How To Reach Ranikhet

Travel To India > Ranikhet > How To Reach Ranikhet

Ranikhet, a cantonment town, is located in district Almora in Uttaranchal, India. Although the history of the town dates back to 12th century but it came into light when the Britishers established their headquarters here. They particularly liked Ranikhet due to its salubrious cool environs and found it a perfect retreat to flee from the scorching sun during the summer months. High up in the Kumaon hills, tendering a pictorial panorama of the frost laden Himalayas, it makes for a calm getaway about 350 kms northeast of Delhi. Read on to find out several travel options available for reaching Ranikhet.

How to reach Ranikhet

By Air:

The nearest domestic airport to Ranikhet is Pantnagar airport in Nainital. A recently operational airport, it handles just 6 scheduled flights in a week during summers. Situated 120 kms away from Ranikhet, it is one of the least busy airport making it a perfect air strip for traveling to Ranikhet. One can avail either taxi or cab services to reach Ranikhet. They charge around Rs.2000 from the airport to Ranikhet. Delhi is the nearest international airport and is about 350 kms away from Ranikhet. The schedule of flights from Delhi to Pantnagar airport is:

Delhi- Pantnagar:
  1. Departure 13:15hrs Arrival 14:15hrs-(Mon, Wed, Fri) Jagson airlines
  2. Departure 14:45hrs Arrival 15:45hrs-(Mon, Wed, Fri) Jagson airlines
Pantnagar- Delhi:
  1. Departure 13:00 hrs Arrival 14:00 hrs

By Train:

Nearest railhead to Ranikhet is the Kathgodam railway station which is about 80 kms away from Ranikhet. Pre-paid taxi services are available from the station to Ranikhet. It takes more than 2 hrs to reach Ranikhet and they charge around Rs 1500. From Delhi, it is a comfortable one night journey and there are many options available.

Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express:[daily]
Delhi - Kathgodam (Dep- 16:00 hrs, Arr- 22:45 hrs)
Kathgodam - Delhi (Dep- 08:50 hrs, Arr- 15:20 hrs)
Dehradun Kathgodam Express:[Wed, Sun]
Dehradun- Kathgodam (Dep- 22:30 hrs, Arr- 07:15 hrs)
Ranikhet Express:[daily]
Old Delhi railway station- Kathgodam (Dep- 22:45 hrs, Arr- 06:05 hrs)
Kathgodam Garib Rath:
Kanpur - Kathgodam (Dep- 06:00 hrs, Arr- 15:10 hrs)
Bagh Express:[daily- takes 2 nights]
Howrah - Kathgodam (Dep- 21:45 hrs, Arr- 09:35 hrs)

By Road:

Ranikhet is well connected to all major destinations of Uttaranchal by proper road route. Ranikhet bus stand is located in the main Sadar bazaar region near the tourist office. Regular roadways buses ply from Delhi, Agra, Dehradun, Haridwar and Lucknow daily. Besides this, luxury coaches are available from Delhi to Ranikhet. Buses can be taken from ISBT Anand Vihar, Delhi and Scindia House, N. Delhi. The road route from Delhi to Ranikhet is as follows:

Take up NH-24 from Delhi- Ghaziabad- Hapur- Garhmukhteshwar- Gajraula- Moradabad. Then take up State highway 41 and turn left to Tanda. From here take Tanda- Bazpur road- Nainital- Ranikhet. Ranikhet is easily accessible from all major towns and tourist destinations.