travel from uttar pradesh to uttaranchal?

hi, ive been lurking about in the forums for a little while now, this is my first post. this message board is absolutely great!

i'm goin to visit india in february, would like to go from agra, varanasi, bohdgaya to uttaranchal and himachal pradesh. was thinking of going to Nainital and corbett reserve, then on to dehra dun and shimla. was lookin trhu my lonely planet and i didnt see any bus or train routes that would get me from somewhere in uttar pradesh like lucknow to nainital in uttaranchal. can anyone give me a bit of advice as to how to do this?

thanks!

Winston

Its easy to go from Lucknow to Nainital.

Catch the overnight Bagh Express to Kathgodam. From Kathgodam, Nainital is a mere 35 kms. by road.

Back to Kathgodam and the direct overnight Doon Express will take you to Dehradun.

From Dehradun, Shimla is accessible by road via Herbertpur, Nahan and Solan. It is alos accessible by train via Saharanpur, Ambala and Kalka.

Happy travels !

Alternative routes.

There is a metre gauge line from Agra Fort or Lucknow to Lalkuan Junction (22 km south of Kathgodam).

Train 5311 departs Agra Fort at 21:30 and gets to Lalkuan Jn at 08:30.

Train 5308 departs Lucknow at 21:00 and gets to Lalkuan Jn at 06:25.

For those interested in the opposite direction: -

Train 5312 departs Lalkuan Jn at 19:10 and gets to Agra Fort at 06:15.

Train 5307 departs Lalkuan Jn at 20:50 and gets to Lucknow at 06:05.

All 4 trains have 2A, FC, SL.

The cost is virtually the same from both Agra Fort and Lucknow.

2A = Rs 703
FC = Rs 511 (recommended, though book early)
SL = Rs 172

There is a train from Lalkuan Jn at 10:05 that gets to Kathgodam at 11:10, though it only has second class unreserved, from Kathgodam there are trains at 15:45 (arrives Lalkuan Jn at 16:40) and 19:40 (arrives 20:30).

It may be better to get off the train the stop before Lalkuan Jn for a bus/taxi to Kathgodam; the station is called Pantnagar and is on the main highway to Kathgodam (28 km).

Thanks for that guys! shimla, is the bagh express a train or bus?

merry christmas

Winston

The Bagh Express is a train that starts in Howrah (Calcutta), later departing Lucknow at 00:15 and getting to Kathgodam at 08:45.

The train has 2A and SL.

Any bus/taxi from Pantnagar to Kathgodam will pass through Lalkua. So no real benefit of getting down at Pantnagar.

Instead get down at Lalkua station, go to the highway, all buses going towards Haldwani/Kathgodam/further upwards stop there.

\N

Thanks for the info ntomer.

An update....

Trains on the metre gauge route no longer go to/from Agra, the line now ends at Muthura.

i am going with 8 members including 2 child. Can u tell precisely how to go to nanital from lalkuan railway station??

As i am reaching lalkuan at 6.10 am from luknow by nainital exp??
Is there a taxi stand where i can hire a sumo/qualis/travera??
How much it will cost??

Thanks in advance.

Prasun

You'll find taxis outside the RS. You can hire one to Nainital, no idea about cost though.

A cheaper option would be to take bus or share-taxi to Haldwani, and then bus (from bus terminal) or share-taxi (from Bhotia Parav) to Nainital.

tHANK YOU VERY MUCH. I WILL UPDATE THE COST ONCE I COME BACK.

i have returned from the trip. All kind of vehicles are avilable outside railway station- indica, qualis, innova etc. The number will be less in off season though. Indica was asking for 600/- per car. We hired a travera for 900/-. In off season it will cost 600- 800/-. Other alternative and cheaper way will be take a seat in bus or auto to haldwani, if u have less luggage then from haldwani lot of options. Hanldwani is a bigger and better connected place. But don't go to kathgodam which is a smaller town.