Travel in Bihar

mikewill

I've heard lots of vague stuff about the dangers of travelling in and through Bihar. Anyone out there who can give an up-to-date view on this? Planning to visit Patna, Gaya, Bodhgaya (big surprise there!) plus perhaps some others. Coming from New Jalpaiguri (not easy to get good times), going on to Varanasi. We are a middle-aged couple, but still like to travel on local buses, 2nd class trains for day journeys.

Hope this doesn't remain an unanswered thread!

India Edge

You'll find my take on Bihar / Bodh Gaya here >>>
Bihar

__________________
India pics
India vids

steven_ber

Good morning Mike, I hope things are well in your loverly part of England.

The New Jalpaiguri - Patna section doesn't seem to have many well timed trains, or does it..........

A little secret....this section is notorious for delays, it is single track and many people (on some trains) just pull the emergency stop when a train is passing through their station, this has a knock on effect for other trains, when I passed through the area my train was delayed by 4 hours, this was not unusual.

So, with this in mind.....

Train 5632 (Thursdays & Saturdays) and train 5636 (Mondays) departs New Jalpaiguri at 18:10 and gets to Patna at 04:40.

2A = Rs 895
3A = Rs 574
SL = Rs 215

Lets just hope for a 2 - 3 hour delay.


Gaya to Varanasi

Train 2381 departs Gaya (Wed, Thu, Sun) at 16:00 and gets to Varanasi at 19:40.
Train 1452 departs Gaya (Mondays) at 17:10 and gets to Varanasi at 21:15.
Train 3009 departs Gaya (daily) at 05:13 and gets to Varanasi at 10:25.

2A = Rs 559
3A = Rs 360
SL = Rs 148

There are many more trains from Gaya to Mughal Sarai (17 kms from Varanasi).


You are best to stick to air-con classes on the trains in Bihar.

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.


Train information.


RAC & Waitlists explained.

ddutta

Hi ,

What you have heard about Bihar is 100% correct. It is indeed dangerous to travel Bihar . But there are exceptions too. Like , Gaya , Bodhgaya & to some extent Patna. If your plan is to visit these places you can safely visit those areas. But dont try the local bus/transport.[ just check this month "Photo Of The Month" snap "Rural Transport" taken by Rajnish in the front.home page ] .If possible hire a car for local transport & follow Stevens advice ( try to travel in AC class in train ). If you are planning to visit other areas in Bihar /Jharkhand please mention the names here. We will try our best to give info about those places.

__________________
"If you smile at me I will understand, because that is something everyone everywhere does in the same language"

somnath

I have spent 2 years in Bihar (at Arrah, near Patna) and it is my personal experience to suggest a car trip to Gaya from Patna and during daytime only. Please do not avail local train / bus service for this particular journey.

Gaya to Varanasi (Mughalsarai gives more option) is cool. Steve rightly says, A/C will be the best option from NJP to Patna for you (any foreign tourist).

And, it is not an unanswered thread.

mikewill

How could I think a question would go unanswered! Thanks India Edge, Steven (personal timetabling expert to the world! ), ddutta (amazing that a scooter can tow a jeep - and with all those people too ), and Somnath (again!! )

This all sounds fine. I did also find the 2423 DIBRUGARH TOWN NEWDELHI EXPRESS which leaves NJP 12:40 arrives Patna 21:15. I do like travelling by day if possible - so as not to miss any of the country / action and thought that if we book a hotel in advance arriving at that time would probably be OK. On the other hand, if we allow for delays, it could be midnight - not so good

For overnight trips we tend to use 3A, even if they are sometimes a bit cold. They seem to be quieter at night, so we sleep better. What happens in winter with the AC? I don't want to wake up as an icicle!

Cheers
Mike

Alan D

I haven't literally set foot in Bihar since 1966 - not because I was scared of of being attacked and robbed, more that I have had no particular reason to go there. I have however crossed through it a couple of times by train in recent years without mishap. One thing I did notice though, was the virtual bazaar that engulfed the Rajdhani train on its journey through the state. There was a never ending procession of hawkers of food, drink and knick-knacks and at one point I was even offered a full body massage. Presumeably the railway staff were too intimidated to deal with this chaotic commerce taking place.

Whether it is as lawless as many people say I have no idea. Are there any crime statistics available on a state by state basis, and if there were, would they be reliable?

Our friend Colin visited the state a couple of years ago, mainly to spend some time at Bodh Gaya. His main complaint, when we later met him in Delhi, was that the place where he was staying put the hard word on him for a generous contribution to a local school. If you knew Colin then you would know why they were singularly unsuccessful.

__________________
What a long strange trip it's been!

joepubli

Mikewill
Bihar is a fairly poor place and not really used to many tourists. This makes travel difficult as you have to be on constant watch for being ripped off. You will need to be careful with food and water as standards of hygeine can be variable. Advice about travelling during the day is good. Most Bihari's dont travel at night. You are likely to be fairly shocked by the level of poverty.

Public transport can be a problem as there is often severe (and I mean severe!) overcrouding as there is little respect for reserved seats.

I think the advice about getting a car is good but the roads can be awful - my friend described it as bits of road in between potholes rather than a road with potholes. So

Gaya is used to tourists. Patna less so.
Joe
Most people are pretty genuine. If you need assistance try popping into a large shop or business and ask for help.

Joe

haji

we travelled 2 weeks in Bihar 2 years ago without any problem. The only place we could't visit because told not really safe was the Malabar Caves (or Barabar Caves), just 20 km from Gaya. We asked many people and drivers but the general adwise was "better not to go". The highlights points were Nalanda, Bodygaya and Sasaram, but really basic accomodation in Sasaram. Have a nice trip.

__________________

mikewill

Great. Many thanks for all the advice. We'll just be careful - it is always easier with two anyway.

Cheers
Mike

Callous

Hello Mike,we spent several days in Bodghaya in Dec/Jan,we entered India from Sri Lanka by flying into Gaya airport,how amazing it is for an "International Airport"Anyway despite the poverty and the drought Bodghaya was wonderful and a great way place to introduce our children to backpacking in India.We then took a taxi to Varanasi.We later returned to Bodghaya and caught the night train to Kolkata.We had no problems at all,we have great memories of waiting on Gaya platform for our train which was about 5 hours late,oh India don't you love it,wish we were there now!!!!!!!!!

sego

Hey Guys I have to search out some of my long lost roots in Bihar within the next couple of years so don't scare me with some of those stories. Let's hear some positive stories on this region. Safe travels to all.

Tomi

I'm thinking of visiting some of the Buddha towns in Bihar in February, namely Bodhgaya, Rajgir, and Nalanda. I would be coming from Kolkata to Rajgir (somnath tells me that the Lal Quila Express stops there, but I didn't find the name of the town among the stops listed in the Indian Railways web site), hanging out in Rajgir and visiting Nalanda from there. Maybe 3 days for that.

Then going to Bodhgaya and hanging out another 3 days or so. Then continuing to Varanasi by train from Gaya.

I have read ALL the Bihar threads, spoken to somnath in PM, and read a little bit in the Dalrymple book. I gather I should take the AC class on all the trains through Bihar, and avoid traveling by night. But the thought of hiring a car to take me from Rajgir to Bodhgaya or from Rajgir to Nalanda is not appealing to my budget or my sense of fun. Any opinions?

I want to publicly thank somnath for his help (so far ... but rest assured that I'll keep picking your brains ), and would love to know ddutta's take on travel between the towns I mention.

Also, could forthcoming elections ruin the peace in Bihar?

steven_ber

Hello Tomi, I hope all is well.

Maybe the Lal Quila Express used to take a different route, but it doesn't pass Rajgir now.

Though if you took the Lal Quila Express from Sealdah (dep 2015) to Bakhtiyarpur Jn (arr 05:00) there is a passenger train (No. 548) starts from there at 05:40, calls at Nalanda at 07:08 and terminates at Rajgir at 07:35. (II only)

There are trains from Rajgir to Nalanda at the following times (Arr times in brackets)(all trains start from Rajgir)

06:00 (06:16)
08:10 (08:25)
09:00 (09:16)
11:55 (12:13)
15:15 (15:27)
15:40 (15:58)
19:40 (19:55)

Only 1 worth mentioning in the other direction, the others start from too far away to be relied upon for such a short journey.

A train starts from Bakhtiyarpur Jn at 15:30, calls at Nalanda at 16:53 and then makes the short journey to Rajgir.
------------------------------

One train that will seem very tempting.....

Train 5109 departs Rajgir (Tu, Th, Sa. only) at 22:30, Nalanda at 22:41 and gets to Varanasi at 08:10, then departs at 08:40 and gets to Sarnath just after 09:00.

Sleeper Class = Rs 180 for Rajgir to Varanasi/Sarnath.

But only Sleeper Class, still tempting though.

somnath

Ohhhh….. I am just trying to share my small accumulation of personal experience. Tomi, you are welcome, please feel free to ask. I’ll be happy if I can provide any helpful info. And hats off to your homework.

Regarding Lal Quilla exp. – one compartment (the last one) of this train is reserved for Rajgir quota (Non A/C). And Steve is absolutely right (he he…. Who can beat him so far Indian railway is concerned ) it passes through Baktiarpur. But said compartment gets attached to that connecting train to Rajgir from this station.

Rajgir to Nalanda – What we did, availed a package tour to visit Nalanda, Pawapuri etc arranged by the hotel. Can’t remember how much it costs but the service was good.

And, I’ll prefer to avail Gaya – Mughalsarai (then shared auto-rickshaw to reach Varanasi). And Sarnath as a local trip from Varanasi (hiring an auto).

It is a common practice (any local person will be agree with me) in Bihar that opposition party/s actually use antisocial elements to disturb law and order and such incidents in railway is the easiest way to get public attention to prove the inability of the ruling party. Can anyone recollect any single railway crime in Bihar during recent President rule? Anyway, we cannot change our destiny but precaution should be taken. And Tomi, apart from comfortable journey, traveling by A/C is considered as one of safety masers. So…….Buddham Sharanam Gacchami.

http://www.bodhgayanews.net/200305.htm - may help you to cultivate more .

- Somnath