they are rested.

Is a taxi or bus from Delhi to Rishikesh a good choice?

A taxi is a good choice if you land late, carry heavy bags or travel with friends. The bus works too, but it suits experienced travellers more than first-time visitors to India.

The Delhi to Rishikesh distance by road is about 240 km. A booked car picks you up at arrivals and drops you at the gate, which matters at 2 AM. However, six to seven hours in traffic after a long flight is tiring. Book a driver through your hotel or a registered company, and avoid offers from touts in the arrivals hall. If you plan to go from Delhi to Rishikesh by taxi, agree the fare and the drop-off address before you set off.

Buses leave from the Kashmere Gate bus terminal (ISBT) in north Delhi, and Uttarakhand Tourism notes that both luxury and ordinary buses run to Rishikesh. The state bus company, the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, also runs services. Overnight buses arrive early in the morning, which can work well if you sleep on the road.

How long is the whole journey from Europe or North America?

Most international students arrive after 15 to 25 hours of travel, door to door. The range depends on where you start, whether your flight to Delhi is direct and which route you take from Delhi.

The clock change adds to the tiredness. India runs on Indian Standard Time, UTC +5:30, kept by the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi. India does not change its clocks in summer, so the gap from home shifts by an hour when Europe or North America does.

So a traveller from Toronto or New York has turned day into night. Someone from Frankfurt has a smaller jump, but still loses a night of normal sleep.

When does the journey take longer?

Winter fog and monsoon rain are the two things that slow the trip most. Plan extra time if you travel in December or January, or between July and September.

On many winter mornings, thick fog lies over the plains of north India. In January 2026, for example, the India Meteorological Department warned that dense fog may affect some airports, highways and railway routes across the region (IMD press release, 12 January 2026). Flights can wait on the ground, and trains often run late. A buffer day in Delhi or Rishikesh takes the stress out of it.

The monsoon brings heavy rain to the foothills. Heavy showers can slow road and rail journeys, and our page on the best time for yoga teacher training in Rishikesh explains how each season feels on the ground. October to March is drier, and the plains are cooler then, at least once the fog has lifted.

How should you plan your arrival day?

Plan to arrive a day before your course starts. Then the first class finds you rested instead of jet-lagged.

1. Pick your course date first. Our 200 hour course runs from the 2nd to the 24th of each month (4th to 26th in January), so book flights around it.
2. Choose a route. Fly on to Dehradun if you land in daylight. Book a taxi if you land late at night.
3. Tell the school when you'll arrive. Send your flight times when you book, and ask whether a pickup can be arranged.
4. Keep the address on paper. Show the driver: Triguna Yoga School, near Dhyan Mandir Ashram, Chopda Farm, Khadri Khadakmaf, Rishikesh 249204.
5. Check in early if your course allows it. On the 100 hour course you can check in on the 2nd and rest. The meditation course dates already include a check-in day.
6. Sleep. Eat lightly, drink plenty of water and go to bed early.

Why so careful? At Triguna the 200 hour day begins with Shatkarma, the yogic cleansing practices, at 6:30 AM, followed by Hatha yoga at 7:30 AM. The afternoon brings Ashtanga yoga, and the evening ends with meditation. That rhythm is lovely when you're rested. It is hard on the first morning after 20 hours in transit.

“[S]tudents who struggle are rarely the least flexible ones. They are the ones who arrive exhausted.”

Triguna Yoga School teachers, in our yoga teacher training guide

Is the journey to Rishikesh safe for a first-time visitor?

For most visitors, the journey goes smoothly when you book transport in advance and arrive in daylight. The airport and train routes are busy, well-used tourist routes.

A few habits help. Use prepaid or pre-booked taxis, keep your phone charged and share your live location with someone at home. Our article Is Rishikesh safe? gives fuller advice for women and solo travellers. Once you reach the school, life gets much simpler. You live, eat and practise in one place, with the Ganga and the Himalaya foothills close by. Our piece on staying at a yoga ashram in Rishikesh describes the rhythm of those days.

What does the journey cost, and what does the course fee cover?

Fares for flights, trains and taxis change with the season and the day, so check them when you book. Our own guide marks the overnight bus as the budget option.

Course fees and dates are on each course page. The 200 hour yoga teacher training fee depends on the room and includes accommodation and three sattvic vegetarian meals a day. Sattvic food is light, fresh vegetarian food. For transfers, our guide suggests one simple step: ask the school before you book, so you know what is covered. If you're new to yoga, the 100 hour course lasts 12 days and suits beginners, so it is a shorter way to begin, and you can read our 8-week preparation plan while you wait.

Knowing how to get to Rishikesh from Delhi takes much of the worry out of the trip. Then the journey becomes part of the course: a slow change of pace from the city to the river.